Grace period eliminated
For years, Ohio allowed mailed absentee ballots to be counted if they were postmarked by the day before the election and arrived at county boards of elections within a four‑day window after Election Day. Under the new law taking effect for the May 5, 2026 primary, that grace period disappears for domestic mail voters.
Senate Bill 293, passed by the Republican‑controlled legislature and signed by Gov. Mike DeWine, requires absentee ballots from most voters to be physically received by county boards by the close of polls at 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. Ballots that arrive later—even if they were mailed on time and bear a timely postmark—will be rejected.
What changes for voters
Election officials say the practical impact is that voters who use the mail will need to send their ballots back earlier than they might have in past cycles. Previously, some voters were accustomed to mailing ballots close to Election Day and still having them count if postal delays pushed delivery past Tuesday. Now, the safest options will be to mail ballots well in advance or use secure drop boxes at county boards of elections.
Under the new rules, domestic absentee voters still can request a ballot, complete it at home and return it by mail, but it must arrive by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day to be tallied. Voters may also bypass the mail entirely and hand‑deliver their completed absentee ballot to their county board of elections office or its official drop box before polls close.
Limited exceptions remain
The new receipt‑by‑poll‑close requirement does not apply to all absentee voters. Members of the military and Ohioans living overseas will continue to have additional time for their ballots to arrive and be counted, in line with federal protections for uniformed and overseas citizens. Those exceptions have been preserved even as lawmakers tightened deadlines for other absentee voters.
Still, the vast majority of absentee ballots cast by Ohioans inside the state will now be subject to the 7:30 p.m. Election Day cutoff. Advocates for mail voting warn that any confusion about that distinction could lead some voters to overestimate how much time they have.
Supporters cite security, critics fear disenfranchisement
Supporters of the change, including bill sponsor Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R‑Bowling Green, argue that requiring all domestic absentee ballots to be in by poll closing will streamline counting and boost public confidence in timely, decisive results. “With the signing of this law, Ohioans can be confident that the results they see on election night are the results,” Gavarone said when the bill was enacted.
Voting‑rights groups and some Democrats counter that the old grace period was designed to buffer voters from postal delays beyond their control and that scrapping it risks discarding valid ballots from eligible voters. They note that in recent major elections, thousands of Ohio ballots arrived in the days after Election Day but still counted under prior law.
Election officials ramp up outreach
County boards of elections and the Ohio secretary of state’s office say they are working to get the word out ahead of the May primary. That includes updated language on absentee ballot forms, public‑awareness campaigns and coordination with civic and voter‑advocacy groups to emphasize earlier mailing and use of drop boxes.
Officials are also urging voters to request absentee ballots as soon as they become available and to return them promptly, rather than waiting until the final days of early voting. Their message heading into 2026 is blunt: if a ballot is not in the hands of the county board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, it will not count.