Ohio's 2024 general election officially underway as military and overseas voting begins
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced Friday that the state’s 2024 general election is officially underway, as the 88 county boards of elections are now sending out ballots to military and overseas voters.
“All of us who serve in America’s military are devoted to defending our freedoms and way of life so I know our service members are eager to make their voice heard this election,” said Secretary LaRose. “As we formally kick off the 2024 voting season, every Ohioan should have confidence that my office and Ohio’s bipartisan county boards of elections are fully prepared.
“Ohio continues to strike the right balance between election integrity and voter convenience, and that starts by making sure our patriots overseas have every opportunity to exercise their fundamental right to vote in a secure and convenient manner.”
Both federal and state laws govern absentee voting by uniformed services and overseas United States citizens. The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) and the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act are federal laws enacted to protect the rights of United States citizens to vote in federal elections while they are serving in the uniformed services or residing overseas. As a freshman State Senator, LaRose helped lead the initiative to incorporate those federal protections into the Ohio Revised Code and extend them to state and local elections.
United States citizens covered by UOCAVA include:
• members of the United States Uniformed Services and merchant marine;
• their family members; and
• United States citizens residing outside the United States.
Ballots reflect the changes to the Issue 1 summary ballot language most recently certified by the Ohio Ballot Board and approved by the Supreme Court of Ohio earlier this week.
All other Ohio voters may begin voting on October 8th either early, in-person or via absentee ballot. The deadline to register, or update voter registrations is Oct. 7. Anyone who has questions regarding the upcoming election, key dates, or how to update their voter registration should visit Ohio’s one-stop-shop for trusted election information, VoteOhio.gov.
The Ohio Secretary of State’s office has a full-time military and veteran coordinator who works to boost military and veteran participation in our elections. Additionally, the “Second Call to Duty” initiative provides resources to assist in organizing poll worker recruitment efforts with local veteran service organizations or groups.
For more information on military voting in Ohio, visit MilitaryVotes.Ohio.gov.
Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 25 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.