To amend sections 131.23, 145.38, 303.12, 306.70, 307.791, 322.021, 324.021, 503.162, 504.02, 504.03, 511.28, 511.34, 513.14, 519.12, 745.07, 747.11, 1901.07, 1901.10, 1901.31, 2961.01, 2967.17, 3311.21, 3311.50, 3311.73, 3349.29, 3354.12, 3355.09, 3375.03, 3501.01, 3501.05, 3501.10, 3501.11, 3501.13, 3501.17, 3501.26, 3501.30, 3501.33, 3501.35, 3501.38, 3501.39, 3503.02, 3503.06, 3503.11, 3503.13, 3503.14, 3503.16, 3503.19, 3503.21, 3503.23, 3503.24, 3505.062, 3505.063, 3505.16, 3505.18, 3505.19, 3505.20, 3505.21, 3505.22, 3505.25, 3505.26, 3505.27, 3505.32, 3506.01, 3506.05, 3506.12, 3506.13, 3506.18, 3509.02, 3509.03, 3509.031, 3509.04, 3509.05, 3509.06, 3509.08, 3509.09, 3511.02, 3511.09, 3511.13, 3513.04, 3513.041, 3513.05, 3513.052, 3513.07, 3513.09, 3513.19, 3513.20, 3513.22, 3513.257, 3513.259, 3513.261, 3513.30, 3515.03, 3515.04, 3515.07, 3515.08, 3515.13, 3517.01, 3517.081, 3517.092, 3517.10, 3517.106, 3517.1011, 3517.12, 3517.13, 3517.153, 3519.01, 3519.03, 3519.04, 3519.05, 3523.05, 3599.11, 3599.111, 3599.13, 3599.14, 3599.21, 3599.24, 3599.38, 4113.52, 4301.33, 4301.331, 4301.332, 4301.333, 4301.334, 4305.14, 4504.021, 5705.191, 5705.194, 5705.196, 5705.21, 5705.218, 5705.25, 5705.251, 5705.261, 5705.71, 5739.022, 5748.02, 5748.04, 5748.08, and 6119.18, to enact sections 109.95, 3501.052, 3501.19, 3501.382, 3501.90, 3503.15, 3503.28, 3503.29, 3505.181, 3505.182, 3505.183, 3506.20, 3506.21, 3506.22, 3506.23, 3515.041, 3515.072, 3519.051, and 3519.07, and to repeal section 3503.27 of the Revised Code to revise the Election Law and to terminate certain provisions of this act on January 1, 2009, by repealing section 3501.19 of the Revised Code on that date.
SECTION 1. That sections 131.23, 145.38, 303.12, 306.70, 307.791, 322.021, 324.021, 503.162, 504.02, 504.03, 511.28, 511.34, 513.14, 519.12, 745.07, 747.11, 1901.07, 1901.10, 1901.31, 2961.01, 2967.17, 3311.21, 3311.50, 3311.73, 3349.29, 3354.12, 3355.09, 3375.03, 3501.01, 3501.05, 3501.10, 3501.11, 3501.13, 3501.17, 3501.26, 3501.30, 3501.33, 3501.35, 3501.38, 3501.39, 3503.02, 3503.06, 3503.11, 3503.13, 3503.14, 3503.16, 3503.19, 3503.21, 3503.23, 3503.24, 3505.062, 3505.063, 3505.16, 3505.18, 3505.19, 3505.20, 3505.21, 3505.22, 3505.25, 3505.26, 3505.27, 3505.32, 3506.01, 3506.05, 3506.12, 3506.13, 3506.18, 3509.02, 3509.03, 3509.031, 3509.04, 3509.05, 3509.06, 3509.08, 3509.09, 3511.02, 3511.09, 3511.13, 3513.04, 3513.041, 3513.05, 3513.052, 3513.07, 3513.09, 3513.19, 3513.20, 3513.22, 3513.257, 3513.259, 3513.261, 3513.30, 3515.03, 3515.04, 3515.07, 3515.08, 3515.13, 3517.01, 3517.081, 3517.092, 3517.10, 3517.106, 3517.1011, 3517.12, 3517.13, 3517.153, 3519.01, 3519.03, 3519.04, 3519.05, 3523.05, 3599.11, 3599.111, 3599.13, 3599.14, 3599.21, 3599.24, 3599.38, 4113.52, 4301.33, 4301.331, 4301.332, 4301.333, 4301.334, 4305.14, 4504.021, 5705.191, 5705.194, 5705.196, 5705.21, 5705.218, 5705.25, 5705.251, 5705.261, 5705.71, 5739.022, 5748.02, 5748.04, 5748.08, and 6119.18 be amended and sections 109.95, 3501.052, 3501.19, 3501.382, 3501.90, 3503.15, 3503.28, 3503.29, 3505.181, 3505.182, 3505.183, 3506.20, 3506.21, 3506.22, 3506.23, 3515.041, 3515.072, 3519.051, and 3519.07 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 109.95. Notwithstanding any provision of the Revised Code to the contrary pertaining to prosecutorial authority, the attorney general may initiate criminal proceedings for election fraud under section 3599.42 of the Revised Code which results from a violation of any provision of Title XXXV of the Revised Code, other than Chapter 3517. of the Revised Code, involving voting, an initiative or referendum petition process, or the conducting of an election, by presenting evidence of criminal violations in question to the prosecuting attorney of any county in which the violations may be prosecuted. If the prosecuting attorney does not prosecute the violations within a reasonable time or requests the attorney general to do so, the attorney general may proceed with the prosecution of the violations with all of the rights, privileges, and powers conferred by law on a prosecuting attorney, including, but not limited to, the power to appear before a grand jury and to interrogate witnesses before a grand jury.
Sec. 131.23. The various political subdivisions of this
state may issue bonds, and any indebtedness created by such that
issuance shall not be subject to the limitations or included in
the calculation of indebtedness prescribed by sections 133.05,
133.06, 133.07, and 133.09 of the Revised Code, but such the bonds
may be issued only under the following conditions:
(A) The subdivision desiring to issue such the bonds shall
obtain from the county auditor a certificate showing the total
amount of delinquent taxes due and unpayable to such the subdivision
at the last semiannual tax settlement.
(B) The fiscal officer of that subdivision shall prepare a
statement, from the books of the subdivision, verified by the
fiscal officer
under oath, which shall contain the following facts of such the
subdivision:
(1) The total bonded indebtedness;
(2) The aggregate amount of notes payable or outstanding accounts of the subdivision, incurred prior to the commencement of the current fiscal year, which shall include all evidences of indebtedness issued by the subdivision except notes issued in anticipation of bond issues and the indebtedness of any nontax-supported public utility;
(3) Except in the case of school districts, the aggregate current year's requirement for disability financial assistance and disability medical assistance provided under Chapter 5115. of the Revised Code that the subdivision is unable to finance except by the issue of bonds;
(4) The indebtedness outstanding through the issuance of any bonds or notes pledged or obligated to be paid by any delinquent taxes;
(5) The total of any other indebtedness;
(6) The net amount of delinquent taxes unpledged to pay any bonds, notes, or certificates, including delinquent assessments on improvements on which the bonds have been paid;
(7) The budget requirements for the fiscal year for bond and note retirement;
(8) The estimated revenue for the fiscal year.
(C) The certificate and statement provided for in
divisions (A) and (B) of this section shall be forwarded to the
tax commissioner together with a request for authority to issue
bonds of such the subdivision in an amount not to exceed seventy per
cent of the net unobligated delinquent taxes and assessments due
and owing to such the subdivision, as set forth in division (B)(6) of
this section.
(D) No subdivision may issue bonds under this section in excess of a sufficient amount to pay the indebtedness of the subdivision as shown by division (B)(2) of this section and, except in the case of school districts, to provide funds for disability financial assistance and disability medical assistance, as shown by division (B)(3) of this section.
(E) The tax commissioner shall grant to such the subdivision
authority requested by such the subdivision as restricted by
divisions (C) and (D) of this section and shall make a record of
the certificate, statement, and grant in a record book devoted
solely to such recording and which shall be open to inspection by
the public.
(F) The commissioner shall immediately upon issuing the
authority provided in division (E) of this section notify the
proper authority having charge of the retirement of bonds of such the
subdivision by forwarding a copy of such the grant of authority and
of the statement provided for in division (B) of this section.
(G) Upon receipt of authority, the subdivision shall
proceed according to law to issue the amount of bonds authorized
by the commissioner, and authorized by the taxing authority,
provided the taxing authority of that subdivision may submit, by
resolution submit, to the electors of that subdivision the
question of issuing such the bonds. Such The resolution shall make the
declarations and statements required by section 133.18 of the
Revised Code. The county auditor and taxing authority shall
thereupon proceed as set forth in divisions (C) and (D) of such that
section. The election on the question of issuing such the bonds
shall be held under divisions (E), (F), and (G) of such that section,
except that publication of the notice of such the election shall be
made on four two separate days prior to such the election in one or more
newspapers of general circulation in the subdivisions subdivision, and, if the board of elections operates and maintains a web site, notice of the election also shall be posted on that web site for thirty days prior to the election. Such The
bonds may be exchanged at their face value with creditors of the
subdivision in liquidating the indebtedness described and
enumerated in division (B)(2) of this section or may be sold as
provided in Chapter 133. of the Revised Code, and in either event
shall be uncontestable.
(H) The per cent of delinquent taxes and assessments collected for and to the credit of the subdivision after the exchange or sale of bonds as certified by the commissioner shall be paid to the authority having charge of the sinking fund of the subdivision, which money shall be placed in a separate fund for the purpose of retiring the bonds so issued. The proper authority of the subdivisions shall provide for the levying of a tax sufficient in amount to pay the debt charges on all such bonds issued under this section.
(I) This section is for the sole purpose of assisting the
various subdivisions in paying their unsecured indebtedness, and
providing funds for disability financial assistance and disability medical assistance. The bonds issued under authority
of this section shall not be
used for any other purpose, and any exchange for other purposes,
or the use of the money derived from the sale of such the bonds by
the subdivision for any other purpose, is misapplication of
funds.
(J) The bonds authorized by this section shall be
redeemable or payable in not to exceed ten years from date of
issue and shall not be subject to or considered in calculating
the net indebtedness of the subdivision. The budget commission
of the county in which the subdivision is located shall annually
allocate such portion of the then delinquent levy due such the
subdivision which is unpledged for other purposes to the payment
of debt charges on the bonds issued under authority of this
section.
(K) The issue of bonds under this section shall be governed by Chapter 133. of the Revised Code, respecting the terms used, forms, manner of sale, and redemption except as otherwise provided in this section.
The board of county commissioners of any county may issue
bonds authorized by this section and distribute the proceeds of
such the bond issues to any or all of the cities and townships of
such counties the county, according to their relative needs for disability
financial assistance and disability medical assistance as determined by such the county.
All sections of the Revised Code inconsistent with or prohibiting the exercise of the authority conferred by this section are inoperative respecting bonds issued under this section.
Sec. 145.38. (A) As used in this section and sections 145.381 and 145.384 of the Revised Code:
(1) "PERS retirant" means a former member of the public employees retirement system who is receiving one of the following:
(a) Age and service retirement benefits under section 145.32, 145.33, 145.331, 145.34, or 145.46 of the Revised Code;
(b) Age and service retirement benefits paid by the public employees retirement system under section 145.37 of the Revised Code;
(c) Any benefit paid under a PERS defined contribution plan.
(2) "Other system retirant" means both of the following:
(a) A member or former member of the Ohio police and fire pension fund, state teachers retirement system, school employees retirement system, state highway patrol retirement system, or Cincinnati retirement system who is receiving age and service or commuted age and service retirement benefits or a disability benefit from a system of which the person is a member or former member;
(b) A member or former member of the public employees retirement system who is receiving age and service retirement benefits or a disability benefit under section 145.37 of the Revised Code paid by the school employees retirement system or the state teachers retirement system.
(B)(1) Subject to this section and section 145.381 of the Revised Code, a PERS retirant or other system retirant may be employed by a public employer. If so employed, the PERS retirant or other system retirant shall contribute to the public employees retirement system in accordance with section 145.47 of the Revised Code, and the employer shall make contributions in accordance with section 145.48 of the Revised Code.
(2) A public employer that employs a PERS retirant or other system retirant, or enters into a contract for services as an independent contractor with a PERS retirant, shall notify the retirement board of the employment or contract not later than the end of the month in which the employment or contract commences. Any overpayment of benefits to a PERS retirant by the retirement system resulting from delay or failure of the employer to give the notice shall be repaid to the retirement system by the employer.
(3) On receipt of notice from a public employer that a person who is an other system retirant has been employed, the retirement system shall notify the retirement system of which the other system retirant was a member of such employment.
(4)(a) A PERS retirant who has received a retirement allowance for less than two months when employment subject to this section commences shall forfeit the retirement allowance for any month the PERS retirant is employed prior to the expiration of the two-month period. Service and contributions for that period shall not be included in calculation of any benefits payable to the PERS retirant, and those contributions shall be refunded on the retirant's death or termination of the employment.
(b) An other system retirant who has received a retirement allowance or disability benefit for less than two months when employment subject to this section commences shall forfeit the retirement allowance or disability benefit for any month the other system retirant is employed prior to the expiration of the two-month period. Service and contributions for that period shall not be included in the calculation of any benefits payable to the other system retirant, and those contributions shall be refunded on the retirant's death or termination of the employment.
(c) Contributions made on compensation earned after the expiration of the two-month period shall be used in the calculation of the benefit or payment due under section 145.384 of the Revised Code.
(5) On receipt of notice from the Ohio police and fire pension fund, school employees retirement system, or state teachers retirement system of the re-employment of a PERS retirant, the public employees retirement system shall not pay, or if paid, shall recover, the amount to be forfeited by the PERS retirant in accordance with section 742.26, 3307.35, or 3309.341 of the Revised Code.
(6) A PERS retirant who enters into a contract to provide services as an independent contractor to the employer by which the retirant was employed at the time of retirement or, less than two months after the retirement allowance commences, begins providing services as an independent contractor pursuant to a contract with another public employer, shall forfeit the pension portion of the retirement benefit for the period beginning the first day of the month following the month in which the services begin and ending on the first day of the month following the month in which the services end. The annuity portion of the retirement allowance shall be suspended on the day services under the contract begin and shall accumulate to the credit of the retirant to be paid in a single payment after services provided under the contract terminate. A PERS retirant subject to division (B)(6) of this section shall not contribute to the retirement system and shall not become a member of the system.
(7) As used in this division, "employment" includes service for which a PERS retirant or other system retirant, the retirant's employer, or both, have waived any earnable salary for the service.
(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(3) of this section, this division applies to both of the following:
(a) A PERS retirant who, prior to September 14, 2000, was subject to division (C)(1)(b) of this section as that division existed immediately prior to September 14, 2000, and has not elected pursuant to Am. Sub. S.B. 144 of the 123rd general assembly to cease to be subject to that division;
(b) A PERS retirant to whom both of the following apply:
(i) The retirant held elective office in this state, or in any municipal corporation, county, or other political subdivision of this state at the time of retirement under this chapter.
(ii) The retirant was elected or appointed to the same office for the remainder of the term or the term immediately following the term during which the retirement occurred.
(2) A PERS retirant who is subject to this division is a member of the public employees retirement system with all the rights, privileges, and obligations of membership, except that the membership does not include survivor benefits provided pursuant to section 145.45 of the Revised Code or, beginning on the ninetieth day after September 14, 2000, any amount calculated under section 145.401 of the Revised Code. The pension portion of the PERS retirant's retirement allowance shall be forfeited until the first day of the first month following termination of the employment. The annuity portion of the retirement allowance shall accumulate to the credit of the PERS retirant to be paid in a single payment after termination of the employment. The retirement allowance shall resume on the first day of the first month following termination of the employment. On termination of the employment, the PERS retirant shall elect to receive either a refund of the retirant's contributions to the retirement system during the period of employment subject to this section or a supplemental retirement allowance based on the retirant's contributions and service credit for that period of employment.
(3) This division does not apply to any of the following:
(a) A PERS retirant elected to office who, at the time of the election for the retirant's current term, was not retired but, not less than ninety days prior to the primary election for the term or the date on which a primary for the term would have been held, filed a written declaration of intent to retire before the end of the term with the director of the board of elections of the county in which petitions for nomination or election to the office are filed;
(b) A PERS retirant elected to office who, at the time of the election for the retirant's current term, was a retirant and had been retired for not less than ninety days;
(c) A PERS retirant appointed to office who, at the time of appointment to the retirant's current term, notified the person or entity making the appointment that the retirant was already retired or intended to retire before the end of the term.
(D)(1) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, a PERS retirant or other system retirant subject to this section is not a member of the public employees retirement system, and, except as specified in this section does not have any of the rights, privileges, or obligations of membership. Except as specified in division (D)(2) of this section, the retirant is not eligible to receive health, medical, hospital, or surgical benefits under section 145.58 of the Revised Code for employment subject to this section.
(2) A PERS retirant subject to this section shall receive primary health, medical, hospital, or surgical insurance coverage from the retirant's employer, if the employer provides coverage to other employees performing comparable work. Neither the employer nor the PERS retirant may waive the employer's coverage, except that the PERS retirant may waive the employer's coverage if the retirant has coverage comparable to that provided by the employer from a source other than the employer or the public employees retirement system. If a claim is made, the employer's coverage shall be the primary coverage and shall pay first. The benefits provided under section 145.58 of the Revised Code shall pay only those medical expenses not paid through the employer's coverage or coverage the PERS retirant receives through a source other than the retirement system.
(E) If the disability benefit of an other system retirant employed under this section is terminated, the retirant shall become a member of the public employees retirement system, effective on the first day of the month next following the termination with all the rights, privileges, and obligations of membership. If such person, after the termination of the disability benefit, earns two years of service credit under this system or under the Ohio police and fire pension fund, state teachers retirement system, school employees retirement system, or state highway patrol retirement system, the person's prior contributions as an other system retirant under this section shall be included in the person's total service credit as a public employees retirement system member, and the person shall forfeit all rights and benefits of this section. Not more than one year of credit may be given for any period of twelve months.
(F) This section does not affect the receipt of benefits by or eligibility for benefits of any person who on August 20, 1976, was receiving a disability benefit or service retirement pension or allowance from a state or municipal retirement system in Ohio and was a member of any other state or municipal retirement system of this state.
(G) The public employees retirement board may adopt rules to carry out this section.
Sec. 303.12. (A)(1) Amendments to the zoning resolution may
be
initiated by motion of the county rural zoning commission, by
the
passage of a resolution
by the board of county
commissioners, or
by the filing of an application
by one
or more of the owners or
lessees of property within the area
proposed to be changed or
affected by the proposed amendment with
the county rural zoning
commission. The board of county
commissioners may require that
the owner or lessee of property
filing an application to amend the
zoning resolution pay a fee
to defray the cost of advertising,
mailing, filing with
the county recorder, and other expenses. If
the board of county
commissioners requires such a fee, it shall be
required
generally,
for each application. The board of county
commissioners shall,
upon the passage of such a resolution, shall certify
it
to the county rural
zoning commission.
(2) Upon the adoption of such a motion by the county rural zoning commission,
the certification of
such a
resolution by the board of county commissioners to the commission, or the filing of such an application by property owners or lessees as described in division (A)(1) of this section with the commission, the county
rural
zoning commission shall set a date for a public hearing, which
date shall not be less than twenty nor more than
forty days from
the date of adoption of such a motion, the date
of
the certification
of such a resolution, or the date of the filing
of
such an application.
Notice of such the hearing shall be given by
the
county rural zoning
commission by one publication in one or
more
newspapers of general
circulation in each township affected
by
such the proposed amendment
at least ten days before the date of
such the
hearing.
(B) If the proposed amendment intends to rezone or
redistrict ten or fewer parcels of land, as listed on the county
auditor's current tax list, written notice of the hearing shall
be
mailed by the county rural zoning commission, by first class mail, at least
ten
days before the date of the public hearing to all owners of
property within and contiguous to and directly across the street
from such the area proposed to be rezoned or redistricted to the
addresses of such those owners appearing on the county auditor's
current
tax list. The failure of delivery of such that notice shall
not
invalidate any such amendment.
