Voter Eligibility
Does everyone who wants to vote in Ohio have to be registered to vote here?
Yes.
How do I know whether I am qualified to register and to vote in Ohio?
You are qualified to register to vote in Ohio if you meet all the following requirements:
- You are a citizen of the United States.
- You will be at least 18 years old on or before the day of the general election.
- You will be a resident of Ohio for at least 30 days immediately before the election in which you want to vote.
- You are not incarcerated (in prison) for a felony conviction under the laws of this state, another state or the United States.
- You have not been declared incompetent for voting purposes by a probate court.
- You have not been permanently disfranchised for violations of the election laws. You are eligible to vote in elections conducted in your voting precinct more than 30 consecutive days after you are properly registered to vote in this state.
How is voting residency determined?
Ohio election officials use rules set forth in law (R.C. 3503.02) to determine a person’s qualifying voting address.
Under those rules, your voting residence is the place in which your habitation is fixed and to which, whenever you are absent, you intend to return. You must intend your residence in the county to be permanent, not temporary.
You will not lose your voting residency in Ohio if you leave temporarily and intend to return, unless you are absent from the state for four consecutive years.
(Exception: You will not lose your residency after four years if your absence from Ohio is due to your employment with the government of this state or the United States,
including military service, unless you vote in, or permanently move to, another state.)
If you do not have a fixed place of habitation,
but are a consistent or regular inhabitant of a shelter or other location to which you intend to return,
you may use that shelter or other location as your residence for purposes of registering to vote.
May a student register and vote from the student’s school address in Ohio?
Yes, a student may vote using the student’s Ohio school residence address if both:
- the school residence is the place in which the student’s habitation is fixed and to which, whenever the student is absent, the student intends to return.
- the student intends to reside permanently in the Ohio county in which the school residence address is located.
Where can I register?
- the Clermont County Board of Elections or the Secretary of State’s office.
- At branch registration offices or locations established by the Clermont County Board of Elections.
- At any public high school or vocational school.
- At the offices of the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
- At offices of designated agencies that provide public assistance or disability programs.
- At public libraries.
- At county treasurer's offices, recorder's office, human services, WIC, and MRDD.
- By mail. You may request a registration form from the Clermont County Board of Elections or the Secretary of State’s office by mail, e-mail, telephone, in person or by having another person obtain it for you.
- Click here to download an application.
After completing the form, return it to
Clermont Co. Board of Elections
76 S. Riverside Drive
Batavia, Ohio 45103
(513)732-7275
or Secretary of State’s office.
Mailed registration forms must be sent to the Clermont County Board of Elections or the Secretary of State’s office and must be postmarked 30 days before an election to be valid for that election*.
Registration forms not mailed must be received by the Clermont County Board of Elections, the Secretary of State’s office, a public high school or vocational school, public library, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Clermont County Treasurer’s Office or designated agencies 30 days before an election to be valid for that election.
Vote for Archie November 2nd, 2010!