Election 2020: Can you change ballot after voting?

Long lines greeted voters at the Montgomery County Board of Elections on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020, as early voting began for the November general election. Early in-person voting in the state lasts until Nov. 2 and absentee ballots can be dropped off at the board office until Election Day, which is Nov. 3. In Montgomery County, registered voters can cast their ballot at the board of elections located at 451 W. Third St. in Dayton. MARSHALL GORBY/STAFF

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Long lines greeted voters at the Montgomery County Board of Elections on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020, as early voting began for the November general election. Early in-person voting in the state lasts until Nov. 2 and absentee ballots can be dropped off at the board office until Election Day, which is Nov. 3. In Montgomery County, registered voters can cast their ballot at the board of elections located at 451 W. Third St. in Dayton. MARSHALL GORBY/STAFF
Elections
By Chris Stewart
Oct 29, 2020
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More than 2.2 million Ohioans have already cast their ballots, surpassing the early vote totals for the entire 2016 election. But many voters still have election questions, including those submitted through an online form at DaytonDailyNews.com where we will continue to take readers' questions about voting through Nov. 3.

Question: Are the traditional voting locations open Nov. 3?

Answer: Yes. Precinct polling locations in Ohio will be open on Election Day from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.

But you may find your polling location has changed, especially if you haven’t voted in a while.

It’s always good to double check your polling location by going to your county’s Board of Elections website and navigating to the poll tracker to find your Election Day voting site by either entering your name or address, said Jan Kelly, Montgomery County Board of Elections director.

ExploreYour Election 2020 Guide: What you need to know about every local race and issue

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, there may have been a change to your Election Day polling location, particularly if you were used to voting in past elections at a nursing home or senior residential facility.

In Montgomery County, notices to voters of Election Day precinct polling location changes were mailed out Friday.

“We send them out kind of late in the game because we don’t want them to get lost with the refrigerator magnets,” Kelly said.

Question: I placed my completed absentee ballot in the election box and the ballot tracker doesn’t show it as received. Is my ballot lost?

Answer: This question accounts for many voter emails to election officials, Kelly said. But she advises voters to stay patient.

Usually by the time a county’s election board responds to a voter’s email, their ballot has shown up as received in the ballot tracker.

ExploreElection 2020: What questions do you have about voting?

“It’s not an instantaneous thing. It takes up to 36 hours for us to get through the process of receiving the ballot,” she said.

Voters can track their absentee ballot applications and the status of their mail-in ballots on their county’s board of elections website. A link to each county’s tracking page can be found on the Secretary of State’s website at: https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/toolkit/ballot-tracking/.

Question: Can I change my ballot after already voting?

Answer: If you make a mistake during the process of voting, you can request additional ballots up to a total of three. But in Ohio, you can’t change your ballot after it’s turned in at an early in-person voting site or placed in the mail.

“Once they lick the envelope and send it in, it’s done,” Kelly said.

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