The grace period, which Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said he was reluctant to get rid of, was a way to account for delays in the postal service. It allowed a ballot to be counted as long as it was postmarked the day before the election and received by the county board of election within four days of the election.
But Ohio’s long-running system of counting late-arriving ballots was called into question by a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in 2024 that ruled it was unconstitutional for the state of Mississippi to count votes for federal offices that arrived after Election Day.
That case was picked up by the U.S. Supreme Court, and Ohio decision makers expect the high court to issue a ruling in June — one month after the primary and four months before the general. Any decision from Supreme Court invalidating Ohio’s grace period would force the state to run two elections differently within the same year, a scenario DeWine described as “chaotic.”
The change causes concern for voting rights groups and Democrats in Ohio who disagree with the policy on its face and worry that some voters will be unaware of the changes to Ohio’s election law, put an absentee ballot in the mail on the day before the election, and ultimately have their ballot thrown out for arriving late to their local board of elections.
Angela Lin, a spokesperson for the Ohio Voter Rights Coalition formed by the ACLU of Ohio, the League of Women Voters of Ohio and other groups, told this outlet that the removal of a grace period calls into question the latest date voters can actually put their ballot in the mail and reasonably expect it to get to the board of elections before polls close.
“Obviously, delays in the postal service was a huge concern of ours under this bill,” Lin said in an interview. “I don’t think we have a specific (deadline) date with certainty.”
Butler County Board of Elections Deputy Director Eric Corbin told this outlet that the local boards of elections, along with the Ohio Secretary of State, will be tasked with making sure voters are aware of the changes.
“We’ve always got some ballots that come back between Election Day and the fourth day after that are valid, however, going forward those of course wouldn’t count in this situation,” Corbin said in an interview. “There are some voters who might continue that same habit.”
Still, Corbin said the general messaging from elections officials wouldn’t have to change too much.
“The good thing is we’ve always been encouraging voters to not wait,” he said. “We say, request that application, get that ballot and return it to us as soon as possible, just so they don’t run into any (problems) at all.”
Corbin added that all absentee ballot forms are delivered to Ohioans with another form that explains exactly how to fill out the ballot and the relevant deadlines facing voters.
“Hopefully people read it. Of course, we can put notices in there but we can’t always make sure people read them,” Corbin said.
Ben Kindel, a spokesperson for Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, told this outlet in a statement that, along with the changes on the absentee ballot forms, the office “plans to inform voters through a public awareness campaign, and we’ll be asking the media and various civic organizations to join us in sharing these updates as well.”
When this outlet asked if the office intended to provide a suggested deadline for voters to get their ballots in the mail, Kindel said voters should put them in the mail “as soon as possible,” and reiterated that voters can also return absentee ballots to the secure drop box in front of their local boards of elections before polls close.
About the Author
