Eligibility for voting in Ohio

October 30, 2012 / voting

Have you been hearing a lot about voting laws and wondering if you have anything to be concerned about? Here's is a list of the requirements to be eligible to vote in the State of Ohio.

Eligibility to vote in the U.S. is determined by both federal and state laws.

Currently, only United States citizens can vote in U.S. elections. Who is (or who can become) a citizen is governed on a national basis by federal law. However, each state is given considerable discretion to establish qualifications for voting rights. It's important that you are aware of your eligibility to vote!

An individual is eligible to vote in Ohio if all of the following requirements are met:

• He or she is a citizen of the United States; 
• He or she will be at least 18 years old on or before the day of the general election; 
• He or she will be a resident of Ohio for at least 30 days immediately before the election;
• He or she is a resident of the county and precinct in which the person wishes to vote; 
• He or she has been registered to vote for 30 days;
• He or she is not currently incarcerated in jail or in prison for a felony conviction (an otherwise qualified person convicted of a misdemeanor may vote, and an otherwise qualified person who had been convicted of a felony may register and vote while on probation or parole or after completing his or her jail or prison sentence); and
• He or she has not been declared incompetent for voting purposes by a probate court (one can still vote even if he or she has a guardian, although a probate court can take away one’s right to vote by specifically determining that the person is incompetent for purposes of voting).

For more information, visit the Ohio Votes Website.