March 19, 2024 Presidential Primary Election FAQs

A Primary Election is an election where members of a political party nominate candidates to appear on the General Election ballot in November. A candidate who wins his/her race in a Primary Election is not elected to that office. Instead, that candidate moves onto the General Election ballot in November, where all voters, regardless of political affiliation, will be able to vote for any candidate from any political party.

It's important to note the County and State Central Committee races are an exception in that the winners of these offices in the Primary Election are in fact elected (and will not appear on the General Election ballot in November).

Any registered voter can vote in a Primary Election. Ohio is an open Primary state, which means regardless of your past/current political affiliation, you can choose to vote for any party’s ballot in the current Primary Election. In a Primary Election, you must choose a political party (or an Issues Only ballot). As an example, you don’t have the option of voting for a Democratic candidate for one race and a Republican candidate in another. In a General Election, you can vote for a candidate from any political party (or a nonpartisan candidate).

Voters who are currently 17 years old but will be 18 by the next General Election (November 5, 2024) can vote in a Primary Election. However, a 17-year-old voter can only vote to nominate candidates for the General Election. They are not permitted to vote on any question and/or issue, and for this election, they are not allowed to vote for County and State Central Committee races.

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 with 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.

The March 19, 2024 Presidential Primary Election is a partisan Primary Election, so any voter can change their political party affiliation at this election.

You can see a list of ALL candidates for the March 19, 2024 Presidential Primary 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 Your 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.

All the current methods to vote in Ohio are applicable for the March 19, 2024 Presidential Primary Election:

1. Vote at the polls on Election Day
2. Vote-by-Mail
3. Vote Early In-Person at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections

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 February 20, 2024. Therefore, Vote-By-Mail ballots will be mailed beginning February, 21, 2024.

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.

• The deadline to register for the March 19, Presidential Primary Election is Tuesday, February 20. If you choose to register in person, our office will be open until 9 p.m. on February 20. If you are mailing your voter registration form, it must be postmarked by February 20, 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, February 21. Vote-by-Mail ballots will begin to be mailed on this date.
• Vote-by-Mail applications will be accepted up until Tuesday, March 12, 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.