TOLEDO, Ohio — If you voted early in the 2024 election, but changed your mind about any of your choices, you may wonder what laws are in place pertaining to changing your selections. Here's what laws are in place in Ohio and Michigan.
I already cast my vote via in-person early voting or an absentee ballot. Can I change my vote?
Ohio
In Ohio, early voting is considered a kind of absentee voting. Ohio law prohibits anyone who has already voted early from casting a new or replacement ballot.
The Ohio Revised Code reads: "No absent voter may receive a replacement ballot after the voter's absent voter's ballot has been scanned or entered into automatic tabulating equipment."
If you voted early at your local board of elections, or have already mailed in your absentee ballot, Ohio law prohibits you from receiving a new or replacement ballot. Your vote, once cast, will be counted as-is in the final election results.
If you have made a mistake on your absentee ballot but have not submitted it, contact your county board of elections for a replacement ballot. You may request a replacement ballot only two times, according to the Ohio Secretary of State.
To learn more about Ohio absentee ballots, click here.
Michigan
Similarly, in Michigan, if you have already voted at an early voting location or at your polling location on Election Day, you cannot change your vote. However, if you have submitted an absentee ballot directly to your clerk's office, you can "spoil" your ballot to change your vote by submitting a written and signed request to their township or city clerk by 5 p.m. on the second Friday before the election. This date has already passed.
A Michigan voter can spoil an absentee ballot in person at their clerk's office until 4 p.m. on the Monday prior to an election. This is only if the absentee ballot has not been submitted to the clerk.
I requested an absentee ballot, but I want to vote in person. What do I do?
Ohio
If you requested and received an absentee (mail-in) ballot and have not yet dropped it off at the board of elections or mailed it, you can still vote in person.
If you want to vote in-person but have received (but not submitted) the mail-in ballot, you must vote at your county's early voting location during the early voting period. The initial ballot you received will not be counted.
However, if you receive an absentee ballot, but decide to vote in-person on Election Day at your polling location, you will be required to vote using a provisional ballot. The last day to request an absentee ballot in Ohio is Oct. 29. It must be postmarked by Nov. 4 to be counted.
Michigan
In Michigan, a voter who has received but not submitted an absentee ballot and wants to vote in-person, can surrender the ballot or sign a statement stating that the ballot was lost or destroyed. They can then vote in-person at an early voting site or on Election Day.
The Qualified Voter File, a secure voter records database, receives updates of voter activity, such as requesting or submitting an absentee ballot. It alerts election officials, preventing voters from casting more than one ballot. You can read more here.