(C) If the proposed amendment intends to rezone or
redistrict ten or fewer parcels of land as listed on the county
auditor's current tax list, the published and mailed notices
shall
set forth the time, date, and place of the public hearing,
and
shall include all of the following:
(1) The name of the county rural zoning commission that will be
conducting the public hearing;
(2) A statement indicating that the motion, resolution, or application is an amendment to the zoning resolution;
(3) A list of the addresses of all properties to be rezoned or redistricted by the proposed amendment and of the names of owners of these properties, as they appear on the county auditor's current tax list;
(4) The present zoning classification of property named in
the proposed amendment and the proposed zoning classification of
such that property;
(5) The time and place where the motion, resolution, or
application proposing to amend the zoning resolution will be
available for examination for a period of at least ten days prior
to the public hearing;
(6) The name of the person responsible for giving notice
of
the public hearing by publication or, by mail, or by both
publication and mail;
(7) Any other information requested by the zoning
commission;
(8) A statement that, after the conclusion of such the hearing,
the matter will be submitted to the board of county commissioners
for its action;
(8) Any other information requested by the commission.
(D) If the proposed amendment alters the text of the
zoning
resolution, or rezones or redistricts more than ten
parcels of
land, as listed on the county auditor's current tax
list, the
published notice shall set forth the time, date, and
place of the
public hearing, and shall include all of the
following:
(1) The name of the county rural zoning commission that will be
conducting the public hearing on the proposed amendment;
(2) A statement indicating that the motion, application, or resolution is an amendment to the zoning resolution;
(3) The time and place where the text and maps of the
proposed amendment will be available for examination for a period
of at least ten days prior to the public hearing;
(4) The name of the person responsible for giving notice
of
the public hearing by publication;
(5) A statement that, after the conclusion of such the hearing,
the matter will be submitted to the board of county commissioners
for its action;
(6) Any other information requested by the zoning
commission.
Hearings shall be held in the county court house or in a
public place designated by the zoning commission.
(E) Within five days after the adoption of such the motion described in division (A) of this section,
the
certification of such the resolution described in division (A) of this section, or the filing of such the
application described in division (A) of this section, the county rural zoning commission shall transmit a
copy
of it together with text and map pertaining
to it to the
county or regional planning commission, if there is
such a
commission.
The county or regional planning commission shall recommend
the approval or denial of the proposed amendment or the approval
of some modification
of it and shall submit such its
recommendation
to the county rural zoning commission. Such The
recommendation shall
be considered at the public hearing held by
the county rural
zoning commission on such the proposed amendment.
The county rural zoning commission, within thirty
days after
such the hearing, shall recommend the approval or denial of the
proposed amendment, or the approval of some modification
of it,
and shall submit such that recommendation together with such the motion,
application, or resolution involved, the text and map pertaining
to
it the proposed amendment,
and
the recommendation of the county or regional planning
commission
on it to the board of county commissioners.
The board of county commissioners, upon receipt of
such that
recommendation, shall set a time for a public hearing on such the
proposed amendment, which date shall be not more than thirty days
from the date of the receipt of such that recommendation from the
county rural zoning commission. Notice of such public the hearing
shall be given by the board by one publication in one or more
newspapers of general circulation in the county, at least ten
days
before the date of such the hearing.
(F) If the proposed amendment intends to rezone or
redistrict ten or fewer parcels of land as listed on the county
auditor's current tax list, the published notice shall set forth
the time, date, and place of the public hearing and shall include
all of the following:
(1) The name of the board of county commissioners that will be conducting the
public
hearing;
(2) A statement indicating that the motion, application, or resolution is an amendment to the zoning resolution;
(3) A list of the addresses of all properties to be
rezoned
or redistricted by the proposed amendment and of the
names of
owners of these those properties, as they appear on the county
auditor's
current tax list;
(4) The present zoning classification of property named in
the proposed amendment and the proposed zoning classification of
such that property;
(5) The time and place where the motion, application, or
resolution proposing to amend the zoning resolution will be
available for examination for a period of at least ten days prior
to the public hearing;
(6) The name of the person responsible for giving notice
of
the public hearing by publication or, by mail, or by both
publication and mail;
(7) Any other information requested by the board.
(G) If the proposed amendment alters the text of the
zoning
resolution, or rezones or redistricts more than ten
parcels of
land as listed on the county auditor's current tax
list, the
published notice shall set forth the time, date, and
place of the
public hearing, and shall include all of the
following:
(1) The name of the board of county commissioners that will be conducting the
public
hearing on the proposed amendment;
(2) A statement indicating that the motion, application, or resolution is an amendment to the zoning resolution;
(3) The time and place where the text and maps of the
proposed amendment will be available for examination for a period
of at least ten days prior to the public hearing;
(4) The name of the person responsible for giving notice
of
the public hearing by publication;
(5) Any other information requested by the board.
(H) Within twenty days after such its public hearing, the board of county commissioners
shall either adopt or deny the recommendation of the county rural zoning
commission or adopt some modification
of it.
If the
board denies
or modifies the commission's recommendation of the county
rural
zoning
commission, the unanimous vote of the board shall be
required.
Such The proposed amendment, if adopted by the board, shall become effective
in
thirty days after the date of such its adoption, unless, within
thirty
days after the adoption of the amendment, there is
presented to
the
board of county commissioners a petition, signed
by a number
of
qualified voters residing in the unincorporated
area of the
township or part of that unincorporated area
included in the
zoning plan
equal to not less than eight per cent of the total
vote cast for
all candidates for governor in such that area at the most
recent
general election at which a governor was elected,
requesting the
board to submit the amendment to the electors of
such that area, for
approval or rejection, at a special election to be
held on the
day of the next primary or general election. Each
part of this
petition shall contain the number and the full and
correct title,
if any, of the zoning amendment resolution, motion,
or
application, furnishing the name by which the amendment
proposal
is known and a brief summary of its contents. In
addition to
meeting the requirements of this section, each
petition shall be
governed by the rules specified in section
3501.38 of the Revised
Code.
The form of a petition calling for a zoning referendum and the statement of the circulator shall be substantially as follows:
(if the proposal is identified by a particular name or number, or both, these should be inserted here) ........................
A proposal to amend the zoning map of the unincorporated area of .............. Township, ................... County, Ohio, adopted ....... (date) .......... (followed by brief summary of the proposal).
To the Board of County Commissioners of .................. County, Ohio:
We, the undersigned, being electors residing in the unincorporated area of ............... Township, included within the ................. County Zoning Plan, equal to not less than eight per cent of the total vote cast for all candidates for governor in the area at the preceding general election at which a governor was elected, request the Board of County Commissioners to submit this amendment of the zoning resolution to the electors of ............. Township residing within the unincorporated area of the township included in the ............... County Zoning Resolution, for approval or rejection at a special election to be held on the day of the next primary or general election to be held on ........(date)......., pursuant to section 303.12 of the Revised Code.
| Street Address | Date of | ||||
| Signature | or R.F.D. | Township | Precinct | County | Signing |
..............................................................
..............................................................
I, .....................(name of circulator)..................., declare under penalty of election falsification that I am an elector of the state of Ohio and reside at the address appearing below my signature; that I am the circulator of the foregoing part petition containing .....(number)....... signatures; that I have witnessed the affixing of every signature; that all signers were to the best of my knowledge and belief qualified to sign; and that every signature is to the best of my knowledge and belief the signature of the person whose signature it purports to be or of an attorney in fact acting pursuant to section 3501.382 of the Revised Code.
| ................................ | |
| (Signature of circulator) | |
| ................................ | |
| (Address of circulator's permanent | |
| residence in this state) | |
| ................................ | |
| (City, village, or township, | |
| and zip code) |
WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS GUILTY OF A FELONY OF THE FIFTH DEGREE."
No amendment for which such a referendum vote has been requested shall be put into effect unless a majority of the vote cast on the issue is in favor of the amendment. Upon certification by the board of elections that the amendment has been approved by the voters, it shall take immediate effect.
Within five working days after an amendment's effective date, the board of county commissioners shall file the text and maps of the amendment in the office of the county recorder and with the regional or county planning commission, if one exists.
The board shall file all amendments, including text and
maps,
that are in effect on January 1, 1992, in the office of the
county
recorder within thirty working days after that date. The
board
shall also file duplicates of the same documents with the
regional
or county planning commission, if one exists, within the
same
period.
The failure to file any amendment, or any text and maps, or duplicates of any of these documents, with the office of the county recorder or the county or regional planning commission as required by this section does not invalidate the amendment and is not grounds for an appeal of any decision of the board of zoning appeals.
Sec. 306.70. A tax proposed to be levied by a board of
county commissioners or by the board of trustees of a regional
transit authority pursuant to sections 5739.023 and 5741.022 of
the Revised Code shall not become effective until it is submitted
to the electors residing within the county or within the
territorial boundaries of the regional transit authority and
approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon on it. Such
question shall be submitted at a general election or at a special
election on a day specified in the resolution levying the tax and
occurring not less than seventy-five days after such resolution
is
certified to the board of elections, in accordance with
section
3505.071 of the Revised Code.
The board of elections of the county or of each county in
which any territory of the regional transit authority is located
shall make the necessary arrangements for the submission of such
question to the electors of the county or regional transit
authority, and the election shall be held, canvassed, and
certified in the same manner as regular elections for the
election
of county officers. Notice of the election shall be
published in
one or more newspapers which in the aggregate are of
general
circulation in the territory of the county or of the
regional
transit authority once a week for four two consecutive weeks
prior to
the election stating and, if the board of elections operates and maintains a web site, notice of the election also shall be posted on that web site for thirty days prior to the election. The notice shall state the type, rate, and purpose of the
tax to be
levied, the length of time during which the tax will be
in effect,
and the time and place of the election.
More than one such question may be submitted at the same election. The form of the ballots cast at such election shall be:
"Shall a(n) ................ (sales and use) ............. tax be levied for all transit purposes of the .................. (here insert name of the county or regional transit authority) at a rate not exceeding ................... (here insert percentage) per cent for ................ (here insert number of years the tax is to be in effect, or that it is to be in effect for a continuing period of time)?"
If the tax proposed to be levied is a continuation of an existing tax, whether at the same rate or at an increased or reduced rate, or an increase in the rate of an existing tax, the notice and ballot form shall so state.
The board of elections to which the resolution was certified shall certify the results of the election to the county auditor of the county or secretary-treasurer of the regional transit authority levying the tax and to the tax commissioner of the state.
Sec. 307.791. The question of repeal of a county sediment control rule adopted under section 307.79 of the Revised Code may be initiated by filing with the board of elections of the county not less than seventy-five days before the general or primary election in any year a petition requesting that an election be held on such question. Such petition shall be signed by qualified electors residing in the county equal in number to ten per cent of those voting for governor at the most recent gubernatorial election in the county.
After determination by it that such petition is valid, the
board of elections shall submit the question to the electors of
the county at the next general or primary election. The election
shall be conducted, canvassed, and certified in the same manner
as regular elections for county offices in the county. Notice of
the election shall be published in a newspaper of general
circulation in the county once a week for four two consecutive weeks
prior to the election, stating and, if the board of elections operates and maintains a web site, notice of the election also shall be posted on that web site for thirty days prior to the election. The notice shall state the purpose, the time, the and place
of the election, and the complete text of each rule sought to be
repealed. The form of the ballot cast at such election shall be
prescribed by the secretary of state. The question covered by
such petition shall be submitted as a separate proposition, but
it may be printed on the same ballot with any other proposition
submitted at the same election other than the election of
officers. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on the
question of repeal approve the repeal, the result of the election
shall be certified immediately after the canvass by the board of
elections to the board of county commissioners, who shall
thereupon rescind the rule.
Sec. 322.021. The question of a repeal of a county permissive tax adopted as an emergency measure pursuant to division (B) of section 322.02 of the Revised Code may be initiated by filing with the board of elections of the county not less than seventy-five days before the general election in any year a petition requesting that an election be held on such question. Such petition shall be signed by qualified electors residing in the county equal in number to ten per cent of those voting for governor at the most recent gubernatorial election.
After determination by it that such petition is valid, the
board of elections shall submit the question to the electors of
the county at the next general election. The election shall be
conducted, canvassed, and certified in the same manner as regular
elections for county offices in the county. Notice of the
election shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation
in the district once a week for four two consecutive weeks prior to
the election, stating and, if the board of elections operates and maintains a web site, notice of the election also shall be posted on that web site for thirty days prior to the election. The notice shall state the purpose, time, and place of the
election. The form of the ballot cast at such election shall be
prescribed by the secretary of state. The question covered by
such petition shall be submitted as a separate proposition, but
it may be printed on the same ballot with any other proposition
submitted at the same election other than the election of
officers. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on the
question of repeal approve the repeal, the result of the election
shall be certified immediately after the canvass by the board of
elections to the board of county commissioners, who shall thereupon, after
the current year, cease to levy the tax.
Sec. 324.021. The question of repeal of a county permissive tax adopted as an emergency measure pursuant to section 324.02 of the Revised Code may be initiated by filing with the board of elections of the county not less than seventy-five days before the general election in any year a petition requesting that an election be held on such question. Such petition shall be signed by qualified electors residing in the county equal in number to ten per cent of those voting for governor at the most recent gubernatorial election.
After determination by it that such petition is valid, the
board of elections shall submit the question to the electors of
the county at the next general election. The election shall be
conducted, canvassed, and certified in the same manner as regular
elections for county offices in the county. Notice of the
election shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation
in the district once a week for four two consecutive weeks prior to
the election, stating and, if the board of elections operates and maintains a web site, notice of the election also shall be posted on that web site for thirty days prior to the election. The notice shall state the purpose, the time, and the place of the
election. The form of the ballot cast at such election shall be
prescribed by the secretary of state. The question covered by
such petition shall be submitted as a separate proposition, but
it may be printed on the same ballot with any other proposition
submitted at the same election other than the election of
officers. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on the
question of repeal approve the repeal, the result of the election
shall be certified immediately after the canvass by the board of
elections to the board of county commissioners, who shall thereupon, after
the current year, cease to levy the tax.
Sec. 503.162. (A) After certification of a resolution as provided in section 503.161 of the Revised Code, the board of elections shall submit the question of whether the township's name shall be changed to the electors of the unincorporated area of the township in accordance with division (C) of that section, and the ballot language shall be substantially as follows:
"Shall the township of .......... (name) change its name to ........ (proposed name)?
.......... For name change
.......... Against name change"
(B)(1) At least forty-five days before the election on this
question, the board of township trustees shall provide notice of
the election
and an explanation of the proposed name change in a
newspaper of general
circulation in the township once a week for three two
consecutive weeks and shall post the
notice and explanation in
five conspicuous places in the unincorporated area
of the
township.
(2) If the board of elections operates and maintains a web site, notice of the election and an explanation of the proposed name change shall be posted on that web site for at least thirty days before the election on this question.
(C) If a majority of the votes cast on the proposition of changing the township's name is in the affirmative, the name change is adopted and becomes effective ninety days after the board of elections certifies the election results to the fiscal officer of the township. Upon receipt of the certification of the election results from the board of elections, the fiscal officer of the township shall send a copy of that certification to the secretary of state.
(D) A change in the name of a township shall not alter the rights or liabilities of the township as previously named.
Sec. 504.02. (A) After certification of a resolution as provided in division (A), (B), or (D) of section 504.01 of the Revised Code, the board of elections shall submit the question of whether to adopt a limited home rule government to the electors of the unincorporated area of the township, and the ballot language shall be substantially as follows:
"Shall the township of ........... (name) adopt a limited home rule government, under which government the board of township trustees, by resolution, may exercise limited powers of local self-government and limited police powers?
| ...... | For adoption of a limited home rule government | |
| ...... | Against adoption of a limited home rule government" |
(B)(1) At least forty-five days before the election on this
question, the board of township trustees shall have notice of the
election and a description of the proposed limited
home rule government published in a
newspaper of general circulation in the township once a week for three two consecutive weeks
and have the notice and description posted in five conspicuous
places in the unincorporated area of the township.
(2) If a board of elections operates and maintains a web site, notice of the election and a description of the proposed limited home rule government shall be posted on that web site for at least thirty days before the election on this question.
(C) If a majority of the votes cast on the proposition of adopting a limited home rule government is in the affirmative, that government is adopted and becomes the government of the township on the first day of January immediately following the election.
Sec. 504.03. (A)(1) If a limited home rule government is adopted pursuant to section 504.02 of the Revised Code, it shall remain in effect for at least three years except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section. At the end of that period, if the board of township trustees determines that that government is not in the best interests of the township, it may adopt a resolution causing the board of elections to submit to the electors of the unincorporated area of the township the question of whether the township should continue the limited home rule government. The question shall be voted upon at the next general election occurring at least seventy-five days after the certification of the resolution to the board of elections. After certification of the resolution, the board of elections shall submit the question to the electors of the unincorporated area of the township, and the ballot language shall be substantially as follows:
"Shall the township of ........... (name) continue the limited home rule government under which it is operating?
| ...... | For continuation of the limited home rule government | |
| ...... | Against continuation of the limited home rule government" |
(2)(a) At least forty-five days before the election on the
question of continuing the limited home
rule government, the board
of township trustees shall have notice of
the election published in a newspaper of general circulation in
the township once a week for three two
consecutive weeks and have the notice
posted in five conspicuous
places in the unincorporated area of
the township.
(b) If a board of elections operates and maintains a web site, notice of the election shall be posted on that web site for at least thirty days before the election on the question of continuing the limited home rule government.
(B) The electors of a township that has adopted a limited home rule government may propose at any time by initiative petition, in accordance with section 504.14 of the Revised Code, a resolution submitting to the electors in the unincorporated area of the township, in an election, the question set forth in division (A)(1) of this section.
(C) If a majority of the votes cast under division (A) or (B) of this section on the proposition of continuing the limited home rule government is in the negative, that government is terminated effective on the first day of January immediately following the election, and a limited home rule government shall not be adopted in the unincorporated area of the township pursuant to section 504.02 of the Revised Code for at least three years after that date.
(D) If a limited home rule government is terminated under this section, the board of township trustees immediately shall adopt a resolution repealing all resolutions adopted pursuant to this chapter that are not authorized by any other section of the Revised Code outside this chapter, effective on the first day of January immediately following the election described in division (A) or (B) of this section. However, no resolution adopted under this division shall affect or impair the obligations of the township under any security issued or contracts entered into by the township in connection with the financing of any water supply facility or sewer improvement under sections 504.18 to 504.20 of the Revised Code or the authority of the township to collect or enforce any assessments or other revenues constituting security for or source of payments of debt service charges of those securities.
(E) Upon the termination of a limited home rule government
under this section, if the township had converted its board of
township trustees to a five-member board before the effective date of this amendment September 26, 2003, the current board member who received the lowest
number of votes of the current board members who were elected at
the most recent election for township trustees, and the current
board member who received the lowest number of votes of the
current board members who were elected at the second most recent
election for township trustees, shall cease to be township
trustees on the date that the limited home rule government
terminates. Their offices likewise shall cease to exist at that
time, and the board shall continue as a three-member board as
provided in section 505.01 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 511.28. A copy of any resolution for a tax levy
adopted by the township board of park commissioners as provided
in section 511.27 of the Revised Code shall be certified by the
clerk of the board of park commissioners to the board of
elections of the proper county, together with a certified copy of
the resolution approving the levy, passed by the board of
township trustees if such a resolution is required by division
(C) of section 511.27 of the Revised Code, not less than
seventy-five days before a general or primary election in any
year. The board of elections shall submit the proposal to the
electors as provided in section 511.27 of the Revised Code at the
succeeding general or primary election. A resolution to renew an
existing levy may not be placed on the ballot unless the question
is submitted at the general election held during the last year
the tax to be renewed may be extended on the real and public
utility property tax list and duplicate, or at any election held
in the ensuing year. The board of park commissioners shall cause
notice that the vote will be taken to be published once a week
for four two consecutive weeks prior to the election in a newspaper
of general circulation in the county within which the park
district is located. Additionally, if the board of elections operates and maintains a web site, the board of elections shall post that notice on its web site for thirty days prior to the election. The notice shall state the purpose of the
proposed levy, the annual rate proposed expressed in dollars and
cents for each one hundred dollars of valuation as well as in
mills for each one dollar of valuation, the number of consecutive
years during which the levy shall be in effect, and the time and
place of the election.
