(A) Except as provided in division (B) of section 3509.08 of the Revised Code, any qualified elector desiring to vote absent voter's ballots at an election shall make written application for those ballots to the director of elections of the county in which the elector's voting residence is located.

(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (C) of this section, the application need not be in any particular form but shall contain all of the following:

(1) The elector's name;

(2) The elector's signature;

(3) The address at which the elector is registered to vote;

(4) The elector's date of birth;

(5) One of the following:

(a) The elector's driver's license number;

(b) The last four digits of the elector's social security number;

(c) A copy of the elector's current and valid photo identification, a copy of a military identification, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the name and address of the elector.

(6) A statement identifying the election for which absent voter's ballots are requested;

(7) A statement that the person requesting the ballots is a qualified elector;

(8) If the request is for primary election ballots, the elector's party affiliation;

(9) If the elector desires ballots to be mailed to the elector, the address to which those ballots shall be mailed.

(C) If the elector has a confidential voter registration record, as described in section 111.44 of the Revised Code, the elector may provide the elector's program participant identification number instead of the address at which the elector is registered to vote.

(D) Each application for absent voter's ballots shall be delivered to the director not earlier than the first day of January of the year of the elections for which the absent voter's ballots are requested or not earlier than ninety days before the day of the election at which the ballots are to be voted, whichever is earlier, and not later than twelve noon of the third day before the day of the election at which the ballots are to be voted, or not later than six p.m. on the last Friday before the day of the election at which the ballots are to be voted if the application is delivered in person to the office of the board.

(E) A board of elections that mails an absent voter's ballot application to an elector under this section shall not prepay the return postage for that application.

(F) Except as otherwise provided in this section and in sections 3505.24 and 3509.08 of the Revised Code, an election official shall not fill out any portion of an application for absent voter's ballots on behalf of an applicant. The secretary of state or a board of elections may preprint only an applicant's name and address on an application for absent voter's ballots before mailing that application to the applicant, except that if the applicant has a confidential voter registration record, the secretary of state or a board of elections shall not preprint the applicant's address on the application.

Amended by 131st General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 359, §1, eff. 9/8/2016.

Amended by 130th General Assembly File No. 64, SB 205, §1, eff. 6/1/2014.

Amended by 130th General Assembly File No. 3, SB 47, §1, eff. 6/21/2013.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.105, SB 295, §1, eff. 8/15/2012.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.46, HB 224, §1, eff. 10/27/2011.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.40, HB 194, §1 Made subject to referendum in the Nov. 6, 2012 election. The version of this section thus amended was repealed by 129th General AssemblyFile No.105, SB 295, §1, eff. 8/15/2012.

Amended by 128th General AssemblyFile No.29, HB 48, §1, eff. 7/2/2010.

Effective Date: 08-22-1995; 01-27-2006; 2006 HB3 05-02-2006; 2008 HB562 09-22-2008 .