Eligibility: You are eligible to vote if you meet all the following requirements:

1. You are a citizen of the United States.
2. You will be at least 18 years old on or before the day of the general election.
3. You are not currently in prison for a felony conviction.
4. You are registered to vote in Ohio at least 30 days before the election occurs.

Registration: You must submit a voter registration form at least 30 days prior to the election you want to vote in. Voter registration forms can be obtained from the following sources:

The OC Dems, on the front door of our office, Wilder 330 The Lorain County Board of Elections The Ohio Secretary of State Any public high school Any public library The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles

Download form in PDF format

Alternatively, you can download the voter registration form above. The form is designed so that you may type in your data if you so choose. Once you have printed the form, you may deliver it the OC Democrats (by slipping it under the door of our office) or give it to any of the organizations listed above. The deadline to register to vote is October 10th!




Identification: New election laws require that you provide identification at the polls that verifies that you live at the address to which you are registered. This includes either a valid photo ID/driver's license or a current copy of a utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that verifies your address. For Oberlin students, any document that only has an OCMR as the address will not be sufficient.

If you do not have adequate identification at the polls, you may provide the last four digits of your Social Security number to cast a provisional ballot.

If you do not want to or cannot provide the last four digits of your Social Security number, you may swear an affidavit and cast a provisional ballot. You must provide identification within 10 days of the election to the Board of Elections for your provisional ballot to be counted.

This requirement is not applicable if you vote by mail with an absentee ballot, assuming you registered with the last four digits of your Social Security number or your Ohio driver's license number. If you submitted proof of residency to register, you may need to do so again to request an absentee ballot.




Vote by mail (absentee): Anyone who is registered to vote in Ohio can vote by mail by requesting an Ohio absentee ballot. Absentee voting begins on October 4th and ends the day before the election. You must apply for an absentee ballot in writing; form 11-A is provided below for you to print out and use. If you do not want to use the form below, you do not have to, but you must submit a written application to the Board of Elections with the following information:

1. Your name
2. Your signature
3. The address at which you are registered to vote
4. Your date of birth
5. Either your Ohio driver's license number, the last four digits of your Social Security number, or a current copy of a utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that verifies your address.
6. A statement identifying the election for which you are requesting a ballot (general, primary, special primary, etc.)
7. If you are requesting a ballot for a partisan primary, a party affiliation.
8. If you want your ballot to be mailed, your mailing address.

Download an absentee ballot request form in PDF format.

If you are voting by mail, the latest you can request an absentee ballot from the Board of Elections is by noon on the Saturday prior to the election. Your actual ballot must be mailed to the Board of Elections and received by 7:30 PM on Election Day.

If you wish to vote absentee but not by mail, you may do so at the Board of Elections during regular business hours up to and including the day before the election. You can then request your ballot, receive it, and vote at the office.




Dorm Addresses: When registering to vote or requesting an absentee ballot, you must fill out the addresses of your dorm as your home address. Below is a list of the addresses of all residence halls; students off-campus should use the address of their house.

Allencroft Bailey Baldwin Barnard Barrows Burton Dascomb East Fairchild Firelands Harkness Harvey Johson Kade Keep Langston (North) Lord-Saunders Noah Old Barrows Price Quadrangle South Talcott Tank Zechiel

134 S. Professor St. 208 N. Professor St. 30 S. Professor St. 148 N. Professor St. 145 Woodland St. 194 N. Professor St. 140 W. College St. 176 N. Professor St. 93 Elm St. 36. S. Pleasant St. 113 W. College St. 96 S. Professor St. 216 S. Professor St. 140 S. Professor St. 154 N. Main St. 95 Union St. 126 Forest St. 167 Woodland St. 207 S. Professor St. 100 Forest St. 40 W. Lorain St. 121 Elm St. 2 S. Professor St. 110 E. College St. 207 Woodland St.