Student Affairs

How to Vote With a Campus Address

Qualified in-state and out-of-state college students who have been in Ohio for more than 30 days may use their Ohio school addresses for voting purposes. Once registered to vote with your campus address, that location becomes your official voting residence and replaces your prior one. It is illegal to register and vote from two different addresses. Students are encouraged to contact Hamilton County Board of Elections for help with registration questions related to Hamilton County. Additional information on registering to vote as a college student can be found via the Ohio Secretary of State's website.

1. Register to Vote

  • To register to vote in Ohio with a campus address, you must use a paper voter registration card
  • You can access a PDF version of Ohio's voter registration card online or you can pick up a copy from the UC Votes space in the undergraduate student government office in Steger 655   
      • You may fill this out virtually or by using a blue or black ink pen
  • Be sure to mark down the physical address of your residence hall on your voter registration card (and not your mailing address)
  • Don’t forget to check a box next to “I am”, and next to #1 and #2
  • Check box #4: You should have written down your county (for example, Hamilton), and not USA
  • Check box #6: This should be your birthday and NOT today's date. 
  • Check box #8: Did you provide your Ohio driver's license or state ID number OR the last four digits of your social security number? 
  • Check box #11: Is your signature replicable and located entirely within the signature box? Also, you should mark down today's date under your signature and NOT your birthday. 
  • Once you are finished, you can drop off your voter registration card at the undergraduate student government office at Steger 655, mail it to your Board of Elections, or drop it off at the Hamilton County Board of Elections (4700 Smith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45212) 

2. Educate Yourself

  • Nonpartisan Voter Guides:
    • The League of Women Voters of Cincinnati Area offers a comprehensive nonpartisan voter guide for Hamilton County for federal elections. You can use this to learn more about the candidates and issues on the ballot. This voter guide is usually published at the beginning of October. 
    • WVXU offers a regional voter guide every election cycle, including information about statewide races and county-specific races. 
    • Guides.vote offers nonpartisan voter guides for races across the country. 
  • Sample Ballots: 

3. Vote

  • There are 3 ways to vote in Ohio:
    • Voting early in-person: 
      • Early voting occurs at the Hamilton County Board of Elections (4700 Smith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45212) for voters registered in Hamilton County starting about four weeks prior to Election Day
      • View the early voting schedule via the Ohio Secretary of State's website
      • You must bring an unexpired and valid form of ID to vote in-person (Ohio identification, Ohio driver's license, and passports are all valid forms of ID in Ohio)
    • Voting by mail: 
      • Ohio voters can complete, print and sign the Absentee Ballot Application form and return it by mail or in person to their local Board of Elections office. Copies of the form can be found in the undergraduate student government office at Steger 655, and completed forms can be dropped off at the same location. 
      • You can deliver your voted absentee ballot via USPS or you can deliver it in-person at your county's Board of Elections. 
        • Via USPS: Voters must purchase their own stamps for their voted ballots if you choose to deliver them via USPS. Voters will need one stamp per page of ballot. Stamps can be purchased and voted absentee ballots can be dropped off at the Corryville Post office at 2917 Short Vine, Cincinnati, OH 45219. Stamps can also be purchased at the checkout counter on the 3rd floor of the UC Bookstore in TUC. If mailed, absentee ballots must be postmarked by the day before the election in order to be counted. You may wish to request a manual postmark when you drop off your completed ballot at your local USPS branch.  
        • In-person: If turned in in-person, voted absentee ballots must be received by your board of elections by 7:30PM on Election Day. 
    • Voting on Election Day: 
      • Polls in Ohio are open from 6:30AM-7:30PM on Election Day
      • Most students who are registered to vote with a campus address will vote at Langsam Library, but not all. Before you go to your polling location to vote on Election Day, confirm both your voter registration and your polling location.  
      • Note that you must bring a valid form of ID to vote in-person on Election Day (state of Ohio identification, Ohio driver's license, and passport are all valid forms of ID in Ohio)
      • It is a good idea to bring anything you might need while you wait in line (water, snacks, etc.). 
      • You may have to wait in line to vote. If you are in line to vote at 7:30PM (Ohio), do NOT leave the line! You have the right to stay in line as long as you need to. 
      • If your voter eligibility is questioned at the polls, you can still vote using a provisional ballot. Provisional ballots look the same as regular ballots, but are set aside until election officials confirm voter eligibility and that the ballot was cast in the correct precinct. You may have to request the provisional ballot from the poll worker. In order for your provisional ballot to count, you must appear in-person at your Board of Elections within 4 days of Election Day to provide proof of identity. Learn more about provisional voting via the Ohio Secretary of State's website. 
      • If you experience issues while voting, or if you need voting information, consider calling the Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (English), 1-888-Ve-Y-Vota (Spanish), 1-844-YALLA-US (Arabic), 1-888-API-VOTE (Asian & Pacific Islander languages).