The form of the ballots cast at the election shall be: "An additional tax for the benefit of (name of township park district) .......... for the purpose of (purpose stated in the order of the board) .......... at a rate not exceeding .......... mills for each one dollar of valuation, which amounts to (rate expressed in dollars and cents) .......... for each one hundred dollars of valuation, for (number of years the levy is to run) ..........
| FOR THE TAX LEVY | |||
| AGAINST THE TAX LEVY | " |
If the levy submitted is a proposal to renew, increase, or decrease an existing levy, the form of the ballot specified in this section may be changed by substituting for the words "An additional" at the beginning of the form, the words "A renewal of a" in the case of a proposal to renew an existing levy in the same amount; the words "A renewal of .......... mills and an increase of .......... mills to constitute a" in the case of an increase; or the words "A renewal of part of an existing levy, being a reduction of .......... mills, to constitute a" in the case of a decrease in the rate of the existing levy.
If the tax is to be placed on the current tax list, the form of the ballot shall be modified by adding, after the statement of the number of years the levy is to run, the phrase ", commencing in .......... (first year the tax is to be levied), first due in calendar year .......... (first calendar year in which the tax shall be due)."
The question covered by the order shall be submitted as a separate proposition, but may be printed on the same ballot with any other proposition submitted at the same election, other than the election of officers. More than one such question may be submitted at the same election.
Sec. 511.34. In townships composed of islands, and on one of which islands lands have been conveyed in trust for the benefit of the inhabitants of the island for use as a park, and a board of park trustees has been provided for the control of the park, the board of township trustees may create a tax district of the island to raise funds by taxation as provided under divisions (A) and (B) of this section.
(A) For the care and maintenance of parks on the island, the board of township trustees annually may levy a tax, not to exceed one mill, upon all the taxable property in the district. The tax shall be in addition to all other levies authorized by law, and subject to no limitation on tax rates except as provided in this division.
The proceeds of the tax levy shall be expended by the board of township trustees for the purpose of the care and maintenance of the parks, and shall be paid out of the township treasury upon the orders of the board of park trustees.
(B) For the purpose of acquiring additional land for use as a
park, the board of township trustees may levy a tax in excess of
the ten-mill limitation on all taxable property in the district.
The tax shall be proposed by resolution adopted by two-thirds
of the members of the board of township trustees. The
resolution shall specify the purpose and rate of the tax and the
number of years the tax will be levied, which shall not exceed
five years, and which may include a levy on the current tax list
and duplicate. The resolution shall go into immediate effect
upon its passage, and no publication of the resolution is
necessary other than that provided for in the notice of
election. The board of township trustees shall certify a copy
of the resolution to the proper board of elections not
later than seventy-five days before the primary or general
election in the township, and the board of elections shall
submit the question of the tax to the voters of the district at
the succeeding primary or general election. The board of
elections shall make the necessary arrangements for the
submission of the question to the electors of the district, and
the election shall be conducted, canvassed, and certified in
the same manner as regular elections in the township for the
election of officers. Notice of the election shall be published
in a newspaper of general circulation in the township once a
week for four two consecutive weeks prior to the election, stating and, if the board of elections operates and maintains a web site, notice of the election also shall be posted on that web site for thirty days prior to the election. The notice shall state the purpose of the tax, the proposed rate of the tax, expressed
in dollars and cents for each one hundred dollars of valuation
and mills for each one dollar of valuation, the number of years
the tax will be in effect and, the first year the tax will be levied, and the
time and place of the
election.
The form of the ballots cast at an election held under this division shall be as follows:
"An additional tax for the benefit of ......... (name of the township) for the purpose of acquiring additional park land at a rate of ......... mills for each one dollar of valuation, which amounts to ........ (rate expressed in dollars and cents) for each one hundred dollars of valuation, for ......... (number of years the levy is to run) beginning in ........... (first year the tax will be levied).
| FOR THE TAX LEVY | |||
| AGAINST THE TAX LEVY | " |
The question shall be submitted as a separate proposition but may be printed on the same ballot with any other proposition submitted at the same election other than the election of officers. More than one such question may be submitted at the same election.
If the levy is approved by a majority of electors voting on the question, the board of elections shall certify the result of the election to the tax commissioner. In the first year of the levy, the tax shall be extended on the tax lists after the February settlement following the election. If the tax is to be placed on the tax lists of the current year as specified in the resolution, the board of elections shall certify the result of the election immediately after the canvass to the board of township trustees, which shall forthwith make the necessary levy and certify the levy to the county auditor, who shall extend the levy on the tax lists for collection. After the first year of the levy, the levy shall be included in the annual tax budget that is certified to the county budget commission.
Sec. 513.14. The board of elections shall advertise the proposed tax levy
question mentioned in section 513.13 of the Revised Code, in two newspapers of
opposite political faith, if two such newspapers are published in the joint
township hospital district, or otherwise, in one newspaper, published or of
general circulation in the proposed township hospital district, once a week for
three two consecutive weeks immediately preceding such prior to the election and, if the board operates and maintains a web site, the board also shall advertise that proposed tax levy question on its web site for thirty days prior to the election.
Sec. 519.12. (A)(1) Amendments to the zoning resolution may be initiated by motion of the township zoning commission, by the passage of a resolution by the board of township trustees, or by the filing of an application by one or more of the owners or lessees of property within the area proposed to be changed or affected by the proposed amendment with the township zoning commission. The board of township trustees may require that the owner or lessee of property filing an application to amend the zoning resolution pay a fee to defray the cost of advertising, mailing, filing with the county recorder, and other expenses. If the board of township trustees requires such a fee, it shall be required generally, for each application. The board of township trustees, upon the passage of such a resolution, shall certify it to the township zoning commission.
(2) Upon the adoption of a motion by the township zoning commission, the certification of a resolution by the board of township trustees to the commission, or the filing of an application by property owners or lessees as described in division (A)(1) of this section with the commission, the commission shall set a date for a public hearing, which date shall not be less than twenty nor more than forty days from the date of the certification of such a resolution, the date of adoption of such a motion, or the date of the filing of such an application. Notice of the hearing shall be given by the commission by one publication in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the township at least ten days before the date of the hearing.
(B) If the proposed amendment intends to rezone or redistrict ten or fewer parcels of land, as listed on the county auditor's current tax list, written notice of the hearing shall be mailed by the township zoning commission, by first class mail, at least ten days before the date of the public hearing to all owners of property within and contiguous to and directly across the street from the area proposed to be rezoned or redistricted to the addresses of those owners appearing on the county auditor's current tax list. The failure of delivery of that notice shall not invalidate any such amendment.
(C) If the proposed amendment intends to rezone or redistrict ten or fewer parcels of land as listed on the county auditor's current tax list, the published and mailed notices shall set forth the time, date, and place of the public hearing and include all of the following:
(1) The name of the township zoning commission that will be conducting the hearing;
(2) A statement indicating that the motion, resolution, or application is an amendment to the zoning resolution;
(3) A list of the addresses of all properties to be rezoned or redistricted by the proposed amendment and of the names of owners of those properties, as they appear on the county auditor's current tax list;
(4) The present zoning classification of property named in the proposed amendment and the proposed zoning classification of that property;
(5) The time and place where the motion, resolution, or application proposing to amend the zoning resolution will be available for examination for a period of at least ten days prior to the hearing;
(6) The name of the person responsible for giving notice of the hearing by publication, by mail, or by both publication and mail;
(7) Any other information requested by the
commission;
(8) A statement that, after the conclusion of the hearing,
the matter will be submitted to the board of township trustees
for
its action;
(8) Any other information requested by the commission.
(D) If the proposed amendment alters the text of the zoning resolution, or rezones or redistricts more than ten parcels of land as listed on the county auditor's current tax list, the published notice shall set forth the time, date, and place of the public hearing and include all of the following:
(1) The name of the township zoning commission that will be conducting the hearing on the proposed amendment;
(2) A statement indicating that the motion, application, or resolution is an amendment to the zoning resolution;
(3) The time and place where the text and maps of the proposed amendment will be available for examination for a period of at least ten days prior to the hearing;
(4) The name of the person responsible for giving notice of the hearing by publication;
(5) A statement that, after the conclusion of the hearing, the matter will be submitted to the board of township trustees for its action;
(6) Any other information requested by the commission.
(E) Within five days after the adoption of the motion described in division (A) of this section, the certification of the resolution described in division (A) of this section, or the filing of the application described in division (A) of this section, the township zoning commission shall transmit a copy of it together with text and map pertaining to it to the county or regional planning commission, if there is such a commission.
The county or regional planning commission shall recommend the approval or denial of the proposed amendment or the approval of some modification of it and shall submit its recommendation to the township zoning commission. The recommendation shall be considered at the public hearing held by the township zoning commission on the proposed amendment.
The township zoning commission, within thirty days after the hearing, shall recommend the approval or denial of the proposed amendment, or the approval of some modification of it, and submit that recommendation together with the motion, application, or resolution involved, the text and map pertaining to the proposed amendment, and the recommendation of the county or regional planning commission on it to the board of township trustees.
The board of township trustees, upon receipt of that recommendation, shall set a time for a public hearing on the proposed amendment, which date shall not be more than thirty days from the date of the receipt of that recommendation. Notice of the hearing shall be given by the board by one publication in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the township, at least ten days before the date of the hearing.
(F) If the proposed amendment intends to rezone or redistrict ten or fewer parcels of land as listed on the county auditor's current tax list, the published notice shall set forth the time, date, and place of the public hearing and include all of the following:
(1) The name of the board of township trustees that will be conducting the hearing;
(2) A statement indicating that the motion, application, or resolution is an amendment to the zoning resolution;
(3) A list of the addresses of all properties to be rezoned or redistricted by the proposed amendment and of the names of owners of those properties, as they appear on the county auditor's current tax list;
(4) The present zoning classification of property named in the proposed amendment and the proposed zoning classification of that property;
(5) The time and place where the motion, application, or resolution proposing to amend the zoning resolution will be available for examination for a period of at least ten days prior to the hearing;
(6) The name of the person responsible for giving notice of the hearing by publication, by mail, or by both publication and mail;
(7) Any other information requested by the board.
(G) If the proposed amendment alters the text of the zoning resolution, or rezones or redistricts more than ten parcels of land as listed on the county auditor's current tax list, the published notice shall set forth the time, date, and place of the public hearing and include all of the following:
(1) The name of the board of township trustees that will be conducting the hearing on the proposed amendment;
(2) A statement indicating that the motion, application, or resolution is an amendment to the zoning resolution;
(3) The time and place where the text and maps of the proposed amendment will be available for examination for a period of at least ten days prior to the hearing;
(4) The name of the person responsible for giving notice of the hearing by publication;
(5) Any other information requested by the board.
(H) Within twenty days after its public hearing, the board of township trustees shall either adopt or deny the recommendations of the township zoning commission or adopt some modification of them. If the board denies or modifies the commission's recommendations, the unanimous vote of the board shall be required.
The proposed amendment, if adopted by the board, shall become effective in thirty days after the date of its adoption, unless, within thirty days after the adoption, there is presented to the board of township trustees a petition, signed by a number of registered electors residing in the unincorporated area of the township or part of that unincorporated area included in the zoning plan equal to not less than eight per cent of the total vote cast for all candidates for governor in that area at the most recent general election at which a governor was elected, requesting the board of township trustees to submit the amendment to the electors of that area for approval or rejection at a special election to be held on the day of the next primary or general election that occurs at least seventy-five days after the petition is filed. Each part of this petition shall contain the number and the full and correct title, if any, of the zoning amendment resolution, motion, or application, furnishing the name by which the amendment is known and a brief summary of its contents. In addition to meeting the requirements of this section, each petition shall be governed by the rules specified in section 3501.38 of the Revised Code.
The form of a petition calling for a zoning referendum and the statement of the circulator shall be substantially as follows:
(if the proposal is identified by a particular name or number, or both, these should be inserted here) .......................
A proposal to amend the zoning map of the unincorporated area of ............. Township, ................. County, Ohio, adopted .....(date)..... (followed by brief summary of the proposal).
To the Board of Township Trustees of ..................... Township, ................. County, Ohio:
...................... County, Ohio:
We, the undersigned, being electors residing in the unincorporated area of ....................... Township, included within the ............. Township Zoning Plan, equal to not less than eight per cent of the total vote cast for all candidates for governor in the area at the preceding general election at which a governor was elected, request the Board of Township Trustees to submit this amendment of the zoning resolution to the electors of ........................ Township residing within the unincorporated area of the township included in the .................. Township Zoning Resolution, for approval or rejection at a special election to be held on the day of the primary or general election to be held on .....(date)....., pursuant to section 519.12 of the Revised Code.
| Street Address | Date of | ||||
| Signature | or R.F.D. | Township | Precinct | County | Signing |
..............................................................
..............................................................
I, .............(name of circulator).........., declare under penalty of election falsification that I am an elector of the state of Ohio and reside at the address appearing below my signature; that I am the circulator of the foregoing part petition containing .......(number)....... signatures; that I have witnessed the affixing of every signature; that all signers were to the best of my knowledge and belief qualified to sign; and that every signature is to the best of my knowledge and belief the signature of the person whose signature it purports to be or of an attorney in fact acting pursuant to section 3501.382 of the Revised Code.
| ................................ | |
| (Signature of circulator) | |
| ................................ | |
| (Address of circulator's permanent | |
| residence in this state) | |
| ................................ | |
| (City, village, or township, | |
| and zip code) |
WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS GUILTY OF A FELONY OF THE FIFTH DEGREE."
The petition shall be filed with the board of township trustees and shall be accompanied by an appropriate map of the area affected by the zoning proposal. Within two weeks after receiving a petition filed under this section, the board of township trustees shall certify the petition to the board of elections. A petition filed under this section shall be certified to the board of elections not less than seventy-five days prior to the election at which the question is to be voted upon.
The board of elections shall determine the sufficiency and validity of each petition certified to it by a board of township trustees under this section. If the board of elections determines that a petition is sufficient and valid, the question shall be voted upon at a special election to be held on the day of the next primary or general election that occurs at least seventy-five days after the date the petition is filed with the board of township trustees, regardless of whether any election will be held to nominate or elect candidates on that day.
No amendment for which such a referendum vote has been requested shall be put into effect unless a majority of the vote cast on the issue is in favor of the amendment. Upon certification by the board of elections that the amendment has been approved by the voters, it shall take immediate effect.
Within five working days after an amendment's effective date, the board of township trustees shall file the text and maps of the amendment in the office of the county recorder and with the county or regional planning commission, if one exists.
The failure to file any amendment, or any text and maps, or duplicates of any of these documents, with the office of the county recorder or the county or regional planning commission as required by this section does not invalidate the amendment and is not grounds for an appeal of any decision of the board of zoning appeals.
Sec. 745.07. An ordinance passed pursuant to section 745.06 of the Revised
Code, shall not take effect until submitted to the electors of the municipal
corporation, at a special or general election held therein in the municipal corporation at such time as the
legislative authority thereof determines, and approved by a majority of the
electors voting thereon on it. The ordinance shall be passed by an affirmative vote
of not less than a majority of the members of the legislative authority, and
shall be subject to the approval of the mayor as provided by law. The
ordinance shall specify the form or phrasing of the question to be placed upon
the ballot. Thirty days' notice of the election shall be given by publication
once a week for four two consecutive weeks in two daily or weekly newspapers
published or circulated in the municipal corporation, which and, if the board of elections operates and maintains a web site, notice of the election also shall be posted on that web site for thirty days prior to the election. The notice shall
contain the full form or phrasing of the question to be submitted. The clerk
of the legislative authority shall certify the passage of such the ordinance to
the officers having control of elections in such the municipal corporation, who
shall cause such the question to be voted on at the general or special election as
specified in the ordinance.
Sec. 747.11. The board of rapid transit commissioners may
grant to any corporation organized for street or interurban
railway purposes the right to operate, by lease or otherwise, the
depots, terminals, and railways mentioned in section 747.08 of
the Revised Code upon such terms as the board is authorized by
ordinance to agree upon with such corporation, subject to the
approval of a majority of the electors of the city voting
thereon on the question.
The board of rapid transit commissioners shall certify such
lease or agreement to the board of elections, which shall then
submit the question of the approval of such lease or agreement to
the qualified electors of the city at either a special or general
election as the ordinance specifies. Thirty days' notice of the
election shall be given by publication in one or more of the newspapers
published in the city, once a week for four two consecutive weeks
prior to the time of holding such the election, setting and, if the board of elections operates and maintains a web site, the board of elections shall post notice of the election for thirty days prior to the election on its web site. The notice shall set forth the
terms of the lease or agreement and the time of holding the
election. On the approval by a majority of the voters voting at
such the election, the corporation may operate such depots,
terminals, and railways as provided in the lease or agreement,
and corporations organized under the laws of this state for
street or interurban railway purposes may lease and operate such
depots, terminals, and railways.
Sec. 1901.07. (A) All municipal court judges shall be elected on the nonpartisan ballot for terms of six years. In a municipal court in which only one judge is to be elected in any one year, that judge's term commences on the first day of January after the election. In a municipal court in which two or more judges are to be elected in any one year, their terms commence on successive days beginning the first day of January, following the election, unless otherwise provided by section 1901.08 of the Revised Code.
(B) All candidates for municipal court judge may be nominated
either by nominating petition or by primary election, except that
if the jurisdiction of a municipal court extends only to the
corporate limits of the municipal corporation in which the court
is located and that municipal corporation operates under a
charter, all candidates shall be nominated in the same manner
provided in the charter for the office of municipal court judge, or, if
no specific provisions are made in the charter for the office of
municipal court judge, in the same manner as the charter prescribes for
the nomination and election of the legislative authority of the
municipal corporation.
If a municipal corporation that has a municipal court has a
charter that specifies a primary date other than the date
specified in division (E) of section 3501.01 of the Revised Code,
and if the jurisdiction of the a municipal court extends beyond the corporate
limits of the municipal corporation, all candidates for the
office of municipal judge of that court shall be nominated only
by petition.
If in which it is located or if the jurisdiction of the court does not extend beyond the corporate limits of the municipal corporation in which it is located and no charter provisions apply, all candidates for party
nomination to the office of municipal court judge shall file a
declaration of candidacy and petition not later than four p.m.
of the seventy-fifth day before the day of the primary election,
or if the primary election is a presidential primary election,
not later than four p.m. of the sixtieth day before the day of
the presidential primary election, in the form prescribed by
section 3513.07 of the Revised Code. The petition shall conform
to the requirements provided for such those petitions of candidacy
contained in section 3513.05 of the Revised Code, except that the petition shall be signed by at least fifty electors of the territory of the court. If no valid
declaration of candidacy is filed for nomination as a candidate
of a political party for election to the office of municipal
court judge, or if the number of persons filing the declarations of
candidacy for nominations as candidates of one political party
for election to the office does not exceed the number of
candidates that that party is entitled to nominate as its
candidates for election to the office, no primary election shall
be held for the purpose of nominating candidates of that party
for election to the office, and the candidates shall be issued
certificates of nomination in the manner set forth in section
3513.02 of the Revised Code.
If the jurisdiction of a municipal court extends beyond the corporate limits of the municipal corporation in which it is located or if the jurisdiction of the court does not extend beyond the corporate limits of the municipal corporation in which it is located and no charter provisions apply, nonpartisan candidates
filing for the office of municipal court judge shall file nominating petitions for the office of municipal judge
shall file them not later than four p.m. of the day before the
day of the primary election, in the form prescribed by section
3513.261 of the Revised Code. The petition shall conform to the
requirements provided for such those petitions of candidacy contained
in section 3513.257 of the Revised Code, except that the petition shall be signed by at least fifty electors of the territory of the court.
The nominating petition or declaration of candidacy for a municipal court judge shall contain a designation of the term for which the candidate seeks election. At the following regular municipal election, the candidacies of the judges nominated shall be submitted to the electors of the territory on a nonpartisan, judicial ballot in the same manner as provided for judges of the court of common pleas, except that, in a municipal corporation operating under a charter, all candidates for municipal court judge shall be elected in conformity with the charter if provisions are made in the charter for the election of municipal court judges.
