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Ohio voters can use the provisional ballot option if they forget their photo ID

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — This is the first presidential election in Ohio where voters are required to show a valid photo ID, such as a driver’s license, a passport, a military ID or a state-issued ID. But sometimes voters forget them, or they’ve expired, or the name or address needs to be updated. There is an option to remember for those who run into problem: the provisional ballot.

Poll workers wait for voters in Franklin County, Ohio behind a door that has a voting today sign taped to it
Poll workers wait for voters in Franklin County, Ohio. [Daniel Konik | Statehouse News Bureau]
“Every person has the right to vote and if their vote is in question or if their identity is in question, then they can vote a provisional ballot,” said Nazek Hapasha with the League of Women Voters of Ohio.

Hapasha said a voter can ask for and cast a provisional ballot, but there’s a second step that must be taken to resolve the identity issue and “cure” the ballot.

“They would be required to show up at their county board of elections within four days, which is that Saturday after election day and show up with a valid ID that would count for voting,” Hapasha said.

Hapasha also noted voters must cast ballots in their correct precinct for those votes to count.

“You do need to do your homework before election day. Make sure that you know where your voting location is. They do sometimes change,” Hapasha said. “So we always recommend that you look that up and confirm where your voting location is before election day.”

You can do that at this link on vote.ohio.gov. That link will take you to any county board of elections you select on the state map.

Hapasha added that if you’re in the wrong precinct, “you technically you can cast a provisional ballot, but you need to go to your correct voting location in order for your votes to count.”

The secretary of state’s office reports 154,675 provisional ballots were cast in 2020, and 24,369 were rejected. 70% of those rejected provisionals were from voters who were not registered in Ohio.