Funding approved to send each registered Ohio voter an absentee ballot request form

According to the announcement, absentee ballot requests will be mailed around Labor Day. The Secretary of State’s office also pointed out has been done in every general election since 2012.

The difference this year comes due to the coronavirus pandemic, as this and other voting needs will use federal COVID-19 aid funds.

This announcement came after the Ohio Office of Budget and Management’s Controlling Board, which provides oversight on some state agency spending and holds approval powers over various other state financial activities, discussed a proposal from the Secretary of State to use federal CARES Act funds to pay for voting expenses.

>>Coronavirus: Elections reform bill sparks controversy

According to the proposal, the funding for those expenses normally could come from the Controlling Board Emergency Purposes Fund, but that money was needed for “more emergent matters.”

In addition to sending absentee voting forms, these expenses included securing voting locations, providing personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies for polling stations and reimbursing counties for the cost of equipment, personnel and supplies.

>> Ohio elections officials say vote-by-mail changes everything

For the 2020 General Election, the deadline to register to vote is October 5, according to the Ohio Secretary of State website. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is three days before the election.

Voters can confirm or update their registration as well as print an absentee ballot request form at VoteOhio.gov.