Military and Overseas

The voting rights of U.S. citizens living outside the U.S. and members of the uniformed services stationed outside Ohio are governed by federal law (The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act - “UOCAVA”), as well as state law.

Overseas Citizens: Generally, if you are a citizen residing outside the U.S., you are eligible to vote in federal elections in the state in which you resided immediately before leaving the U.S. if you were, or could have, registered to vote in that state while residing there, or currently are eligible under state law to vote in that state.

For more information regarding application deadlines and procedures, please see the State of Ohio Absentee portal.

For additional information on voting by overseas citizens, please contact the Secretary of State’s Elections Division or the board of elections in the Ohio county in which you previously resided. You may also visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s Web site: www.fvap.gov, or the Overseas Vote Foundation’s Web site: ohio.overseasvotefoundation.org/overseas/home.htm.

Uniformed Services Personnel: If you are a member of the uniformed services (armed forces, Merchant Marine, and the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), you are eligible to vote a regular ballot from the voting address in Ohio at which you resided for 30 days immediately before leaving Ohio to commence active duty service.

For more information regarding application deadlines and procedures, please see the State of Ohio Absentee portal.

For additional information on voting by uniformed services personnel, please contact the Secretary of State’s Elections Division or the board of elections in the Ohio county in which you previously resided. You may also visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s Web site: www.fvap.gov, or the Overseas Vote Foundation’s Web site: ohio.overseasvotefoundation.org/overseas/home.htm.