(C) Notwithstanding divisions (A) and (B) of this section, in the following municipal courts, the judges shall be nominated and elected as follows:
(1) In the Cleveland municipal court, the judges shall be
nominated only by petition. The petition shall be signed by at
least one thousand fifty electors of the territory of the court. It
shall be in the statutory form and shall be filed in the manner
and within the time prescribed by the charter of the city of
Cleveland for filing petitions of candidates for municipal
offices. Each elector shall have the right to sign petitions for
as many candidates as are to be elected, but no more. The judges
shall be elected by the electors of the territory of the court in
the manner provided by law for the election of judges of the
court of common pleas.
(2) In the Toledo municipal court, the judges shall be
nominated only by petition. The petition shall be signed by at
least one thousand fifty electors of the territory of the court. It
shall be in the statutory form and shall be filed in the manner
and within the time prescribed by the charter of the city of
Toledo for filing nominating petitions for city council. Each
elector shall have the right to sign petitions for as many
candidates as are to be elected, but no more. The judges shall
be elected by the electors of the territory of the court in the
manner provided by law for the election of judges of the court of
common pleas.
(3) In the Akron municipal court, the judges shall be
nominated only by petition. The petition shall be signed by at
least two hundred fifty electors of the territory of the court.
It shall be in statutory form and shall be filed in the manner
and within the time prescribed by the charter of the city of
Akron for filing nominating petitions of candidates for municipal
offices. Each elector shall have the right to sign petitions for
as many candidates as are to be elected, but no more. The judges
shall be elected by the electors of the territory of the court in
the manner provided by law for the election of judges of the
court of common pleas.
(4) In the Hamilton county municipal court, the judges
shall be nominated only by petition. The petition shall be
signed by at least one thousand fifty electors of the territory of the
court, which petitions shall be signed, verified, and filed in
the manner and within the time required by law for nominating
petitions for members of council of the city of Cincinnati. The
judges shall be elected by the electors of the territory of the
court at the regular municipal election and in the manner
provided by law for the election of judges of the court of common
pleas.
(5) In the Franklin county municipal court, the judges
shall be nominated only by petition. The petition shall be
signed by at least one thousand fifty electors of the territory of the
court. The petition shall be in the statutory form and shall be
filed in the manner and within the time prescribed by the charter
of the city of Columbus for filing petitions of candidates for
municipal offices. The judges shall be elected by the electors
of the territory of the court in the manner provided by law for
the election of judges of the court of common pleas.
(6) In the Auglaize, Brown, Clermont, Crawford, Hocking, Jackson,
Lawrence, Madison, Miami, Morrow, Portage, and Wayne county municipal
courts, the judges shall be nominated only by petition. The
petitions shall be signed by at least two hundred fifty electors
of the territory of the court and shall conform to the provisions
of this section.
(D) As used in this section, as to an election for either
a full or an unexpired term, "the territory within the
jurisdiction of the court" means such that territory as it will be on
the first day of January after the election.
Sec. 1901.10. (A)(1)(a) The judges of the municipal court
and officers of the court shall take an oath of office, as
provided in section 3.23 of the Revised Code. The office of
judge of the municipal court is subject to forfeiture, and the
judge may be removed from office, for the causes and by the
procedure provided in sections 3.07 to 3.10 of the Revised Code.
A vacancy in the office of judge exists upon the death,
resignation, forfeiture, removal from office, or absence from
official duties for a period of six consecutive months, as
determined under this section, of the judge and also by reason of
the expiration of the term of an incumbent when no successor has
been elected or qualified. The chief justice of the supreme
court may designate a judge of another municipal court to act
until that vacancy is filled in accordance with section 107.08 of
the Revised Code. A vacancy resulting from the absence of a
municipal judge from official duties for a period of six
consecutive months shall be determined and declared by the
legislative authority.
(b) If a vacancy occurs in the office of judge or clerk of the municipal court after the one-hundredth day before
the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May and prior to the
fortieth day before the day of the general election, all
candidates for election to such the unexpired term for the office of the
judge or clerk of the municipal court shall file nominating
petitions with the board of elections not later than four p.m. on
the tenth day following the day on which the vacancy occurs,
provided except that, when the vacancy occurs fewer than six days before
the fortieth day before the general election, the deadline for
filing shall be four p.m. on the thirty-sixth day before the day
of the general election.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(1)(d) of
this section, each Each nominating petition referred to in division (A)(1)(b) of this section shall be in the form
prescribed in section 3513.261 of the Revised Code and shall be
signed by at least fifty qualified electors of the territory of the municipal
court not less in number than one per cent of the number of
electors who voted for governor at the most
recent regular
state election in the territory over which such court has
jurisdiction, or twenty-five hundred electors, whichever is the
lesser number.
(d) For any such vacancy occurring in the office of judge
or clerk of a municipal court named in division (C)(1), (2), (3),
(4), (5), or (6) of section 1901.07 of the Revised Code, each
nominating petition shall be signed by qualified electors of the
territory of the municipal court not less in number than one per
cent of the number of electors who voted for governor at the most recent
regular state election in the territory over
which the
court has jurisdiction, or the number of qualified electors
required to sign a nominating petition in each of those
divisions, as applicable to each particular court, whichever is
the lesser number.
(e) No. No nominating petition shall be accepted for filing or
filed if it appears on its face to contain signatures aggregating
in number more than twice the minimum aggregate number of
signatures required by this section.
(2) If a judge of a municipal court that has only one judge is temporarily absent, incapacitated, or otherwise unavailable, the judge may appoint a substitute who has the qualifications required by section 1901.06 of the Revised Code or a retired judge of a court of record who is a qualified elector and a resident of the territory of the court. If the judge is unable to make the appointment, the chief justice of the supreme court shall appoint a substitute. The appointee shall serve during the absence, incapacity, or unavailability of the incumbent, shall have the jurisdiction and powers conferred upon the judge of the municipal court, and shall be styled "acting judge." During that time of service, the acting judge shall sign all process and records and shall perform all acts pertaining to the office, except that of removal and appointment of officers of the court. All courts shall take judicial notice of the selection and powers of the acting judge. The incumbent judge shall establish the amount of compensation of an acting judge upon either a per diem, hourly, or other basis, but the rate of pay shall not exceed the per diem amount received by the incumbent judge.
(B) When the volume of cases pending in any municipal court necessitates an additional judge, the chief justice of the supreme court, upon the written request of the judge or presiding judge of that municipal court, may designate a judge of another municipal court or county court to serve for any period of time that the chief justice may prescribe. The compensation of a judge so designated shall be paid from the city treasury or, in the case of a county-operated municipal court, from the county treasury. In addition to the annual salary provided for in section 1901.11 of the Revised Code and in addition to any compensation under division (A)(5) or (6) of section 141.04 of the Revised Code to which the judge is entitled in connection with the judge's own court, a full-time or part-time judge while holding court outside the judge's territory on the designation of the chief justice shall receive actual and necessary expenses and compensation as follows:
(1) A full-time judge shall receive thirty dollars for each day of the assignment.
(2) A part-time judge shall receive for each day of the assignment the per diem compensation of the judges of the court to which the judge is assigned, less the per diem amount paid to those judges pursuant to section 141.04 of the Revised Code, calculated on the basis of two hundred fifty working days per year.
If a request is made by a judge or the presiding judge of a municipal court to designate a judge of another municipal court because of the volume of cases in the court for which the request is made and the chief justice reports, in writing, that no municipal or county court judge is available to serve by designation, the judges of the court requesting the designation may appoint a substitute as provided in division (A)(2) of this section, who may serve for any period of time that is prescribed by the chief justice. The substitute judge shall be paid in the same manner and at the same rate as the incumbent judges, except that, if the substitute judge is entitled to compensation under division (A)(5) or (6) of section 141.04 of the Revised Code, then section 1901.121 of the Revised Code shall govern its payment.
Sec. 1901.31. The clerk and deputy clerks of a municipal court shall be selected, be compensated, give bond, and have powers and duties as follows:
(A) There shall be a clerk of the court who is appointed or elected as follows:
(1)(a) Except in the Akron, Barberton, Cuyahoga Falls, Toledo, Hamilton county, Portage county, and Wayne county municipal courts, if the population of the territory equals or exceeds one hundred thousand at the regular municipal election immediately preceding the expiration of the term of the present clerk, the clerk shall be nominated and elected by the qualified electors of the territory in the manner that is provided for the nomination and election of judges in section 1901.07 of the Revised Code.
The clerk so elected shall hold office for a term of six years, which term shall commence on the first day of January following the clerk's election and continue until the clerk's successor is elected and qualified.
(b) In the Hamilton county municipal court, the clerk of courts of Hamilton county shall be the clerk of the municipal court and may appoint an assistant clerk who shall receive the compensation, payable out of the treasury of Hamilton county in semimonthly installments, that the board of county commissioners prescribes. The clerk of courts of Hamilton county, acting as the clerk of the Hamilton county municipal court and assuming the duties of that office, shall receive compensation at one-fourth the rate that is prescribed for the clerks of courts of common pleas as determined in accordance with the population of the county and the rates set forth in sections 325.08 and 325.18 of the Revised Code. This compensation shall be paid from the county treasury in semimonthly installments and is in addition to the annual compensation that is received for the performance of the duties of the clerk of courts of Hamilton county, as provided in sections 325.08 and 325.18 of the Revised Code.
(c) In the Portage county and Wayne county municipal courts, the clerks of courts of Portage county and Wayne county shall be the clerks, respectively, of the Portage county and Wayne county municipal courts and may appoint a chief deputy clerk for each branch that is established pursuant to section 1901.311 of the Revised Code and assistant clerks as the judges of the municipal court determine are necessary, all of whom shall receive the compensation that the legislative authority prescribes. The clerks of courts of Portage county and Wayne county, acting as the clerks of the Portage county and Wayne county municipal courts and assuming the duties of these offices, shall receive compensation payable from the county treasury in semimonthly installments at one-fourth the rate that is prescribed for the clerks of courts of common pleas as determined in accordance with the population of the county and the rates set forth in sections 325.08 and 325.18 of the Revised Code.
(d) Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(1)(d) of
this section, in the Akron municipal court, candidates for
election to the office of clerk of the court shall be nominated
by
primary election. The primary election shall be held on the
day
specified in the charter of the city of Akron for the
nomination
of municipal officers. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of section 3513.05 or
3513.257 of the
Revised Code, the declarations of candidacy and petitions of partisan candidates and the nominating petitions of
independent candidates for the office of clerk of the Akron municipal court
shall be signed by at least two hundred
fifty qualified electors
of the territory of the court.
The candidates shall file a declaration of candidacy and petition, or a nominating petition, whichever is applicable, not later than four p.m. of the seventy-fifth day before the day of the primary election, in the form prescribed by section 3513.07 or 3513.261 of the Revised Code. The declaration of candidacy and petition, or the nominating petition, shall conform to the applicable requirements of section 3513.05 or 3513.257 of the Revised Code.
If no valid declaration of candidacy and petition is filed by any person for nomination as a candidate of a particular political party for election to the office of clerk of the Akron municipal court, a primary election shall not be held for the purpose of nominating a candidate of that party for election to that office. If only one person files a valid declaration of candidacy and petition for nomination as a candidate of a particular political party for election to that office, a primary election shall not be held for the purpose of nominating a candidate of that party for election to that office, and the candidate shall be issued a certificate of nomination in the manner set forth in section 3513.02 of the Revised Code.
Declarations of candidacy and petitions, nominating petitions, and certificates of nomination for the office of clerk of the Akron municipal court shall contain a designation of the term for which the candidate seeks election. At the following regular municipal election, all candidates for the office shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the territory of the court in the manner that is provided in section 1901.07 of the Revised Code for the election of the judges of the court. The clerk so elected shall hold office for a term of six years, which term shall commence on the first day of January following the clerk's election and continue until the clerk's successor is elected and qualified.
(e) Except as otherwise provided in division
(A)(1)(e) of
this
section, in the Barberton municipal court, candidates for
election
to the office of clerk of the court shall be nominated by
primary
election. The primary election shall be held on the day
specified
in the charter of the city of Barberton for the
nomination of
municipal officers. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of section 3513.05 or
3513.257 of the
Revised Code, the declarations of candidacy and petitions of partisan candidates and the nominating petitions of
independent
candidates for the office of clerk of the Barberton municipal court shall be signed by at least two hundred
fifty qualified
electors of the territory of the court.
The candidates shall file a declaration of candidacy and petition, or a nominating petition, whichever is applicable, not later than four p.m. of the seventy-fifth day before the day of the primary election, in the form prescribed by section 3513.07 or 3513.261 of the Revised Code. The declaration of candidacy and petition, or the nominating petition, shall conform to the applicable requirements of section 3513.05 or 3513.257 of the Revised Code.
If no valid declaration of candidacy and petition is filed by any person for nomination as a candidate of a particular political party for election to the office of clerk of the Barberton municipal court, a primary election shall not be held for the purpose of nominating a candidate of that party for election to that office. If only one person files a valid declaration of candidacy and petition for nomination as a candidate of a particular political party for election to that office, a primary election shall not be held for the purpose of nominating a candidate of that party for election to that office, and the candidate shall be issued a certificate of nomination in the manner set forth in section 3513.02 of the Revised Code.
Declarations of candidacy and petitions, nominating petitions, and certificates of nomination for the office of clerk of the Barberton municipal court shall contain a designation of the term for which the candidate seeks election. At the following regular municipal election, all candidates for the office shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the territory of the court in the manner that is provided in section 1901.07 of the Revised Code for the election of the judges of the court. The clerk so elected shall hold office for a term of six years, which term shall commence on the first day of January following the clerk's election and continue until the clerk's successor is elected and qualified.
(f) Except as otherwise provided in division
(A)(1)(f) of
this
section, in the Cuyahoga Falls municipal court, candidates
for
election to the office of clerk of the court shall be
nominated by primary
election. The primary election shall be held
on the day specified in the
charter of the city of Cuyahoga Falls
for the nomination of
municipal officers. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of section 3513.05 or
3513.257 of the
Revised Code, the declarations of candidacy and petitions of partisan candidates and the nominating petitions of
independent
candidates for the office of clerk of the Cuyahoga Falls municipal court shall be signed by at least two hundred
fifty qualified
electors of the territory of the court.
The candidates shall file a declaration of candidacy and petition, or a nominating petition, whichever is applicable, not later than four p.m. of the seventy-fifth day before the day of the primary election, in the form prescribed by section 3513.07 or 3513.261 of the Revised Code. The declaration of candidacy and petition, or the nominating petition, shall conform to the applicable requirements of section 3513.05 or 3513.257 of the Revised Code.
If no valid declaration of candidacy and petition is filed by any person for nomination as a candidate of a particular political party for election to the office of clerk of the Cuyahoga Falls municipal court, a primary election shall not be held for the purpose of nominating a candidate of that party for election to that office. If only one person files a valid declaration of candidacy and petition for nomination as a candidate of a particular political party for election to that office, a primary election shall not be held for the purpose of nominating a candidate of that party for election to that office, and the candidate shall be issued a certificate of nomination in the manner set forth in section 3513.02 of the Revised Code.
Declarations of candidacy and petitions, nominating petitions, and certificates of nomination for the office of clerk of the Cuyahoga Falls municipal court shall contain a designation of the term for which the candidate seeks election. At the following regular municipal election, all candidates for the office shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the territory of the court in the manner that is provided in section 1901.07 of the Revised Code for the election of the judges of the court. The clerk so elected shall hold office for a term of six years, which term shall commence on the first day of January following the clerk's election and continue until the clerk's successor is elected and qualified.
(g) Except as otherwise provided in division
(A)(1)(g) of
this
section, in the Toledo municipal court, candidates for
election
to the office of clerk of the court shall be nominated by
primary
election. The primary election shall be held on the day
specified
in the charter of the city of Toledo for the nomination
of
municipal officers. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of section 3513.05 or 3513.257 of the
Revised Code, the declarations of candidacy and petitions of partisan candidates and the nominating petitions of independent
candidates for the office of clerk of the Toledo municipal court
shall be signed by at least two hundred fifty qualified
electors
of the territory of the court.
The candidates shall file a declaration of candidacy and petition, or a nominating petition, whichever is applicable, not later than four p.m. of the seventy-fifth day before the day of the primary election, in the form prescribed by section 3513.07 or 3513.261 of the Revised Code. The declaration of candidacy and petition, or the nominating petition, shall conform to the applicable requirements of section 3513.05 or 3513.257 of the Revised Code.
If no valid declaration of candidacy and petition is filed by any person for nomination as a candidate of a particular political party for election to the office of clerk of the Toledo municipal court, a primary election shall not be held for the purpose of nominating a candidate of that party for election to that office. If only one person files a valid declaration of candidacy and petition for nomination as a candidate of a particular political party for election to that office, a primary election shall not be held for the purpose of nominating a candidate of that party for election to that office, and the candidate shall be issued a certificate of nomination in the manner set forth in section 3513.02 of the Revised Code.
Declarations of candidacy and petitions, nominating petitions, and certificates of nomination for the office of clerk of the Toledo municipal court shall contain a designation of the term for which the candidate seeks election. At the following regular municipal election, all candidates for the office shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the territory of the court in the manner that is provided in section 1901.07 of the Revised Code for the election of the judges of the court. The clerk so elected shall hold office for a term of six years, which term shall commence on the first day of January following the clerk's election and continue until the clerk's successor is elected and qualified.
(2)(a) Except for the Alliance, Auglaize county, Brown county, Columbiana county, Lorain, Massillon, and Youngstown municipal courts, in a municipal court for which the population of the territory is less than one hundred thousand, the clerk shall be appointed by the court, and the clerk shall hold office until the clerk's successor is appointed and qualified.
(b) In the Alliance, Lorain, Massillon, and Youngstown municipal courts, the clerk shall be elected for a term of office as described in division (A)(1)(a) of this section.
(c) In the Auglaize county and Brown county municipal courts, the clerks of courts of Auglaize county and Brown county shall be the clerks, respectively, of the Auglaize county and Brown county municipal courts and may appoint a chief deputy clerk for each branch that is established pursuant to section 1901.311 of the Revised Code, and assistant clerks as the judge of the court determines are necessary, all of whom shall receive the compensation that the legislative authority prescribes. The clerks of courts of Auglaize county and Brown county, acting as the clerks of the Auglaize county and Brown county municipal courts and assuming the duties of these offices, shall receive compensation payable from the county treasury in semimonthly installments at one-fourth the rate that is prescribed for the clerks of courts of common pleas as determined in accordance with the population of the county and the rates set forth in sections 325.08 and 325.18 of the Revised Code.
(d) In the Columbiana county municipal court, the clerk of courts of Columbiana county shall be the clerk of the municipal court, may appoint a chief deputy clerk for each branch office that is established pursuant to section 1901.311 of the Revised Code, and may appoint any assistant clerks that the judges of the court determine are necessary. All of the chief deputy clerks and assistant clerks shall receive the compensation that the legislative authority prescribes. The clerk of courts of Columbiana county, acting as the clerk of the Columbiana county municipal court and assuming the duties of that office, shall receive compensation payable from the county treasury in semimonthly installments at one-fourth the rate that is prescribed for the clerks of courts of common pleas as determined in accordance with the population of the county and the rates set forth in sections 325.08 and 325.18 of the Revised Code.
(3) During the temporary absence of the clerk due to illness, vacation, or other proper cause, the court may appoint a temporary clerk, who shall be paid the same compensation, have the same authority, and perform the same duties as the clerk.
