November 5, 2024 Presidential General Election FAQs

The following offices will be on the November 5, 2024 General Election ballot:

Federal Offices

• President and Vice President
• United States Senator
• Representative to Congress

Statewide Offices

• Justice of the Supreme Court (Full Term Commencing 1/1/2025)
• Justice of the Supreme Court (Full Term Commencing 1/2/2025)
• Justice of the Supreme Court (Unexpired Term Commencing 12/31/2026

Ohio Government Offices

• State Senator
• State Representative

Cuyahoga County Government Offices

• Prosecuting Attourney
• County Council Districts 2, 4, 6, 8, 10

Additional Judicial Offices

• Court of Appeals
• Court of Common Pleas

Statewide Issue

• Constitutional Amendment - Redistricting

Local Offices & Issues

• Local Offices and Issues based upon your home precinct

You can see a list of ALL candidates for the November 5, 2024 Presidential 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 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.

The process for electing the President of the United States is different than for any other political office.
To learn more about the presidential election process, visit USAGOV

All the current methods to vote in Ohio are applicable for the November 5, 2024 Presidential General 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 October 7, 2024. Therefore, Vote-By-Mail ballots will be mailed beginning October 8, 2024.

To receive a Vote-by-Mail ballot, you must first request one. You can either print out an application, or request one be mailed to you. The Ohio Secretary of State will be mailing every registered voter an absentee (Vote-by-Mail) ballot application beginning at the end of August (learn more about this mailing in the next question).
More information and tools on our Vote-by-Mail page

To ensure fairness and uniformity across all Ohio counties and reduce lines at polling locations on Election Day, the Secretary of State will mail an absentee ballot application to every registered voter in the state. The application will be pre-filled with the voter’s name and current address. To receive an absentee ballot (or Vote-by-Mail ballot) the voter must complete the application by providing a date of birth, a form of identification, and signature before using the provided reply envelope and returning it to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

Applications will be mailed beginning the final week of August. The application from the Secretary of State is sufficient to receive your Vote-by-Mail ballot for the November 5, 2024 Presidential General Election.
View a sample SOS absentee ballot application mailing

If you are voting in-person, either on Election Day or early at the Board of Elections, you must bring one (1) of the following forms of photo ID:

• An Ohio driver license
• An Ohio state ID card
• An interim identification form issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles
• A U.S. passport or passport card
• A U.S. military ID card, Ohio National Guard ID card, or U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ID card (that includes the voter’s name and photograph)

If you are voting by mail, you must provide one (1) of the following forms of ID:

• The last four digits of your Social Security number
• An Ohio driver license
• An Ohio state ID card
• A copy of a different form of current photo identification (a driver’s license, state ID card, or interim ID form issued by the Ohio BMV; a US passport or passport card; or a US military ID card, Ohio National Guard ID card, or US Department of Veterans Affairs ID card). The copy of the photo ID must include images of the front and back, except for a passport which must include the passport’s identification page.

You can easily find your polling location, including a link to a map and directions, by using one of the following tools from our website:
Get Your Voting Information
Find Voting Information by Address
Additionally, each household in Cuyahoga County will receive a Voter Guide mailed from the Board of Elections in late September. The precinct and polling location for all registered voters residing at this household address will be printed on the Voter Guide.

A provisional ballot is used to record a vote if a voter’s eligibility is in question. The most common reasons for someone to vote provisionally is because they did not update their current address, they did not bring ID to the polls, or they may have requested an Absentee ballot.

The voter is given their ballot to vote but it is cast ‘provisionally’ until election officials at the Board can verify the voter’s eligibility to vote in that election. All validly cast provisional ballots are counted in the Official Count of each election.

• The deadline to register for the November 5, 2024 Presidential General Election is Tuesday, October 7. If you choose to register in person, our office will be open until 9 p.m. on October 7. If you are mailing your voter registration form, it must be postmarked by October 7, 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, October 8. 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. You can track your ballot using our Track Your Ballot tool on our Vote-by-Mail page.
• 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.

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.

Note the election on November 5 is a General Election, meaning you will NOT be able to change your political party at this election. You will, however, be able to vote on any candidate from any political party.

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.
More Information on Changes to Ohio Voting Laws