November 7th, 2023 General Election FAQs

A General Election, which occurs every November, is an election where all voters, regardless of political party (or lack thereof) can vote for any candidate they choose. The candidate(s) with the most votes in this General Election is the winner of that race and will take office beginning in 2024.

Simply put, a voter will be presented with all candidates (Democrat, Republican or Nonpartisan) to vote on in a General Election.

You can see a list of ALL candidates for the November 7, 2023 General Election at the top of our Candidates page. To see the candidates that will appear on YOUR ballot, use one of the following tools:

1. Get a Sample Ballot (View any sample ballot in the county by city/ward/precinct)
2. Get Your Voting Information (View a sample ballot from your specific precinct)
3. Find Voting Information by Address (View sample ballots based upon a specific address in Cuyahoga County)

* Note:  Sample ballots will not be posted to the website until about 45 days before Election Day.

You can apply for a Vote-by-Mail ballot at any time through our website. We are not permitted by law to mail ballots until after the close of voter registration, which for this election is October 10, 2023. Therefore, Vote-By-Mail ballots will be mailed beginning October 11, 2023.

The simplest way to determine what district you live in is to use the Get Your Voting Information tool. A list of every district you live in can be found here. A sample of these districts is shown below:

If you are interested in the physical boundaries of any district map in Cuyahoga County, visit our Maps and Data page to view interactive maps.

Under Ohio election law, you declare your political party affiliation by requesting the ballot of a political party in a partisan primary election. You remain this political party until you either request a ballot from a different political party, or you don’t vote in a partisan primary election for four consecutive years.

Put simply, you change your political party in Ohio by voting that party’s ballot in a primary election. Any voter is allowed to select the ballot of any political party in a primary regardless of their current political affiliation.

Note the election on November 7 is a General Election, meaning you won’t be able to change your political party at this election. You will, however, be able to vote on any candidate from any political party.

• The deadline to register for the November 7, 2023 General Election is Tuesday, October 10. If you choose to register in person, our office will be open until 9 a.m. on October 10. If you are mailing your voter registration form, it must be postmarked by October 11, or you can personally deliver a registration form to one of these approved locations.
• The start of the absentee voting period (both for Vote-by-Mail and Early In-Person) is Wednesday, Oct. 11. Vote-by-Mail ballots will begin to be mailed on this date.
• Vote-by-Mail applications will be accepted up until Tuesday, October 31, at 8:30 p.m. However, you are highly encouraged to submit your application earlier than this deadline to account for mail delivery times. Completed Vote-by-Mail ballots must be postmarked by the day before Election Day or returned in-person by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.
• Polls will be open on Election Day from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. If you are line to vote at 7:30 p.m., you will be able to cast your ballot.

Yes. We highly recommend you visit our Changes to Ohio Voting Laws page for a comprehensive overview of all the changes to election laws that began in 2023.

Click here to view our Changes to Ohio Voting Laws Starting in 2023 Page