(B) Except in the Hamilton county, Portage county, and Wayne county municipal courts, if a vacancy occurs in the office of the clerk of the Alliance, Lorain, Massillon, or Youngstown municipal court or occurs in the office of the clerk of a municipal court for which the population of the territory equals or exceeds one hundred thousand because the clerk ceases to hold the office before the end of the clerk's term or because a clerk-elect fails to take office, the vacancy shall be filled, until a successor is elected and qualified, by a person chosen by the residents of the territory of the court who are members of the county central committee of the political party by which the last occupant of that office or the clerk-elect was nominated. Not less than five nor more than fifteen days after a vacancy occurs, those members of that county central committee shall meet to make an appointment to fill the vacancy. At least four days before the date of the meeting, the chairperson or a secretary of the county central committee shall notify each such member of that county central committee by first class mail of the date, time, and place of the meeting and its purpose. A majority of all such members of that county central committee constitutes a quorum, and a majority of the quorum is required to make the appointment. If the office so vacated was occupied or was to be occupied by a person not nominated at a primary election, or if the appointment was not made by the committee members in accordance with this division, the court shall make an appointment to fill the vacancy. A successor shall be elected to fill the office for the unexpired term at the first municipal election that is held more than one hundred twenty days after the vacancy occurred.
(C)(1) In a municipal court, other than the Auglaize county, the Brown county, the Columbiana county, and the Lorain municipal courts, for which the population of the territory is less than one hundred thousand, the clerk of the municipal court shall receive the annual compensation that the presiding judge of the court prescribes, if the revenue of the court for the preceding calendar year, as certified by the auditor or chief fiscal officer of the municipal corporation in which the court is located or, in the case of a county-operated municipal court, the county auditor, is equal to or greater than the expenditures, including any debt charges, for the operation of the court payable under this chapter from the city treasury or, in the case of a county-operated municipal court, the county treasury for that calendar year, as also certified by the auditor or chief fiscal officer. If the revenue of a municipal court, other than the Auglaize county, the Brown county, the Columbiana county, and the Lorain municipal courts, for which the population of the territory is less than one hundred thousand for the preceding calendar year as so certified is not equal to or greater than those expenditures for the operation of the court for that calendar year as so certified, the clerk of a municipal court shall receive the annual compensation that the legislative authority prescribes. As used in this division, "revenue" means the total of all costs and fees that are collected and paid to the city treasury or, in a county-operated municipal court, the county treasury by the clerk of the municipal court under division (F) of this section and all interest received and paid to the city treasury or, in a county-operated municipal court, the county treasury in relation to the costs and fees under division (G) of this section.
(2) In a municipal court, other than the Hamilton county, Portage county, and Wayne county municipal courts, for which the population of the territory is one hundred thousand or more, and in the Lorain municipal court, the clerk of the municipal court shall receive annual compensation in a sum equal to eighty-five per cent of the salary of a judge of the court.
(3) The compensation of a clerk described in division (C)(1) or (2) of this section is payable in semimonthly installments from the same sources and in the same manner as provided in section 1901.11 of the Revised Code.
(D) Before entering upon the duties of the clerk's office, the clerk of a municipal court shall give bond of not less than six thousand dollars to be determined by the judges of the court, conditioned upon the faithful performance of the clerk's duties.
(E) The clerk of a municipal court may do all of the following: administer oaths, take affidavits, and issue executions upon any judgment rendered in the court, including a judgment for unpaid costs; issue, sign, and attach the seal of the court to all writs, process, subpoenas, and papers issuing out of the court; and approve all bonds, sureties, recognizances, and undertakings fixed by any judge of the court or by law. The clerk may refuse to accept for filing any pleading or paper submitted for filing by a person who has been found to be a vexatious litigator under section 2323.52 of the Revised Code and who has failed to obtain leave to proceed under that section. The clerk shall do all of the following: file and safely keep all journals, records, books, and papers belonging or appertaining to the court; record the proceedings of the court; perform all other duties that the judges of the court may prescribe; and keep a book showing all receipts and disbursements, which book shall be open for public inspection at all times.
The clerk shall prepare and maintain a general index, a docket, and other records that the court, by rule, requires, all of which shall be the public records of the court. In the docket, the clerk shall enter, at the time of the commencement of an action, the names of the parties in full, the names of the counsel, and the nature of the proceedings. Under proper dates, the clerk shall note the filing of the complaint, issuing of summons or other process, returns, and any subsequent pleadings. The clerk also shall enter all reports, verdicts, orders, judgments, and proceedings of the court, clearly specifying the relief granted or orders made in each action. The court may order an extended record of any of the above to be made and entered, under the proper action heading, upon the docket at the request of any party to the case, the expense of which record may be taxed as costs in the case or may be required to be prepaid by the party demanding the record, upon order of the court.
(F) The clerk of a municipal court shall receive, collect, and issue receipts for all costs, fees, fines, bail, and other moneys payable to the office or to any officer of the court. The clerk shall each month disburse to the proper persons or officers, and take receipts for, all costs, fees, fines, bail, and other moneys that the clerk collects. Subject to sections 3375.50 and 4511.193 of the Revised Code and to any other section of the Revised Code that requires a specific manner of disbursement of any moneys received by a municipal court and except for the Hamilton county, Lawrence county, and Ottawa county municipal courts, the clerk shall pay all fines received for violation of municipal ordinances into the treasury of the municipal corporation the ordinance of which was violated and shall pay all fines received for violation of township resolutions adopted pursuant to Chapter 504. of the Revised Code into the treasury of the township the resolution of which was violated. Subject to sections 1901.024 and 4511.193 of the Revised Code, in the Hamilton county, Lawrence county, and Ottawa county municipal courts, the clerk shall pay fifty per cent of the fines received for violation of municipal ordinances and fifty per cent of the fines received for violation of township resolutions adopted pursuant to Chapter 504. of the Revised Code into the treasury of the county. Subject to sections 3375.50, 3375.53, 4511.19, and 5503.04 of the Revised Code and to any other section of the Revised Code that requires a specific manner of disbursement of any moneys received by a municipal court, the clerk shall pay all fines collected for the violation of state laws into the county treasury. Except in a county-operated municipal court, the clerk shall pay all costs and fees the disbursement of which is not otherwise provided for in the Revised Code into the city treasury. The clerk of a county-operated municipal court shall pay the costs and fees the disbursement of which is not otherwise provided for in the Revised Code into the county treasury. Moneys deposited as security for costs shall be retained pending the litigation. The clerk shall keep a separate account of all receipts and disbursements in civil and criminal cases, which shall be a permanent public record of the office. On the expiration of the term of the clerk, the clerk shall deliver the records to the clerk's successor. The clerk shall have other powers and duties as are prescribed by rule or order of the court.
(G) All moneys paid into a municipal court shall be noted on the record of the case in which they are paid and shall be deposited in a state or national bank, or a domestic savings and loan association, as defined in section 1151.01 of the Revised Code, that is selected by the clerk. Any interest received upon the deposits shall be paid into the city treasury, except that, in a county-operated municipal court, the interest shall be paid into the treasury of the county in which the court is located.
On the first Monday in January of each year, the clerk shall make a list of the titles of all cases in the court that were finally determined more than one year past in which there remains unclaimed in the possession of the clerk any funds, or any part of a deposit for security of costs not consumed by the costs in the case. The clerk shall give notice of the moneys to the parties who are entitled to the moneys or to their attorneys of record. All the moneys remaining unclaimed on the first day of April of each year shall be paid by the clerk to the city treasurer, except that, in a county-operated municipal court, the moneys shall be paid to the treasurer of the county in which the court is located. The treasurer shall pay any part of the moneys at any time to the person who has the right to the moneys upon proper certification of the clerk.
(H) Deputy clerks may be appointed by the clerk and shall receive the compensation, payable in semimonthly installments out of the city treasury, that the clerk may prescribe, except that the compensation of any deputy clerk of a county-operated municipal court shall be paid out of the treasury of the county in which the court is located. Each deputy clerk shall take an oath of office before entering upon the duties of the deputy clerk's office and, when so qualified, may perform the duties appertaining to the office of the clerk. The clerk may require any of the deputy clerks to give bond of not less than three thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful performance of the deputy clerk's duties.
(I) For the purposes of this section, whenever the population of the territory of a municipal court falls below one hundred thousand but not below ninety thousand, and the population of the territory prior to the most recent regular federal census exceeded one hundred thousand, the legislative authority of the municipal corporation may declare, by resolution, that the territory shall be considered to have a population of at least one hundred thousand.
(J) The clerk or a deputy clerk shall be in attendance at all sessions of the municipal court, although not necessarily in the courtroom, and may administer oaths to witnesses and jurors and receive verdicts.
Sec. 2961.01.
(A) A person convicted of a felony under the
laws of
this or any
other state or the United States, unless the
conviction is
reversed or
annulled, is incompetent to be an
elector or juror or to hold an
office of
honor, trust, or profit.
When any person convicted of a felony
under any law of that type
is granted
parole, judicial
release,
or a conditional
pardon or is released under a
non-jail community control sanction
or a
post-release control
sanction, the person is competent to be
an
elector during the period of
community control,
parole,
post-release
control, or release or until the
conditions
of the
pardon
have been performed
or have transpired and is
competent to
be an elector thereafter
following final discharge.
The
full
pardon of a convict person convicted of a felony restores the rights and privileges so
forfeited under this
section division, but a pardon shall not release a
convict the person convicted of a felony from the costs of
the convict's a conviction in this state,
unless so specified.
(B) A person convicted of a felony under laws of this state or any other state or the United States is incompetent to circulate or serve as a witness for the signing of any declaration of candidacy and petition, voter registration application, or nominating, initiative, referendum, or recall petition.
(C) As used in this section:
(1) "Community control sanction" has the same meaning as in section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Non-jail community control sanction" means a community control sanction that is neither a term in a community-based correctional facility nor a term in a jail.
(3) "Post-release control" and "post-release control sanction" have the same meanings as in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 2967.17. (A) The adult parole authority, in its discretion, may grant an administrative release to any of the following:
(1) A parole violator or release violator serving another felony sentence in a correctional institution within or without this state for the purpose of consolidation of the records or if justice would best be served;
(2) A parole violator at large or release violator at large whose case has been inactive for at least ten years following the date of declaration of the parole violation or the violation of a post-release control sanction;
(3) A parolee taken into custody by the immigration and naturalization service of the United States department of justice and deported from the United States.
(B) The adult parole authority shall not grant an administrative release except upon the concurrence of a majority of the parole board and approval of the chief of the adult parole authority. An administrative release does not restore for the person to whom it is granted the rights and privileges forfeited by conviction as provided in section 2961.01 of the Revised Code. Any person granted an administrative release under this section may subsequently apply for a commutation of sentence for the purpose of regaining the rights and privileges forfeited by conviction, except that the privilege of circulating or serving as a witness for the signing of any declaration of candidacy and petition, voter registration application, or nominating, initiative, referendum, or recall petition forfeited under section 2961.01 of the Revised Code may not be restored under this section.
Sec. 3311.21. (A) In addition to the resolutions authorized by sections 5705.194, 5705.21, 5705.212, and 5705.213 of the Revised Code, the board of education of a joint vocational or cooperative education school district by a vote of two-thirds of its full membership may at any time adopt a resolution declaring the necessity to levy a tax in excess of the ten-mill limitation for a period not to exceed ten years to provide funds for any one or more of the following purposes, which may be stated in the following manner in such resolution, the ballot, and the notice of election: purchasing a site or enlargement thereof and for the erection and equipment of buildings; for the purpose of enlarging, improving, or rebuilding thereof; for the purpose of providing for the current expenses of the joint vocational or cooperative school district; or for a continuing period for the purpose of providing for the current expenses of the joint vocational or cooperative education school district. The resolution shall specify the amount of the proposed rate and, if a renewal, whether the levy is to renew all, or a portion of, the existing levy, and shall specify the first year in which the levy will be imposed. If the levy provides for but is not limited to current expenses, the resolution shall apportion the annual rate of the levy between current expenses and the other purpose or purposes. Such apportionment may but need not be the same for each year of the levy, but the respective portions of the rate actually levied each year for current expenses and the other purpose or purposes shall be limited by such apportionment. The portion of any such rate actually levied for current expenses of a joint vocational or cooperative education school district shall be used in applying division (A) of section 3317.01 of the Revised Code. The portion of any such rate not apportioned to the current expenses of a joint vocational or cooperative education school district shall be used in applying division (B) of this section. On the adoption of such resolution, the joint vocational or cooperative education school district board of education shall certify the resolution to the board of elections of the county containing the most populous portion of the district, which board shall receive resolutions for filing and send them to the boards of elections of each county in which territory of the district is located, furnish all ballots for the election as provided in section 3505.071 of the Revised Code, and prepare the election notice; and the board of elections of each county in which the territory of such district is located shall make the other necessary arrangements for the submission of the question to the electors of the joint vocational or cooperative education school district at the next primary or general election occurring not less than seventy-five days after the resolution was received from the joint vocational or cooperative education school district board of education, or at a special election to be held at a time designated by the district board of education consistent with the requirements of section 3501.01 of the Revised Code, which date shall not be earlier than seventy-five days after the adoption and certification of the resolution.
The board of elections of the county or counties in which
territory of the joint vocational or cooperative education school
district is located shall cause to be published in one or more
newspapers of general circulation in such that district an
advertisement of the proposed tax levy question together with a
statement of the amount of the proposed levy once each a week for
three two consecutive weeks, prior to the election at which the
question is to appear on the ballot, and, if the board of elections operates and maintains a web site, the board also shall post a similar advertisement on its web site for thirty days prior to that election.
If a majority of the electors voting on the question of
levying such tax vote in favor of the levy, the joint vocational
or cooperative education school district board of education shall
annually make the levy within the district at the rate specified
in the resolution and ballot or at any lesser rate, and the
county auditor of each affected county shall annually place the
levy on the tax list and duplicate of each school district in his
the county having territory in the joint vocational or cooperative
education school district. The taxes realized from the levy
shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as
other taxes on the duplicate, and the taxes, when collected,
shall be paid to the treasurer of the joint vocational or
cooperative education school district and deposited by him to a
special fund, which shall be established by the joint vocational
or cooperative education school district board of education for
all revenue derived from any tax levied pursuant to this section
and for the proceeds of anticipation notes which shall be
deposited in such fund. After the approval of the levy, the
joint vocational or cooperative education school district board
of education may anticipate a fraction of the proceeds of the
levy and from time to time, during the life of the levy, but in
any year prior to the time when the tax collection from the levy
so anticipated can be made for that year, issue anticipation
notes in an amount not exceeding fifty per cent of the estimated
proceeds of the levy to be collected in each year up to a period
of five years after the date of the issuance of the notes, less
an amount equal to the proceeds of the levy obligated for each
year by the issuance of anticipation notes, provided that the
total amount maturing in any one year shall not exceed fifty per
cent of the anticipated proceeds of the levy for that year. Each
issue of notes shall be sold as provided in Chapter 133. of the
Revised Code, and shall, except for such limitation that the
total amount of such notes maturing in any one year shall not
exceed fifty per cent of the anticipated proceeds of the levy for
that year, mature serially in substantially equal installments,
during each year over a period not to exceed five years after
their issuance.
(B) Prior to the application of section 319.301 of the Revised Code, the rate of a levy that is limited to, or to the extent that it is apportioned to, purposes other than current expenses shall be reduced in the same proportion in which the district's total valuation increases during the life of the levy because of additions to such valuation that have resulted from improvements added to the tax list and duplicate.
(C) The form of ballot cast at an election under division (A) of this section shall be as prescribed by section 5705.25 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3311.50. (A) As used in this section, "county school financing district" means a taxing district consisting of the following territory:
(1) The territory that constitutes the educational service center on the date that the governing board of that educational service center adopts a resolution under division (B) of this section declaring that the territory of the educational service center is a county school financing district, exclusive of any territory subsequently withdrawn from the district under division (D) of this section;
(2) Any territory that has been added to the county school financing district under this section.
A county school financing district may include the territory of a city, local, or exempted village school district whose territory also is included in the territory of one or more other county school financing districts.
(B) The governing board of any educational service center may, by resolution, declare that the territory of the educational service center is a county school financing district. The resolution shall state the purpose for which the county school financing district is created which may be for any one or more of the following purposes:
(1) To levy taxes for the provision of special education by the school districts that are a part of the district, including taxes for permanent improvements for special education;
(2) To levy taxes for the provision of specified educational programs and services by the school districts that are a part of the district, as identified in the resolution creating the district, including the levying of taxes for permanent improvements for those programs and services;
(3) To levy taxes for permanent improvements of school districts that are a part of the district.
The governing board of the educational service center that creates a county school financing district shall serve as the taxing authority of the district and may use educational service center governing board employees to perform any of the functions necessary in the performance of its duties as a taxing authority. A county school financing district shall not employ any personnel.
With the approval of a majority of the members of the board of education of each school district within the territory of the county school financing district, the taxing authority of the financing district may amend the resolution creating the district to broaden or narrow the purposes for which it was created.
A governing board of an educational service center may create more than one county school financing district. If a governing board of an educational service center creates more than one such district, it shall clearly distinguish among the districts it creates by including a designation of each district's purpose in the district's name.
(C) A majority of the members of a board of education of a
city, local, or exempted village school district may adopt a
resolution requesting that its territory be joined with the
territory of any county school financing district. Copies of the
resolution shall be filed with the state board of education and
the taxing authority of the county school financing district.
Within sixty days of its receipt of such a resolution, the county
school financing district's taxing authority shall vote on the
question of whether to accept the school district's territory as
part of the county school financing district. If a majority of
the members of the taxing authority vote to accept the territory,
the school district's territory shall thereupon become a part of
the county school financing district unless the county school
financing district has in effect a tax imposed under section
5705.211 of the Revised Code. If the county school financing
district has such a tax in effect, the taxing authority shall
certify a copy of its resolution accepting the school district's
territory to the school district's board of education, which may
then adopt a resolution, with the affirmative vote of a majority
of its members, proposing the submission to the electors of the
question of whether the district's territory shall become a part
of the county school financing district and subject to the taxes
imposed by the financing district. The resolution shall set
forth the date on which the question shall be submitted to the
electors, which shall be at a special election held on a date
specified in the resolution, which shall not be earlier than
seventy-five days after the adoption and certification of the
resolution. A copy of the resolution shall immediately be
certified to the board of elections of the proper county, which
shall make arrangements for the submission of the proposal to the
electors of the school district. The board of the joining
district shall publish notice of the election in one or more
newspapers of general circulation in the county once a week for
four two consecutive weeks prior to the election. Additionally, if the board of elections operates and maintains a web site, the board of elections shall post notice of the election on its web site for thirty days prior to the election. The question appearing on the ballot
shall read:
"Shall the territory within .......... (name of the school district proposing to join the county school financing district) .......... be added to .......... (name) .......... county school financing district, and a property tax for the purposes of ......... (here insert purposes) .......... at a rate of taxation not exceeding .......... (here insert the outstanding tax rate) ........... be in effect for .......... (here insert the number of years the tax is to be in effect or "a continuing period of time," as applicable) ..........?"
If the proposal is approved by a majority of the electors voting on it, the joinder shall take effect on the first day of July following the date of the election, and the county board of elections shall notify the county auditor of each county in which the school district joining its territory to the county school financing district is located.
(D) The board of any city, local, or exempted village school district whose territory is part of a county school financing district may withdraw its territory from the county school financing district thirty days after submitting to the governing board that is the taxing authority of the district and the state board a resolution proclaiming such withdrawal, adopted by a majority vote of its members, but any county school financing district tax levied in such territory on the effective date of the withdrawal shall remain in effect in such territory until such tax expires or is renewed. No board may adopt a resolution withdrawing from a county school financing district that would take effect during the forty-five days preceding the date of an election at which a levy proposed under section 5705.215 of the Revised Code is to be voted upon.
(E) A city, local, or exempted village school district does not lose its separate identity or legal existence by reason of joining its territory to a county school financing district under this section and an educational service center does not lose its separate identity or legal existence by reason of creating a county school financing district that accepts or loses territory under this section.
Sec. 3311.73. (A) No later than seventy-five days before the general election held in the first even-numbered year occurring at least four years after the date it assumed control of the municipal school district pursuant to division (B) of section 3311.71 of the Revised Code, the board of education appointed under that division shall notify the board of elections of each county containing territory of the municipal school district of the referendum election required by division (B) of this section.
(B) At the general election held in the first even-numbered year occurring at least four years after the date the new board assumed control of a municipal school district pursuant to division (B) of section 3311.71 of the Revised Code, the following question shall be submitted to the electors residing in the school district:
"Shall the mayor of ..... (here insert the name of the
applicable municipal corporation)..... continue to appoint the
members of the board of education of the ..... (here insert the
name of the municipal school district).....?"
