20 printed ballots for the Union Presidential Ticket of Abraham Lincoln for President and Andrew Johnson for Vice President. Vignette of Miss Columbia with sword marked “Union.” Sizes vary but most approx. 3 x 10 in. (most with edge and corner wear, toning, some with light soil and scattered spotting, one ballot with county name clipped). 

Group includes 7 ballots from Miami County, 1 from Delaware County, 2 from Lake County, and another 9 ballots from Perry, Hamilton, Wyandotte, Wayne, Wood, Henry, Richmond, and Putnam Counties which have been manually edited to alter the county name to "Lake County."  1 ballot with no county identifiable. One Miami County ballot is identifed on verso to "A. Dill," a private who enlisted on 3/18/1864 in the Ohio 8th Light Artillery.

On 13 April 1863, the Ohio Legislature authorized qualified Ohio voters, in actual Military Service, to vote by absentee ballot if they were away from their resident polling places on Election Day. Both political parties distributed ballots already printed with the name of the soldier's or sailor's resident county. Ballots were made available to soldiers who were required to sign a poll book but then simply placed their ballot in a box. In the critically important 1864 election Ohio strongly supported the Union (Republican) ticket and Lincoln's re-election. 

[With:] Printed 1860 Virginia Democratic Electoral Ticket of John C. Breckenridge for President and Joseph Lane for Vice President.  3 7/8 x 6 1/4 in. (scattered spotting, toning). Signed in pencil on verso by "Nicholas Murphy." Lists the delegates from all 15 Districts including future Confederate generals James L. Kemper and Eppa Hunton.