Where is my Residence for Voting Purposes?
On Election Day, you must cast your ballot in your precinct at your designated polling place between the hours of 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. If you do not know your polling place and precinct, please contact your county board of elections.
Your residence is important because it determines which offices and issues you are eligible to vote on (e.g., the proper congressional district, school district, etc.). Under Ohio law, your residence is (1) the location that you consider to be a permanent, not a temporary, residence and (2) the place where your habitation is fixed and where, whenever you are absent, you intend to return. If you do not have a fixed place of habitation, but you are a consistent or regular inhabitant of a shelter or other location where you intend to return, you may use that location as your residence for the purposes of registering to vote.
Ohio is not considered your voting residence when:
- You have moved to another state and vote in that state;
- You have moved to another state and intend to make that state your residence;
- You moved to another state and continuously reside outside of Ohio for a period of 4 years or more.
There are specific circumstances where you maintain your Ohio voting residence even though you are absent from the state. You will not lose your voting residency in Ohio if:
- You leave temporarily and intend to return to Ohio;
- You are absent from Ohio due to your services with the United States government or state of Ohio;
- You have moved outside of the United States.
If you were born outside of and continue to reside outside of the United States, but have a parent or guardian who last resided in and was last eligible to vote in Ohio before leaving the United States, your parent or guardian’s Ohio residence would be considered your voting residence.
If you have questions about your specific residency circumstances, you may contact your local board of elections for further information.