The board of elections of the county in which the majority
of the school district's territory is located shall make all
necessary arrangements for the submission of the question to the
electors, and the election shall be conducted, canvassed, and
certified in the same manner as regular elections in the
district for the election of county officers, provided that in
any such election in which only part of the electors of a
precinct are qualified to vote, the board of elections may
assign voters in such part to an adjoining precinct. Such an
assignment may be made to an adjoining precinct in another
county with the consent and approval of the board of elections
of such other county. Notice of the election shall be
published in a newspaper of general circulation in the
school district once a week for three two consecutive weeks prior to the
election stating, and, if the board of elections operates and maintains a web site, the board of elections shall post notice of the election on its web site for thirty days prior to the election. The notice shall state the question on which the election is being
held. The ballot shall be in the form prescribed by the
secretary of state. Costs of submitting the question to the electors shall be
charged to the municipal school district in accordance with section 3501.17
of the Revised Code.
(C) If a majority of electors voting on the issue proposed in division (B) of this section approve the question, the mayor shall appoint a new board on the immediately following first day of July pursuant to division (F) of section 3311.71 of the Revised Code.
(D) If a majority of electors voting on the issue proposed in division (B) of this section disapprove the question, a new seven-member board of education shall be elected at the next regular election occurring in November of an odd-numbered year. At such election, four members shall be elected for terms of four years and three members shall be elected for terms of two years. Thereafter, their successors shall be elected in the same manner and for the same terms as members of boards of education of a city school district. All members of the board of education of a municipal school district appointed pursuant to division (B) of section 3311.71 of the Revised Code shall continue to serve after the end of the terms to which they were appointed until their successors are qualified and assume office in accordance with section 3313.09 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3349.29. An agreement made pursuant to sections
3349.27 and 3349.28 of the Revised Code is not effective unless
it has been approved by the legislative authority of the
municipal corporation with which the municipal university is
identified, upon such legislative authority's determination that
such agreement will be beneficial to the municipal corporation,
and also approved by the Ohio board of regents, and, if required
by any applicable appropriation measure, by the state controlling
board, and any payment from state tax moneys provided for in the
agreement will be subject to appropriations made by the general
assembly. If provision is to be made under such agreement for
the transfer of, or grant of the right to use, all or a
substantial part of the assets of the municipal university to the
state university and assumption by the state university of
educational functions of the municipal university, such agreement
shall not become effective, under sections 3349.27 to 3349.30,
inclusive, of the Revised Code until the electors of the
municipal corporation have approved such transfer or grant.
The legislative authority of the municipal corporation
shall, by ordinance, submit the question to the electors at a
general, primary, or a special election to be held on the date
specified in said the ordinance. Such The ordinance shall be certified
to the board of elections not later than on the forty-fifth day
preceding the date of such the election. Notice of such the election
shall be published in one or more newspapers of general
circulation in the municipal corporation once a week for four two
consecutive weeks prior to the election and, if the board of elections operates and maintains a web site, notice of the election also shall be posted on that web site for thirty days prior to the election. The form of the ballot to be used at said the
election shall be substantially as follows, with such variations
as may be appropriate to reflect the general nature of the
transfer or grant of use of assets and the transfer of
educational functions contemplated:
"Shall assets of the municipal university known as .......................... be transferred to (make available for use by) a state university known as ........................... and the state university assume educational functions of the municipal university and provide higher education in (or in close proximity to) the city of .......................... to the residents of the city of ........................ and of the state of Ohio and such others as shall be admitted?"
The favorable vote of a majority of those voting on the proposition constitutes such approval as is required by this section.
Sec. 3354.12. (A) Upon the request by resolution approved by the board of trustees of a community college district, and upon certification to the board of elections not less than seventy-five days prior to the election, the boards of elections of the county or counties comprising such district shall place upon the ballot in their respective counties the question of levying a tax on all the taxable property in the community college district outside the ten-mill limitation, for a specified period of years or for a continuing period of time, to provide funds for any one or more of the following purposes: the acquisition of sites, the erection, furnishing, and equipment of buildings, the acquisition, construction, or improvement of any property which the board of trustees of a community college district is authorized to acquire, construct, or improve and which has an estimated life of usefulness of five years or more as certified by the fiscal officer, and the payment of operating costs. Not more than two special elections shall be held in any one calendar year. Levies for a continuing period of time adopted under this section may be reduced in accordance with section 5705.261 of the Revised Code.
If such proposal is to be or include the renewal of an existing levy at the expiration thereof, the ballot for such election shall state whether it is a renewal of a tax; a renewal of a stated number of mills and an increase of a stated number of mills, or a renewal of a part of an existing levy with a reduction of a stated number of mills; the year of the tax duplicate on which such renewal will first be made; and if earlier, the year of the tax duplicate on which such additional levy will first be made, which may include the tax duplicate for the current year unless the election is to be held after the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of the current tax year. The ballot shall also state the period of years for such levy or that it is for a continuing period of time. If a levy for a continuing period of time provides for but is not limited to current expenses, the resolution of the board of trustees providing for the election on such levy shall apportion the annual rate of the levy between current expenses and the other purpose or purposes. Such apportionment need not be the same for each year of the levy, but the respective portions of the rate actually levied each year for current expenses and the other purpose or purposes shall be limited by such apportionment. The portion of the rate apportioned to the other purpose or purposes shall be reduced as provided in division (B) of this section.
If a majority of the electors in such district voting on such question approve thereof, the county auditor or auditors of the county or counties comprising such district shall annually, for the applicable years, place such levy on the tax duplicate in such district, in an amount determined by the board of trustees, but not to exceed the amount set forth in the proposition approved by the electors.
The boards of trustees of a community college district shall establish a special fund for all revenue derived from any tax levied pursuant to this section.
The boards of elections of the county or counties
comprising the district shall cause to be published in a
newspaper of general circulation in each such county, an
advertisement of the proposed tax levy question, once each a week
for three two consecutive weeks immediately preceding prior to the election at which the
question is to appear on the ballot, and, if a board of elections operates and maintains a web site, that board also shall post a similar advertisement on its web site for thirty days prior to that election.
After the approval of such levy by vote, the board of trustees of a community college district may anticipate a fraction of the proceeds of such levy and from time to time issue anticipation notes having such maturity or maturities that the aggregate principal amount of all such notes maturing in any calendar year shall not exceed seventy-five per cent of the anticipated proceeds from such levy for such year, and that no note shall mature later than the thirty-first day of December of the tenth calendar year following the calendar year in which such note is issued. Each issue of notes shall be sold as provided in Chapter 133. of the Revised Code.
The amount of bonds or anticipatory notes authorized pursuant to Chapter 3354. of the Revised Code, may include sums to repay moneys previously borrowed, advanced, or granted and expended for the purposes of such bond or anticipatory note issues, whether such moneys were advanced from the available funds of the community college district or by other persons, and the community college district may restore and repay to such funds or persons from the proceeds of such issues the moneys so borrowed, advanced or granted.
All operating costs of such community college may be paid out of any gift or grant from the state, pursuant to division (K) of section 3354.09 of the Revised Code; out of student fees and tuition collected pursuant to division (G) of section 3354.09 of the Revised Code; or out of unencumbered funds from any other source of the community college income not prohibited by law.
(B) Prior to the application of section 319.301 of the Revised Code, the rate of a levy that is limited to, or to the extent that it is apportioned to, purposes other than current expenses shall be reduced in the same proportion in which the district's total valuation increases during the life of the levy because of additions to such valuation that have resulted from improvements added to the tax list and duplicate.
Sec. 3355.09. Upon receipt of a request from the university branch district managing authority, the boards of elections of the county or counties comprising such district shall place upon the ballot in the district at the next primary or general election occurring not less than seventy-five days after submission of such request by such managing authority, the question of levying a tax outside the ten-mill limitation, for a specified period of years, to provide funds for any of the following purposes:
(A) Purchasing a site or enlargement thereof;
(B) The erection and equipment of buildings;
(C) Enlarging, improving, or rebuilding buildings;
(D) The acquisition, construction, or improvement of any property which the university branch district managing authority is authorized to acquire, construct, or improve and which has been certified by the fiscal officer to have an estimated useful life of five or more years.
If a majority of the electors in such district voting on such question approve, the county auditor of the county or counties comprising such district shall annually place such levy on the tax duplicate in such district, in the amount set forth in the proposition approved by the electors.
The managing authority of the university branch district shall establish a special fund pursuant to section 3355.07 of the Revised Code for all revenue derived from any tax levied pursuant to provisions of this section.
The boards of election of the county or counties comprising
the district shall cause to be published in a newspaper of
general circulation in each such county, an advertisement of the
proposed tax levy question, once each a week for three two consecutive weeks
immediately preceding prior to the election at which the question is to
appear on the ballot, and, if a board of elections operates and maintains a web site, that board also shall post a similar advertisement on its web site for thirty days prior to the election.
After the approval of such levy by vote, the managing authority of the university branch district may anticipate a fraction of the proceeds of such levy and from time to time, during the life of such levy, issue anticipation notes in an amount not to exceed seventy-five per cent of the estimated proceeds of such levy to be collected in each year over a period of five years after the date of the issuance of such notes, less an amount equal to the proceeds of such levy previously obligated for such year by the issuance of anticipation notes, provided, that the total amount maturing in any one year shall not exceed seventy-five per cent of the anticipated proceeds of such levy for that year.
Each issue of notes shall be sold as provided in Chapter 133. of the Revised Code and shall mature serially in substantially equal amounts, during each remaining year of the levy, not to exceed five, after their issuance.
Sec. 3375.03. Unless the transfer of certain library
territory pursuant to division (G) of section 3375.01 of the
Revised Code has been agreed to by the affected boards of library
trustees, a referendum petition against the transfer of the
territory to another library district, signed by qualified
electors of the territory to be transferred and equal in number
to
at least ten per cent of such those electors who voted in the last
gubernatorial election, may be filed with the library board of the
territory's current library district within sixty days after
certified copies of the boundary change order have been filed in
final form with the secretary of state, and the order shall not
become effective until after the outcome of the referendum
procedure prescribed in this section.
Each part of a petition filed pursuant to this section shall contain a full and correct title of the petition, a brief summary of its purpose, and a statement by the person soliciting signatures for the petition, made under penalty of election falsification, certifying that, to the best of the circulator's knowledge and belief, each signature contained in the petition is that of the person whose name it purports to be or of an attorney in fact acting pursuant to section 3501.382 of the Revised Code, that each person is an elector residing in the territory subject to transfer entitled to sign the petition, and that each person signed the petition with knowledge of its contents. The petition may contain additional information that shall fairly and accurately present the question to prospective petition signers.
The form of a petition calling for a referendum and the statement of the circulator shall be substantially as follows:
A petition against the transfer of territory currently located in the ...................... library district and proposed for transfer by the state library board to the ..................... library district.
We, the undersigned, being electors residing in the area proposed to be transferred, equal in number to not less than ten per cent of the qualified electors in the area subject to transfer who voted at the last general election, request the ....................... library board to submit the question of the transfer of territory to the ......................... library district to the electors residing within the territory proposed to be transferred for approval or rejection at the next primary or general election.
| Street Address | Date of | ||
| Signature | or R.F.D. | Precinct | Signing |
..............................................................
..............................................................
I, ..................... (name of circulator) ........... ..............., declare under penalty of election falsification that I am an elector of the state of Ohio and reside at the address appearing below my signature; that I am the circulator of the foregoing part petition containing .........(number)........... signatures; that I have witnessed the affixing of every signature; that all signers were to the best of my knowledge and belief qualified to sign; that every signature is to the best of my knowledge and belief the signature of the person whose signature it purports to be or of an attorney in fact acting pursuant to section 3501.382 of the Revised Code; and that such person signed the petition with knowledge of its contents.
| ................................ | |
| (Signature of circulator) | |
| ................................ | |
| (Address of circulator's permanent | |
| residence in this state) | |
| ................................ | |
| (City or village and zip code) |
WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS GUILTY OF A FELONY OF THE FIFTH DEGREE."
The person presenting a referendum petition under this
section shall be given a receipt containing the time of day and
the date on which the petition is filed with the library board
and
noting the purpose of and the number of signatures on the
petition. The secretary of the library board shall cause the
board of elections of the county or counties in which the
territory to be transferred is located to check the sufficiency
of
signatures on such the petition, and, if these are found to be
sufficient,
the secretary shall present the petition to the
library board at
a meeting of the board, which shall occur not
later than thirty
days following the filing of the petition with
the board. The
board shall promptly certify the question to the
board of
elections of the county or counties in which the
territory to be
transferred is located for the purpose of having
the proposal
placed on the ballot within
that territory at
the
next general or
primary election occurring not less than sixty
days after the
certification.
The form of the ballot to be used at the election on the question of the transfer shall be as follows:
"Shall the territory ..................... (here insert its boundaries) which is currently within the ................ ........ (here insert the name of the current library district) library district be transferred to the ....................... (here insert the name of the library district to which the territory is proposed to be transferred) library district?
| ..... For the transfer | ||
| ..... Against the transfer" |
The persons qualified to vote on the question are the electors residing in the territory proposed to be transferred. The costs of an election held under this section shall be paid by the board of library trustees of the current library district of the territory to be transferred. The board of elections shall certify the result of the election to the state library board and to the library boards of the affected library district.
If a majority of electors voting on the question vote in favor of the transfer, the transfer shall take effect on the date of the certification of the election to the state library board. If a majority of the voters voting on the question do not vote for the transfer, the transfer shall not take place.
Sec. 3501.01. As used in the sections of the Revised Code relating to elections and political communications:
(A) "General election" means the election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in each November.
(B) "Regular municipal election" means the election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in each odd-numbered year.
(C) "Regular state election" means the election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in each even-numbered year.
(D) "Special election" means any election other than those elections defined in other divisions of this section. A special election may be held only on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in February, May, August, or November, or on the day authorized by a particular municipal or county charter for the holding of a primary election, except that in any year in which a presidential primary election is held, no special election shall be held in February or May, except as authorized by a municipal or county charter, but may be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March.
(E)(1) "Primary" or "primary election" means an election held for the purpose of nominating persons as candidates of political parties for election to offices, and for the purpose of electing persons as members of the controlling committees of political parties and as delegates and alternates to the conventions of political parties. Primary elections shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May of each year except in years in which a presidential primary election is held.
(2) "Presidential primary election" means a primary election as defined by division (E)(1) of this section at which an election is held for the purpose of choosing delegates and alternates to the national conventions of the major political parties pursuant to section 3513.12 of the Revised Code. Unless otherwise specified, presidential primary elections are included in references to primary elections. In years in which a presidential primary election is held, all primary elections shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March except as otherwise authorized by a municipal or county charter.
(F) "Political party" means any group of voters meeting the requirements set forth in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code for the formation and existence of a political party.
(1) "Major political party" means any political party organized under the laws of this state whose candidate for governor or nominees for presidential electors received no less than twenty per cent of the total vote cast for such office at the most recent regular state election.
(2) "Intermediate political party" means any political party organized under the laws of this state whose candidate for governor or nominees for presidential electors received less than twenty per cent but not less than ten per cent of the total vote cast for such office at the most recent regular state election.
(3) "Minor political party" means any political party organized under the laws of this state whose candidate for governor or nominees for presidential electors received less than ten per cent but not less than five per cent of the total vote cast for such office at the most recent regular state election or which has filed with the secretary of state, subsequent to any election in which it received less than five per cent of such vote, a petition signed by qualified electors equal in number to at least one per cent of the total vote cast for such office in the last preceding regular state election, except that a newly formed political party shall be known as a minor political party until the time of the first election for governor or president which occurs not less than twelve months subsequent to the formation of such party, after which election the status of such party shall be determined by the vote for the office of governor or president.
(G) "Dominant party in a precinct" or "dominant political party in a precinct" means that political party whose candidate for election to the office of governor at the most recent regular state election at which a governor was elected received more votes than any other person received for election to that office in such precinct at such election.
(H) "Candidate" means any qualified person certified in accordance with the provisions of the Revised Code for placement on the official ballot of a primary, general, or special election to be held in this state, or any qualified person who claims to be a write-in candidate, or who knowingly assents to being represented as a write-in candidate by another at either a primary, general, or special election to be held in this state.
(I) "Independent candidate" means any candidate who claims not to be affiliated with a political party, and whose name has been certified on the office-type ballot at a general or special election through the filing of a statement of candidacy and nominating petition, as prescribed in section 3513.257 of the Revised Code.
(J) "Nonpartisan candidate" means any candidate whose name is required, pursuant to section 3505.04 of the Revised Code, to be listed on the nonpartisan ballot, including all candidates for judicial office, for member of any board of education, for municipal or township offices in which primary elections are not held for nominating candidates by political parties, and for offices of municipal corporations having charters that provide for separate ballots for elections for these offices.
(K) "Party candidate" means any candidate who claims to be a member of a political party, whose name has been certified on the office-type ballot at a general or special election through the filing of a declaration of candidacy and petition of candidate, and who has won the primary election of the candidate's party for the public office the candidate seeks or is selected by party committee in accordance with section 3513.31 of the Revised Code.
(L) "Officer of a political party" includes, but is not limited to, any member, elected or appointed, of a controlling committee, whether representing the territory of the state, a district therein, a county, township, a city, a ward, a precinct, or other territory, of a major, intermediate, or minor political party.
(M) "Question or issue" means any question or issue certified in accordance with the Revised Code for placement on an official ballot at a general or special election to be held in this state.
(N) "Elector" or "qualified elector" means a person having the qualifications provided by law to be entitled to vote.
(O) "Voter" means an elector who votes at an election.
(P) "Voting residence" means that place of residence of an elector which shall determine the precinct in which the elector may vote.
(Q) "Precinct" means a district within a county established by the board of elections of such county within which all qualified electors having a voting residence therein may vote at the same polling place.
(R) "Polling place" means that place provided for each precinct at which the electors having a voting residence in such precinct may vote.
(S) "Board" or "board of elections" means the board of elections appointed in a county pursuant to section 3501.06 of the Revised Code.
(T) "Political subdivision" means a county, township, city, village, or school district.
(U) "Election officer" or "election official" means any of the following:
(1) Secretary of state;
(2) Employees of the secretary of state serving the division of elections in the capacity of attorney, administrative officer, administrative assistant, elections administrator, office manager, or clerical supervisor;
(3) Director of a board of elections;
(4) Deputy director of a board of elections;
(5) Member of a board of elections;
(6) Employees of a board of elections;
(7) Precinct polling place judges and clerks;
(8) Employees appointed by the boards of elections on a temporary or part-time basis.
(V) "Acknowledgment notice" means a notice sent by a board of elections, on a form prescribed by the secretary of state, informing a voter registration applicant or an applicant who wishes to change the applicant's residence or name of the status of the application; the information necessary to complete or update the application, if any; and if the application is complete, the precinct in which the applicant is to vote.
(W) "Confirmation notice" means a notice sent by a board of elections, on a form prescribed by the secretary of state, to a registered elector to confirm the registered elector's current address.
(X) "Designated agency" means an office or agency in the state that provides public assistance or that provides state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons with disabilities and that is required by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to implement a program designed and administered by the secretary of state for registering voters, or any other public or government office or agency that implements a program designed and administered by the secretary of state for registering voters, including the department of job and family services, the program administered under section 3701.132 of the Revised Code by the department of health, the department of mental health, the department of mental retardation and developmental disabilities, the rehabilitation services commission, and any other agency the secretary of state designates. "Designated agency" does not include public high schools and vocational schools, public libraries, or the office of a county treasurer.
(Y) "National Voter Registration Act of 1993" means the "National Voter Registration Act of 1993," 107 Stat. 77, 42 U.S.C.A. 1973gg.
(Z) "Voting Rights Act of 1965" means the "Voting Rights Act of 1965," 79 Stat. 437, 42 U.S.C.A. 1973, as amended.
(AA) "Photo identification" means a document that meets each of the following requirements:
(1) It shows the name of the individual to whom it was issued, which shall conform to the name in the poll list or signature pollbook.
