CINCINNATI — Election officials are reminding Ohio voters to check that they are using correct when mailing in ballots for this election.

What You Need To Know

  • If you're voting by mail this election, officials say it will require one or two stamps depending on length of the ballot 

  • Officials say they've sent out instructions with how much postage is needed to mail ballot back in to be counted

  • Election officials say if you don't put enough stamps on your ballot envelope the post office will still send it 
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“Postage varies from county to county, and it can even vary within the same county because it depends on how many sheets of paper make up your ballot," said Hamilton County Board of Elections Director Sherry Poland. "In Hamilton county, we have a two-sheet ballot countywide.” 

She said when absentee ballot are mailed out, they come with instructions on just how many stamps you’ll need. Generally, it’s one or two $0.60 stamps 

If there’s not enough postage, Poland said it’ll still get there. 

“The United States Postal Service has a policy to deliver the ballot to the Board of Elections even if there's only one stamp, even if there's insufficient postage. We highly recommend people put two stamps on, but if you forgot, only put one. it's not a problem. Your ballot will be delivered to the Board of Elections,” said Poland.

County Boards of Elections will pick up the cost for the missing postage, so there won’t be any delay in getting your ballot in. It does have to be postmarked by Nov. 7, the day before the election.

“If voters are going to mail their ballot back at this point, we recommend they go inside the post office and make sure the envelope that contains the ballot receives a postmark,” said Poland.

You can also use a drop box for your absentee ballot. There's no need for a stamp in that case, but it has to be dropped at a Board of Elections office, not at your polling place on Election Day.

"Voters cannot return their ballot to their polling place. The poll workers cannot accept your vote by mail ballots. So don't bring them to your polling place on Election Day. You're going to want to bring them to the Board of Elections," said Poland. 

If you still need an absentee ballot, the deadline to request one is Saturday. 

It would then need to be dropped off or mailed back out and postmarked by Nov. 7. 

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