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Your early vote will be counted in Ohio if you die before Election Day

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Democratic former President Jimmy Carter, who’s 100 years old and has been under hospice care, cast a ballot Tuesday during Georgia’s early voting period. His daughter-in-law reportedly dropped off his ballot. If he dies before election day, his early vote will count in Georgia. It has raised questions about what would happen in Ohio under similar situations.

Voters line up in Columbus at Franklin County's early voting center on the first day of early in-person voting for the August special election.
Voters line up in Columbus at Franklin County’s early voting center on the first day of early in-person voting for the August special election. [Daniel Konik | Statehouse News Bureau]
Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose said if a voter casts a regular ballot by mail or in person during the early vote period, showing the proper identification, there’s a long-standing practice of boards of elections.

“The Ohio Revised Code is actually silent on this. It’s not specifically laid out in the law – what would happen in this scenario. But I can tell you that long-standing practice by our boards of elections is that if you were alive when you cast your ballot, it will be counted,” LaRose said.

LaRose said there’s a practical consideration too. He said once identification has been proven, ballots themselves are detached from identifying information to make the ballot secret.

“Once that severing has happened between your identity and the ballot, it is just one of the ballots that is in the overall stack that will be ready to be counted right at 7:30 on Election Night,” LaRose said. “So there’s no way to go back and found ‘well, this is this person’s ballot who is now deceased.’ It becomes an impracticality to go back and find that specific ballot and sort of fish it out.”

On Nov. 5 after the polls close, in-person and mail-in absentee ballots are the first to be counted. But LaRose said voters who are concerned about their health could benefit from voting early.

“This is just another good reason to take advantage of absentee voting,” LaRose said.

Carter, who was the 39th president, had said he wants to cast his ballot for Vice President Kamala Harris before he passes away. He’s the longest-lived president in American history.