A bill passed yesterday will extend vote-by-mail until April 28th. Here are a few of the election-related details of Amended Substitute House Bill 197.

• Absentee voting will be extended to April 28.  

• Voters can request vote-by-mail ballots until 4/25 (but we suggest you request TODAY!)

• Absentee ballots must be postmarked no later than 4/27, or they can be dropped off at vote centers by 4/28.

• The Secretary of State’s office will mail voters a postcard with information about how to request a vote-by-mail application. However, they will not be mailing out postage-paid vote-by-mail applications.

• There will be limited in-person voting, but only for those with disabilities and for some without access to the postal service like the homeless.

We are predicting that it will be difficult if not impossible for many votes to request, receive, vote and return their ballots in time for them to be counted. It’s really not an acceptable outcome, and not a good precedent for future elections.

While some groups may take the fight to court, now is the time for us to get information to voters about the urgency of applying to vote-by-mail.

Please join us in our efforts to spread the word about how to get a vote-by-mail application. Make sure family and friends know that the primary is vote-by-mail and if they didn't vote already they need to request a ballot as soon as possible.

Here’s the information we need to share:

• Voters can obtain vote-by-mail applications by calling their local board of elections, or by printing out an application from the SOS website at voteohio.gov.

• Voters should ACT NOW to make sure they receive their ballot in time.