Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is offering some clarity to voters who requested mail-in ballots but now want to vote in person instead.
LaRose鈥檚 office issued a directive to local election officials this week with guidance for handling in-person votes from Ohioans who already requested absentee ballots.
is available on the secretary of state鈥檚 website, but here are the basics of what you need to know:
If you鈥檝e decided to vote in person rather than by mail, but you鈥檝e already requested an absentee ballot, LaRose鈥檚 office says you can vote early in person with no trouble 鈥� emphasis on the early.
If you鈥檝e already received an absentee ballot in the mail, your local board of elections will ask for it back and give you a new, regular ballot at the early in-person voting site. You鈥檙e not required to return the other ballot as a condition for getting a new one, however. And Ohio counts early ballots as they come in, so your vote will be processed ahead of Election Day.
It鈥檚 a different story if you鈥檝e requested an absentee but show up to vote on Election Day. You鈥檒l have to vote provisionally, meaning the ballot won鈥檛 be added to the count until after Nov. 3.
鈥淭he board of elections may count only one ballot per voter,鈥� the directive says. 鈥淚f the voter marks and returns more than one ballot, the board must count only the first ballot received. It is a felony to vote more than once in the same election.鈥�
Boards begin mailing absentee ballots to those who have requested them on Oct. 6.
Have a question about voting in Ohio? ! And don鈥檛 miss on casting a ballot in the Buckeye State.
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