(2) It shows the current address of the individual to whom it was issued, which shall conform to the address in the poll list or signature pollbook, except for a driver's license or a state identification card issued under section 4507.50 of the Revised Code, which may show either the current or former address of the individual to whom it was issued, regardless of whether that address conforms to the address in the poll list or signature pollbook.
(3) It shows a photograph of the individual to whom it was issued.
(4) It includes an expiration date that has not passed.
(5) It was issued by the government of the United States or this state.
Sec. 3501.05. The secretary of state shall do all of the following:
(A) Appoint all members of boards of elections;
(B)
Issue instructions by directives and advisories to
members
of
the boards as to the proper methods
of conducting
elections;. In addition to any other publication of those directives and advisories, the secretary of state shall publish those directives and advisories on a web site of the office of the secretary of state as soon as is practicable after they are issued, but not later than the close of business on the same day as a directive or advisory is issued. The secretary of state shall not remove from the web site any directives and advisories so posted. The secretary of state shall provide on that web site access to all directives and advisories currently in effect and to an archive of all directives and advisories previously published on that web site.
(C) Prepare rules and instructions for the conduct of elections;
(D) Publish and furnish to the boards from time to time a sufficient number of indexed copies of all election laws then in force;
(E) Edit and issue all pamphlets concerning proposed laws or amendments required by law to be submitted to the voters;
(F) Prescribe the form of registration cards, blanks, and records;
(G) Determine and prescribe the forms of ballots and the forms of all blanks, cards of instructions, pollbooks, tally sheets, certificates of election, and forms and blanks required by law for use by candidates, committees, and boards;
(H) Prepare the ballot title or statement to be placed on the ballot for any proposed law or amendment to the constitution to be submitted to the voters of the state;
(I) Certify to the several boards the forms of ballots and names of candidates for state offices, and the form and wording of state referendum questions and issues, as they shall appear on the ballot;
(J) Give final approval to ballot language for any local question or issue approved and transmitted by boards of elections under section 3501.11 of the Revised Code;
(K) Receive all initiative and referendum petitions on state questions and issues and determine and certify to the sufficiency of those petitions;
(L) Require such reports from the several boards as are provided by law, or as the secretary of state considers necessary;
(M) Compel the observance by election officers in the several counties of the requirements of the election laws;
(N)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (N)(2) of this section, investigate the administration of election laws, frauds, and irregularities in elections in any county, and report violations of election laws to the attorney general or prosecuting attorney, or both, for prosecution;
(2) On and after August 24, 1995, report a failure to comply with or a violation of a provision in sections 3517.08 to 3517.13, 3517.17, 3517.18, 3517.20 to 3517.22, 3599.03, or 3599.031 of the Revised Code, whenever the secretary of state has or should have knowledge of a failure to comply with or a violation of a provision in one of those sections, by filing a complaint with the Ohio elections commission under section 3517.153 of the Revised Code;
(O) Make an annual report to the governor containing the results of elections, the cost of elections in the various counties, a tabulation of the votes in the several political subdivisions, and other information and recommendations relative to elections the secretary of state considers desirable;
(P) Prescribe and distribute to boards of elections a list of instructions indicating all legal steps necessary to petition successfully for local option elections under sections 4301.32 to 4301.41, 4303.29, 4305.14, and 4305.15 of the Revised Code;
(Q) Prescribe a general program Adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to require each board of elections to remove ineligible voters
from official
registration lists by reason of change of the statewide voter registration database and, if already prepared for a particular election, from the poll list or signature pollbook used in each precinct, which rules shall provide for all of the following:
(1) A process for the removal of voters who have changed residence, which shall be uniform, nondiscriminatory, and in compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, including a program that uses the national change of address service provided by the United States postal system through its licensees;
(2) A process for the removal of ineligible voters under section 3503.21 of the Revised Code;
(3) A uniform system for marking or removing the name of an ineligible voter from the statewide voter registration database and, if already prepared for a particular election, from the poll list or signature pollbook used in each precinct and noting the reason for that mark or removal.
(R) Prescribe a general program for registering voters or updating voter registration information, such as name and residence changes, at designated agencies, the offices of deputy registrars of motor vehicles, public high schools and vocational schools, public libraries, and the offices of county treasurers, and prescribe a program of distribution of voter registration forms through those agencies, the offices of the registrar and deputy registrars of motor vehicles, public high schools and vocational schools, public libraries, and the offices of county treasurers;
(S) To the extent feasible, provide copies, at no cost and upon request, of the voter registration form in post offices in this state;
(T) Adopt rules pursuant to section 111.15 of the Revised Code for the purpose of implementing the program for registering voters at designated agencies and the offices of the registrar and deputy registrars of motor vehicles consistent with this chapter;
(U)
Specify, by a directive issued not later than
thirty-five
days prior to the date of an election, the date by
which the
boards shall complete the canvass of election returns
under
section 3505.32 or 3513.22 of the Revised Code;
(V) Establish the full-time position of Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator within the office of the secretary of state to do all of the following:
(1) Assist the secretary of state with ensuring that there is equal access to polling places for persons with disabilities;
(2) Assist the secretary of state with ensuring that each voter may cast the voter's ballot in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access and participation, including privacy and independence, as for other voters;
(3) Advise the secretary of state in the development of standards for the certification of voting machines, marking devices, and automatic tabulating equipment.
(W)(V) Establish a computerized statewide database of all legally registered voters under section 3503.15 of the Revised Code that complies with the requirements of the "Help America Vote Act of 2002," Pub. L. No. 107-252, 116 Stat. 1666, and provide training in the operation of that system;
(W) Ensure that all directives, advisories, other instructions, or decisions issued or made during or as a result of any conference or teleconference call with a board of elections to discuss the proper methods and procedures for conducting elections, to answer questions regarding elections, or to discuss the interpretation of directives, advisories, or other instructions issued by the secretary of state are posted on a web site of the office of the secretary of state as soon as is practicable after the completion of the conference or teleconference call, but not later than the close of business on the same day as the conference or teleconference call takes place.
(X) Publish a report on a web site of the office of the secretary of state not later than one month after the completion of the canvass of the election returns for each primary and general election, identifying, by county, the number of absent voter's ballots cast and the number of those ballots that were counted, and the number of provisional ballots cast and the number of those ballots that were counted, for that election. The secretary of state shall maintain the information on the web site in an archive format for each subsequent election.
(Y) Conduct voter education outlining voter identification requirements;
(Z) Establish a procedure by which a registered elector may update the elector's signature used in the poll list or signature pollbook produced by the board of elections of the county in which the elector resides;
(AA) Perform other duties required by law.
Whenever a primary election is held under section 3513.32 of the Revised Code or a special election is held under section 3521.03 of the Revised Code to fill a vacancy in the office of representative to congress, the secretary of state shall establish a deadline, notwithstanding any other deadline required under the Revised Code, by which any or all of the following shall occur: the filing of a declaration of candidacy and petitions or a statement of candidacy and nominating petition together with the applicable filing fee; the filing of protests against the candidacy of any person filing a declaration of candidacy or nominating petition; the filing of a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate; the filing of campaign finance reports; the preparation of, and the making of corrections or challenges to, precinct voter registration lists; the receipt of applications for absent voter's ballots or armed service absent voter's ballots; the supplying of election materials to precincts by boards of elections; the holding of hearings by boards of elections to consider challenges to the right of a person to appear on a voter registration list; and the scheduling of programs to instruct or reinstruct election officers.
In the performance of the secretary of state's duties as the chief election officer, the secretary of state may administer oaths, issue subpoenas, summon witnesses, compel the production of books, papers, records, and other evidence, and fix the time and place for hearing any matters relating to the administration and enforcement of the election laws.
In any controversy involving or arising out of the adoption of registration or the appropriation of funds for registration, the secretary of state may, through the attorney general, bring an action in the name of the state in the court of common pleas of the county where the cause of action arose or in an adjoining county, to adjudicate the question.
In any action involving the laws in Title XXXV of the Revised Code wherein the interpretation of those laws is in issue in such a manner that the result of the action will affect the lawful duties of the secretary of state or of any board of elections, the secretary of state may, on the secretary of state's motion, be made a party.
The secretary of state may apply to any court that is hearing a case in which the secretary of state is a party, for a change of venue as a substantive right, and the change of venue shall be allowed, and the case removed to the court of common pleas of an adjoining county named in the application or, if there are cases pending in more than one jurisdiction that involve the same or similar issues, the court of common pleas of Franklin county.
Public high schools and vocational schools, public libraries, and the office of a county treasurer shall implement voter registration programs as directed by the secretary of state pursuant to this section.
Sec. 3501.052. (A) The secretary of state shall not serve as campaign treasurer or in any other official capacity for any campaign committee for any state or local office other than an office to which the secretary of state is seeking election.
(B) The secretary of state shall not serve as campaign treasurer or in any other official capacity for any principal campaign committee or other authorized committee for any federal office other than an office to which the secretary of state is seeking election.
(C) The secretary of state shall not serve as a treasurer or in any other official capacity for any committee named in an initiative petition, any committee named in a referendum petition, any person making disbursements for the direct costs of producing or airing electioneering communications, or any other committee regulated under Chapter 3517. of the Revised Code.
(D) The attorney general shall not serve as a treasurer or in any other official capacity for any committee named in an initiative petition or any committee named in a referendum petition.
(E) As used in this section:
(1) "Authorized committee" and "principal campaign committee" have the same meanings as in the Federal Election Campaign Act.
(2) "Campaign committee," "campaign treasurer," and "Federal Election Campaign Act" have the same meanings as in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code.
(3) "Electioneering communication" has the same meaning as in section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3501.10. (A) The board of elections shall, as an expense of the board, provide suitable rooms for its offices and records and the necessary and proper furniture and supplies for those rooms. The board may lease such offices and rooms, necessary to its operation, for the length of time and upon the terms the board deems in the best interests of the public, provided that the term of any such lease shall not exceed fifteen years.
Thirty days prior to entering into such a lease, the board shall notify the board of county commissioners in writing of its intent to enter into the lease. The notice shall specify the terms and conditions of the lease. Prior to the thirtieth day after receiving that notice and before any lease is entered into, the board of county commissioners may reject the proposed lease by a majority vote. After receiving written notification of the rejection by the board of county commissioners, the board of elections shall not enter into the lease that was rejected, but may immediately enter into additional lease negotiations, subject to the requirements of this section.
The board of elections in any county may, by resolution, request that the board of county commissioners submit to the electors of the county, in accordance with section 133.18 of the Revised Code, the question of issuing bonds for the acquisition of real estate and the construction on it of a suitable building with necessary furniture and equipment for the proper administration of the duties of the board of elections. The resolution declaring the necessity for issuing such bonds shall relate only to the acquisition of real estate and to the construction, furnishing, and equipping of a building as provided in this division.
(B) The board of elections in each county shall keep its offices, or one or more of its branch registration offices, open for the performance of its duties until nine p.m. on the last day of registration before a general or primary election. At all other times during each week, the board shall keep its offices and rooms open for a period of time that the board considers necessary for the performance of its duties.
(C) The board of elections may maintain permanent or temporary branch offices at any place within the county, provided that, if the board of elections permits electors to vote at a branch office, electors shall not be permitted to vote at any other branch office or any other office of the board of elections.
Sec. 3501.11. Each board of elections shall exercise by a majority vote all powers granted to the board by Title XXXV of the Revised Code, shall perform all the duties imposed by law, and shall do all of the following:
(A) Establish, define, provide, rearrange, and combine election precincts;
(B) Fix and provide the places for registration and for holding primaries and elections;
(C) Provide for the purchase, preservation, and maintenance of booths, ballot boxes, books, maps, flags, blanks, cards of instructions, and other forms, papers, and equipment used in registration, nominations, and elections;
(D) Appoint and remove its director, deputy director, and employees and all registrars, judges, and other officers of elections, fill vacancies, and designate the ward or district and precinct in which each shall serve;
(E) Make and issue rules and instructions, not inconsistent with law or the rules, directives, or advisories issued by the secretary of state, as it considers necessary for the guidance of election officers and voters;
(F) Advertise and contract for the printing of all ballots and other supplies used in registrations and elections;
(G) Provide for the issuance of all notices, advertisements, and publications concerning elections, except as otherwise provided in division (G) of section 3501.17 of the Revised Code;
(H) Provide for the delivery of ballots, pollbooks, and other required papers and material to the polling places;
(I) Cause the polling places to be suitably provided with voting machines, marking devices, automatic tabulating equipment,
stalls, and other required supplies;. In fulfilling this duty, each board of a county that uses voting machines, marking devices, or automatic tabulating equipment shall conduct a full vote of the board during a public session of the board on the allocation and distribution of voting machines, marking devices, and automatic tabulating equipment for each precinct in the county.
(J) Investigate irregularities, nonperformance of duties, or violations of Title XXXV of the Revised Code by election officers and other persons; administer oaths, issue subpoenas, summon witnesses, and compel the production of books, papers, records, and other evidence in connection with any such investigation; and report the facts to the prosecuting attorney;
(K) Review, examine, and certify the sufficiency and validity of petitions and nomination papers, and, after certification, return to the secretary of state all petitions and nomination papers that the secretary of state forwarded to the board;
(L) Receive the returns of elections, canvass the returns, make abstracts of them, and transmit those abstracts to the proper authorities;
(M) Issue certificates of election on forms to be prescribed by the secretary of state;
(N) Make an annual report to the secretary of state, on the form prescribed by the secretary of state, containing a statement of the number of voters registered, elections held, votes cast, appropriations received, expenditures made, and other data required by the secretary of state;
(O) Prepare and submit to the proper appropriating officer a budget estimating the cost of elections for the ensuing fiscal year;
(P) Perform other duties as prescribed by law or the rules, directives, or advisories of the secretary of state;
(Q) Investigate and determine the residence qualifications of electors;
(R) Administer oaths in matters pertaining to the administration of the election laws;
(S) Prepare and submit to the secretary of state, whenever the secretary of state requires, a report containing the names and residence addresses of all incumbent county, municipal, township, and board of education officials serving in their respective counties;
(T) Establish and maintain a voter registration of all qualified electors in the county who offer to register;
(U) Maintain voter registration records, make reports concerning voter registration as required by the secretary of state, and remove ineligible electors from voter registration lists in accordance with law and directives of the secretary of state;
(V) At least annually, on a schedule and in a format
prescribed by the secretary of state, submit to the secretary of
state an accurate and current list of all registered voters in
the
county for the purpose of assisting the secretary of state to
maintain a master list of registered voters pursuant to section
3503.27 of the Revised Code;
(W) Give approval to ballot language for any local question
or issue and
transmit
the language to the secretary of state for
the secretary of state's final
approval;
(X)(W) Prepare and cause the following notice to be displayed
in a prominent location in every polling place:
Ohio law prohibits any person from voting or attempting to vote more than once at the same election.
Violators are guilty of a felony of the fourth degree and shall be imprisoned and additionally may be fined in accordance with law."
(X) In all cases of a tie vote or a disagreement in the board, if no decision can be arrived at, the director or chairperson shall submit the matter in controversy, not later than fourteen days after the tie vote or the disagreement, to the secretary of state, who shall summarily decide the question, and the secretary of state's decision shall be final.
(Y) Assist each designated agency, deputy registrar of motor vehicles, public high school and vocational school, public library, and office of a county treasurer in the implementation of a program for registering voters at all voter registration locations as prescribed by the secretary of state. Under this program, each board of elections shall direct to the appropriate board of elections any voter registration applications for persons residing outside the county where the board is located within five days after receiving the applications.
(Z) On any day on which an elector may vote in person at the
office of the
board or at another site designated by the board, consider
the board or other
designated site shall be considered a polling
place for that day, and all. All
requirements or prohibitions of law
that apply to a polling place shall apply
to the office of the
board or other designated site on that day.
Sec. 3501.13. (A) The director of the board of elections shall
keep a full and true record of the proceedings of the board and
of all moneys received and expended; file and preserve in its
the board's office all orders and records pertaining to the administration of
registrations, primaries, and elections; receive and have the
custody of all books, papers, and property belonging to the
board; and shall perform such other duties in connection with his
the office of director and the proper conduct of elections as
the board determines.
(B) Before entering upon the duties of his the office, the director
shall subscribe to an oath that he the director will support the
constitutions Constitution of the United States and of this state the Ohio Constitution, perform all the duties
of the director office to the best of his the
director's ability, enforce the election laws, and preserve all records,
documents, and other property
pertaining to the conduct of elections placed in his the director's custody.
(C) The director may administer oaths to such persons as are
required by law to file certificates or other papers with the
board, to judges and clerks of elections, to witnesses who are
called to testify before the board, and to voters filling out
blanks at the board's offices. Except as otherwise provided by state or
federal law, the records of the board and
papers and books filed in its office are public records and open
to inspection under such reasonable regulations as shall be
established by the board. The following notice shall be posted
in a prominent place at each board office:
"Except as otherwise provided by state or federal law, records filed in this office of the board of elections are open to public inspection during normal office hours, pursuant to the following reasonable regulations: (the board shall here list its regulations). Whoever prohibits any person from inspecting the public records of this board is subject to the penalties of section 3599.161 of the Revised Code."
(D) Upon receipt of a written declaration of intent to retire as provided for in section 145.38 of the Revised Code, the director shall provide a copy to each member of the board of elections.
Sec. 3501.17. (A) The expenses of the board of elections shall be paid from the county treasury, in pursuance of appropriations by the board of county commissioners, in the same manner as other county expenses are paid. If the board of county commissioners fails to appropriate an amount sufficient to provide for the necessary and proper expenses of the board of elections pertaining to the conduct of elections, the board of elections may apply to the court of common pleas within the county, which shall fix the amount necessary to be appropriated and the amount shall be appropriated. Payments shall be made upon vouchers of the board of elections certified to by its chairperson or acting chairperson and the director or deputy director, upon warrants of the county auditor.
The board
of elections shall not
incur any obligation involving the expenditure of money unless
there are moneys sufficient in the funds appropriated therefor to
meet the obligation as required in division (D) of section 5705.41 of the Revised Code. If the board of elections requests a transfer of funds from one of its appropriation items to another, the board of county commissioners shall adopt a resolution providing for the transfer except as otherwise provided in section 5705.40 of the Revised Code. The expenses of the board of elections shall be apportioned among
the county and the various subdivisions as provided in this
section, and the amount chargeable to each subdivision shall be
withheld by the auditor from the moneys payable thereto at the
time of the next tax settlement. At the time of submitting
budget estimates in each year, the board of elections shall
submit to the taxing authority of each subdivision, upon the
request of the subdivision, an estimate of the amount to be
withheld from the subdivision during the next fiscal year.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (F) of this section, the entire compensation of the members of the board of elections and of the director, deputy director, and other employees in the board's offices; the expenditures for the rental, furnishing, and equipping of the office of the board and for the necessary office supplies for the use of the board; the expenditures for the acquisition, repair, care, and custody of the polling places, booths, guardrails, and other equipment for polling places; the cost of pollbooks, tally sheets, maps, flags, ballot boxes, and all other permanent records and equipment; the cost of all elections held in and for the state and county; and all other expenses of the board which are not chargeable to a political subdivision in accordance with this section shall be paid in the same manner as other county expenses are paid.
(C) The compensation of judges and clerks of elections; the cost of renting, moving, heating, and lighting polling places and of placing and removing ballot boxes and other fixtures and equipment thereof; the cost of printing and delivering ballots, cards of instructions, and other election supplies; and all other expenses of conducting primaries and elections in the odd-numbered years shall be charged to the subdivisions in and for which such primaries or elections are held. The charge for each primary or general election in odd-numbered years for each subdivision shall be determined in the following manner: first, the total cost of all chargeable items used in conducting such elections shall be ascertained; second, the total charge shall be divided by the number of precincts participating in such election, in order to fix the cost per precinct; third, the cost per precinct shall be prorated by the board of elections to the subdivisions conducting elections for the nomination or election of offices in such precinct; fourth, the total cost for each subdivision shall be determined by adding the charges prorated to it in each precinct within the subdivision.
