Uniformed and Overseas Citizens The voting rights of U.S. citizens living outside the U.S. and members of the uniformed services stationed outside Ohio are governed by federal law (The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act - "UOCAVA"), as well as state law. Overseas Citizens: Generally, if you are a citizen residing outside the U.S., you are eligible to vote in federal elections in the state in which you resided immediately before leaving the U.S. if you were, or could have, registered to vote in that state while residing there, or currently are eligible under state law to vote in that state. Note: Federal law does not require any state to extend voting eligibility to a person who never resided in that state on the basis that one or both of the person's parents formerly resided in that state. If you are eligible, you may vote a federal ballot (candidates for U.S. president, vice president and U.S. House of Representatives) from the Ohio precinct in which you resided immediately before leaving the U.S. to live in a foreign country, even though you may no longer have ties to, and may not intend to return to, Ohio. You must register to vote and/or request an absentee ballot using the current Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) using either the postcard or online version. The online FPCA can be downloaded from www.fvap.gov. You may also be eligible to vote a regular Ohio ballot if you maintain a qualifying voting address in Ohio and have lived outside Ohio less than four consecutive years. Uniformed Services Personnel: If you are a member of the uniformed services (armed forces, merchant marine, and the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), you are eligible to vote a regular ballot from the voting address in Ohio at which you resided for 30 days immediately before leaving Ohio to commence active duty service. For information regarding application deadlines, please see "Absentee Deadlines" at the end of this page. For additional information on voting by overseas citizens and uniformed services personnel, please contact the secretary of state's Elections Division or the board of elections in the Ohio county in which you previously resided. You may also visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program's Web site: www.fvap.gov, or the Overseas Vote Foundation's Web site: www.overseasvotefoundation.org. Absentee Deadlines To receive your absentee ballot: In person: You may go to the board of elections office of the county in which your voting residence is located during regular business hours after absentee ballots are available for voting, but no later than the day before the election, and request, receive and vote your ballot at the board office. By mail: You may mail your properly completed absentee ballot application bearing your original signature to the board of elections of the county in which your voting residence is located. The board must receive your request by noon on the Saturday before the election. However, you should submit your request as far in advance of the election as possible to ensure there is sufficient time for the board to mail you a ballot and for you to timely return that ballot. By fax: If you are a member of the U.S. armed forces or an organized state militia, you may fax your absentee ballot request to the board of elections of the county in which your voting residence is located. The board must receive your request by noon on the Saturday before the election. You may request that the board fax your ballot to you, but you must return your marked ballot by mail. If you or your minor child is in the hospital on Election Day: Regardless of where you or your minor child are hospitalized, you must submit a properly completed and signed request to the board of elections of the county in which your voting residence is located by 3 p.m. on Election Day. To be eligible under this provision, you or your minor child must be confined in a hospital because of an unforeseeable medical emergency. Your application must specify where, why and when you or your minor child came to be hospitalized. If you or your minor child are hospitalized in the same county where you are registered to vote, two representatives of the board of elections can deliver the ballot to you, wait while you mark the ballot, and return your voted ballot to the board office. Additionally, you may include in your absentee ballot application a request that your county board of elections give your unmarked ballot to a designated relative – your spouse, father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, grandfather, grandmother, brother, sister, son, daughter, adopted parent, adopted child, stepparent, stepchild, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece – who shall deliver the ballot to you in the hospital and return your voted ballot to the board office. For your absentee ballot to be counted, it must be received as follows: If cast from anywhere in the U.S., whether returned in person or by mail, your ballot must be received by your county board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. f properly returned from outside of the U.S., your ballot must be received by your county board of elections not later than the 20th day after the presidential primary election or by the 10th day after a special or general election.