(D) The entire cost of special elections held on a day other than the day of a primary or general election, both in odd-numbered or in even-numbered years, shall be charged to the subdivision. Where a special election is held on the same day as a primary or general election in an even-numbered year, the subdivision submitting the special election shall be charged only for the cost of ballots and advertising. Where a special election is held on the same day as a primary or general election in an odd-numbered year, the subdivision submitting the special election shall be charged for the cost of ballots and advertising for such special election, in addition to the charges prorated to such subdivision for the election or nomination of candidates in each precinct within the subdivision, as set forth in the preceding paragraph.
(E) Where a special election is held on the day specified by division (E) of section 3501.01 of the Revised Code for the holding of a primary election, for the purpose of submitting to the voters of the state constitutional amendments proposed by the general assembly, and a subdivision conducts a special election on the same day, the entire cost of the special election shall be divided proportionally between the state and the subdivision based upon a ratio determined by the number of issues placed on the ballot by each, except as otherwise provided in division (G) of this section. Such proportional division of cost shall be made only to the extent funds are available for such purpose from amounts appropriated by the general assembly to the secretary of state. If a primary election is also being conducted in the subdivision, the costs shall be apportioned as otherwise provided in this section.
(F) When a precinct is open during a general, primary, or special election solely for the purpose of submitting to the voters a statewide ballot issue, the state shall bear the entire cost of the election in that precinct and shall reimburse the county for all expenses incurred in opening the precinct.
(G) The state shall bear the entire cost of advertising in newspapers statewide ballot issues, explanations of those issues, and arguments for or against those issues, as required by Section 1g of Article II and Section 1 of Article XVI, Ohio Constitution, and any other section of law and shall reimburse the counties for all expenses they incur for such advertising.
(H) The cost of renting, heating, and lighting registration places; the cost of the necessary books, forms, and supplies for the conduct of registration; and the cost of printing and posting precinct registration lists shall be charged to the subdivision in which such registration is held.
(I) As used in this section, "statewide ballot issue" means any ballot issue, whether proposed by the general assembly or by initiative or referendum, that is submitted to the voters throughout the state.
Sec. 3501.19. (A) Except as otherwise provided in division (C) of this section, on each of the following dates, the board of elections shall send a notice by nonforwardable mail to each elector who is registered to vote in a precinct in which an election will be conducted:
(1) The sixtieth day before the day of any special election that may be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in August, 2006;
(2) The sixtieth day before the day of the 2006 general election;
(3) The sixtieth day before the day of the 2008 primary election;
(4) The sixtieth day before the day of the 2008 general election.
(B) The notice required under division (A) of this section shall include each of the following:
(1) The day of the election;
(2) The location of the polling place for the precinct in which the elector is registered to vote;
(3) A reminder, which shall be indicated in bold type, stating as follows:
"Voters must bring identification to the polls in order to verify identity. Identification may include a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter's name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than this reminder or a voter registration notification, that shows the voter's name and current address. Voters who do not provide one of these documents will still be able to vote by providing the last four digits of the voter's social security number and by casting a provisional ballot. Voters who do not have any of the above forms of identification, including a social security number, will still be able to vote by signing an affirmation swearing to the voter's identity under penalty of election falsification and by casting a provisional ballot."
(C) If the notice sent under division (A) of this section is returned undelivered to the board, the board shall cause the elector's name in the official registration list and in the poll list or signature pollbook for that elector's precinct to be marked to indicate that the notice was returned to the board.
At the first election at which an elector whose name has been so marked appears to vote, the elector shall be required to provide identification to the election officials.
If the elector provides to the election officials a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter's name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under division (A) of this section or a notice of voter registration notification mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, the voter shall be permitted to cast a ballot in accordance with division (B) of section 3505.18 of the Revised Code. The board shall correct that elector's registration, if needed, and shall remove the indication that the elector's notice was returned from that elector's name on the official registration list and on the poll list or signature pollbook.
If the elector provides to the election officials a photo identification that does not contain the elector's current address, if the elector provides the last four digits of the elector's social security number, if the elector is unable to provide any of the required forms of identification, if the elector refuses to provide any of the required forms of identification, or if the elector executes an affirmation under division (A)(4) of section 3505.18 of the Revised Code, the elector shall be permitted to vote by provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code. If the provisional ballot is counted pursuant to division (B)(3) of section 3505.183 of the Revised Code, the board shall correct that elector's registration, if needed, and shall remove the indication that the elector's notice was returned from that elector's name on the official registration list and on the poll list or signature pollbook.
(D) No board of elections shall be required to mail a notice under division (A) of this section to any elector who registered to vote within thirty days prior to the date for mailing the notice under that division.
(E) A notice mailed to an elector under division (A) of this section shall not be considered a government document that contains the voter's name and current address for the purpose of providing identification under sections 3503.14, 3503.16, 3503.19, 3503.28, 3505.18, 3505.181, 3505.182, 3505.183, 3509.03, 3509.031, 3509.04, 3509.05, 3511.02, and 3511.09 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3501.26. When the polls are closed after a primary,
general, or special election, the receiving officials shall, in
the presence of the counting officials and attending witnesses observers,
proceed as follows:
(A) Count the number of electors who voted, as shown on
the poll books.;
(B) Count the unused ballots without removing stubs.;
(C) Count the soiled and defaced ballots.;
(D) Insert the totals of divisions (A), (B), and (C) of
this section on the report forms provided therefor in the poll
books.;
(E) Count the voted ballots. If the number of voted
ballots exceeds the number of voters whose names appear upon the
poll books, the presiding judge shall enter on the poll books an
explanation of such that discrepancy, and such that explanation, if agreed
to, shall be subscribed to by all of the judges. Any judge
having a different explanation shall enter it in the poll books
and subscribe to it.
(F) Put the unused ballots with stubs attached, and soiled and defaced ballots with stubs attached, in the envelopes or containers provided therefor, and certify the number.
The receiving officials shall deliver to and place in the
custody of the counting officials all the supplies provided for
the conduct of such that election and the ballots which that are to be
counted and tallied, and take a receipt for the same, which receipt
shall appear in and be a part of the poll books of such precinct.
Having performed their duties, the receiving officials shall
immediately depart.
Having receipted for the ballots, the counting officials shall proceed to count and tally the vote as cast in the manner prescribed by section 3505.27 of the Revised Code and certify the result of the election to the board of elections.
Sec. 3501.30. (A) The board of elections shall provide for
each polling place the necessary ballot boxes, official ballots,
cards of instructions, registration forms, pollbooks or poll
lists, tally sheets, forms on which to make summary statements,
writing implements, paper, and all other supplies
necessary for casting and
counting the ballots and recording the results of the voting at
the polling place. The pollbooks or poll lists shall have
certificates appropriately printed on them for the signatures of
all the precinct officials, by which they shall certify that, to
the best of their knowledge and belief, the pollbooks or poll
lists correctly show the names of all electors who voted in
the polling place at the election indicated in the pollbook pollbooks or poll list lists.
All of the following shall be included among the supplies provided to each polling place:
(1) A large map of each appropriate precinct, which shall be displayed prominently to assist persons who desire to register or vote on election day. Each map shall show all streets within the precinct and contain identifying symbols of the precinct in bold print.
(2) Any materials, postings, or instructions required to comply with state or federal laws;
(3) A flag of the United States approximately two and one-half feet in length along the top, which shall be displayed outside the entrance to the polling place during the time it is open for voting;
(4) Two or more small
flags of the United States approximately fifteen inches in length
along the top, which shall be placed at a distance
of one hundred feet from the polling place on the thoroughfares
or walkways leading to the polling place, to mark the distance
within which persons other than election officials, witnesses,
challengers observers, police officers, and electors waiting to mark,
marking, or casting their ballots shall not loiter, congregate,
or engage in any kind of election campaigning. Where small flags
cannot reasonably be placed one hundred feet from the polling
place, the presiding election judge shall place the flags as near
to one hundred feet from the entrance to the polling place as is
physically possible. Police officers and all election officials
shall see that this prohibition against loitering and
congregating is enforced.
When the period of time during which
the polling place is open for voting expires, all of the flags
described in this division shall be taken into the polling place, and shall be returned to
the board together with all other election supplies
required to be delivered to the board.
(B) The board of elections shall follow the instructions and advisories of the secretary of state in the production and use of polling place supplies.
Sec. 3501.33. All judges of election shall enforce peace
and good order in and about the place of registration or
election. They shall especially keep the place of access of the
electors to the polling place open and unobstructed and prevent
and stop any improper practices or attempts tending to obstruct,
intimidate, or interfere with any elector in registering or
voting. They shall protect challengers and witnesses observers against
molestation and violence in the performance of their duties, and
may eject from the polling place any such challenger or witness observer
for violation of any provision of Title XXXV of the Revised Code.
They shall prevent riots, violence, tumult, or the disorder. In
the discharge of these duties, they may call upon the sheriff,
police, or other peace officers to aid them in enforcing the law.
They may order the arrest of any person violating such title Title XXXV of the Revised Code, but
such an arrest shall not prevent such the person from registering or
voting if he the person is entitled to do so. The sheriff, all
constables, police officers, and other officers of the peace shall
immediately obey and aid in the enforcement of any lawful order
made by the precinct election officials in the enforcement of
such title Title XXXV of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3501.35. (A) During an election and the counting of the
ballots, no person shall loiter or do any of the following:
(1) Loiter, congregate, or engage in any kind of election campaigning within the area
between the polling place and the small flags of the United
States placed on the thoroughfares and walkways leading to the
polling place, and if the line of electors waiting to vote extends beyond those small flags, within ten feet of any elector in that line; in
(2) In any manner hinder or delay an elector in
reaching or leaving the place fixed for casting his the
elector's ballot; within such distance give,
(3) Give, tender, or exhibit any ballot
or ticket to any person other than his the elector's own ballot to the
judge of election within the area between the polling place and the small flags of the United States placed on the thoroughfares and walkways leading to the polling place, and if the line of electors waiting to vote extends beyond those small flags, within ten feet of any elector in that line; exhibit
(4) Exhibit any ticket or ballot which he the elector intends to cast; or solicit
(5) Solicit or in any manner attempt to influence
any elector in
casting his the elector's vote. No
(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (C) of section 3503.23 of the Revised Code, no person, who is not an election
official, employee, witness, challenger observer, or police officer, shall be allowed
to enter the polling place during the election, except for the purpose of
voting or assisting another person to vote as provided in section 3505.24 of the Revised Code. No
(C) No more electors shall be allowed to approach the voting
shelves at any time than there are voting shelves provided. The
(D) The judges of election and the police officer shall strictly enforce the observance of this section.
Sec. 3501.38. All declarations of candidacy, nominating petitions, or other petitions presented to or filed with the secretary of state or a board of elections or with any other public office for the purpose of becoming a candidate for any nomination or office or for the holding of an election on any issue shall, in addition to meeting the other specific requirements prescribed in the sections of the Revised Code relating to them, be governed by the following rules:
(A) Only electors qualified to vote on the candidacy or issue which is the subject of the petition shall sign a petition. Each signer shall be a registered elector pursuant to section 3503.11 of the Revised Code. The facts of qualification shall be determined as of the date when the petition is filed.
(B) Signatures shall be affixed in ink. Each signer may also print the signer's name, so as to clearly identify the signer's signature.
(C) Each signer shall place on the petition after the signer's name the date of signing and the location of the signer's voting residence, including the street and number if in a municipal corporation or the rural route number, post office address, or township if outside a municipal corporation. The voting address given on the petition shall be the address appearing in the registration records at the board of elections.
(D) No Except as otherwise provided in section 3501.382 of the Revised Code, no person shall write any name other than
the
person's
own on any petition. No Except as otherwise provided in section 3501.382 of the Revised Code, no person may authorize another to
sign for
the person. If a petition contains the signature
of an elector
two
or more
times, only the first
signature
shall be counted.
(E)(1) On each petition paper, the circulator shall indicate
the number of signatures contained
on it, and shall sign a
statement made under penalty of election falsification that
the
circulator witnessed the affixing of every signature, that all
signers
were to the best of
the circulator's knowledge and
belief
qualified to sign, and that every signature is to the best
of
the
circulator's knowledge and belief the signature of the
person
whose
signature it purports to be or of an attorney in fact acting pursuant to section 3501.382 of the Revised Code. On the circulator's statement for a declaration of candidacy, or nominating petition, or declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate for a person seeking to become a statewide candidate or for a statewide initiative or a statewide referendum petition, the circulator shall identify the circulator's name, the address of the circulator's permanent resident, and the name and address of the person employing the circulator to circulate the petition, if any.
(2) As used in division (E) of this section, "statewide candidate" means the joint candidates for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor or a candidate for the office of secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, or attorney general.
(F) If Except as otherwise provided in section 3501.382 of the Revised Code, if a circulator knowingly permits an unqualified
person
to sign a petition paper or permits a person to write a
name other
than
the person's own on a petition paper, that
petition paper
is
invalid; otherwise, the signature of a person not qualified
to
sign shall be rejected but shall not invalidate the other valid
signatures
on the paper.
(G) The circulator of a petition may, before filing it in a public office, strike from it any signature the circulator does not wish to present as a part of the petition.
(H) Any signer of a petition or an attorney in fact acting pursuant to section 3501.382 of the Revised Code on behalf of a signer may remove the signer's signature from that petition at any time before the petition is filed in a public office by striking the signer's name from the petition; no signature may be removed after the petition is filed in any public office.
(I)(1) No alterations, corrections, or additions may be made to a petition after it is filed in a public office.
(2) No petition may be withdrawn after it is filed in a public office. Nothing in this division prohibits a person from withdrawing as a candidate as otherwise provided by law.
(J) All declarations of candidacy, nominating petitions, or other petitions under this section shall be accompanied by the following statement in boldface capital letters: WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS GUILTY OF A FELONY OF THE FIFTH DEGREE.
(K) All separate petition papers shall be filed at the same time, as one instrument.
(L) If a board of elections distributes for use a petition form for a declaration of candidacy, nominating petition, declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate, or any type of question or issue petition that does not satisfy the requirements of law as of the date of that distribution, the board shall not invalidate the petition on the basis that the petition form does not satisfy the requirements of law, if the petition otherwise is valid. Division (L) of this section applies only if the candidate received the petition from the board within ninety days of when the petition is required to be filed.
Sec. 3501.382. (A)(1) A registered voter who, by reason of disability, is unable to physically sign the voter's name as a candidate, signer, or circulator on a declaration of candidacy and petition, nominating petition, other petition, or other document under Title XXXV of the Revised Code may authorize a legally competent resident of this state who is eighteen years of age or older as an attorney in fact to sign that voter's name to the petition or other election document, at the voter's direction and in the voter's presence, in accordance with either of the following procedures:
(a) The voter may file with the board of elections of the voter's county of residence a notarized form that includes or has attached all of the following:
(i) The name of the voter who is authorizing an attorney in fact to sign petitions or other election documents on that voter's behalf, at the voter's direction and in the voter's presence;
(ii) An attestation of the voter that the voter, by reason of disability, is unable to sign physically petitions or other election documents and that the voter desires the attorney in fact to sign them on the voter's behalf, at the direction of the voter and in the voter's presence;
(iii) The name, residence address, date of birth, and, if applicable, Ohio supreme court registration number of the attorney in fact authorized to sign on the voter's behalf, at the voter's direction and in the voter's presence. A photocopy of the attorney in fact's driver's license or state identification card issued under section 4507.50 of the Revised Code shall be attached to the notarized form.
(iv) The form of the signature that the attorney in fact will use in signing petitions or other election documents on the voter's behalf, at the voter's direction and in the voter's presence.
(b) The voter may acknowledge, before an election official, and file with the board of elections of the voter's county of residence a form that includes or has attached all of the following:
(i) The name of the voter who is authorizing an attorney in fact to sign petitions or other election documents on that voter's behalf, at the voter's direction and in the voter's presence;
(ii) An attestation of the voter that the voter, by reason of disability, is physically unable to sign petitions or other election documents and that the voter desires the attorney in fact to sign them on the voter's behalf, at the direction of the voter and in the voter's presence;
(iii) An attestation from a licensed physician that the voter is disabled and, by reason of that disability, is physically unable to sign petitions or other election documents;
(iv) The name, residence address, date of birth, and, if applicable, Ohio supreme court registration number of the attorney in fact authorized to sign on the voter's behalf, at the voter's direction and in the voter's presence. A photocopy of the attorney in fact's driver's license or state identification card issued under section 4507.50 of the Revised Code shall be attached to the notarized form.
(v) The form of the signature that the attorney in fact will use in signing petitions or other election documents on the voter's behalf, at the voter's direction and in the voter's presence.
(2) In addition to performing customary notarial acts with respect to the power of attorney form described in division (A)(1)(a) of this section, the notary public shall acknowledge that the voter in question affirmed in the presence of the notary public the information listed in divisions (A)(1)(a)(i), (ii), and (iii) of this section. A notary public shall not perform any notarial acts with respect to such a power of attorney form unless the voter first gives such an affirmation. Only a notary public satisfying the requirements of section 147.01 of the Revised Code may perform notarial acts with respect to such a power of attorney form.
(B) A board of elections that receives a form under division (A)(1) of this section from a voter shall do both of the following:
(1) Use the signature provided in accordance with division (A)(1)(a)(iv) or (A)(1)(b)(v) of this section for the purpose of verifying the voter's signature on all declarations of candidacy and petitions, nominating petitions, other petitions, or other documents signed by that voter under Title XXXV of the Revised Code;
(2) Cause the poll list or signature pollbook for the relevant precinct to identify the voter in question as having authorized an attorney in fact to sign petitions or other election documents on the voter's behalf, at the voter's direction and in the voter's presence.
(C) Notwithstanding division (D) of section 3501.38 or any other provision of the Revised Code to the contrary, an attorney in fact authorized to sign petitions or other election documents on a disabled voter's behalf, at the direction of and in the presence of that voter, in accordance with division (A) of this section may sign that voter's name to any petition or other election document under Title XXXV of the Revised Code after the power of attorney has been filed with the board of elections in accordance with division (A)(1) of this section. The signature shall be deemed to be that of the disabled voter, and the voter shall be deemed to be the signer.
(D)(1) Notwithstanding division (F) of section 3501.38 or any other provision of the Revised Code to the contrary, the circulator of a petition may knowingly permit an attorney in fact to sign the petition on a disabled voter's behalf, at the direction of and in the presence of that voter, in accordance with division (A)(1) of this section.
(2) Notwithstanding division (F) of section 3501.38 or any other provision of the Revised Code to the contrary, no petition paper shall be invalidated on the ground that the circulator knowingly permitted an attorney in fact to write a name other than the attorney in fact's own name on a petition paper, if that attorney in fact signed the petition on a disabled voter's behalf, at the direction of and in the presence of that voter, in accordance with division (C) of this section.
(E) The secretary of state shall prescribe the form and content of the form for the power of attorney prescribed under division (A)(1) of this section and also shall prescribe the form and content of a distinct form to revoke such a power of attorney.
(F) As used in this section, "unable to physically sign" means that the person with a disability cannot comply with the provisions of section 3501.011 of the Revised Code. A person is not "unable to physically sign" if the person is able to comply with section 3501.011 through reasonable accommodation, including the use of assistive technology or augmentative devices.
Sec. 3501.39. (A) The secretary of state or a board of elections shall accept any petition described in section 3501.38 of the Revised Code unless one of the following occurs:
(1) A written protest against the petition or candidacy, naming specific objections, is filed, a hearing is held, and a determination is made by the election officials with whom the protest is filed that the petition is invalid, in accordance with any section of the Revised Code providing a protest procedure.
(2) A written protest against the petition or candidacy, naming specific objections, is filed, a hearing is held, and a determination is made by the election officials with whom the protest is filed that the petition violates any requirement established by law.
(3) The candidate's candidacy or the petition violates the requirements of this chapter, Chapter 3513. of the Revised Code, or any other requirements established by law.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (C) of this section or section 3513.052 of the Revised Code, a board of elections shall not invalidate any declaration of candidacy or nominating petition under division (A)(3) of this section after the fiftieth day prior to the election at which the candidate seeks nomination to office, if the candidate filed a declaration of candidacy, or election to office, if the candidate filed a nominating petition.
(C)(1) If a petition is filed for the nomination or election of a candidate in a charter municipal corporation with a filing deadline that occurs after the seventy-fifth day before the day of the election, a board of elections may invalidate the petition within fifteen days after the date of that filing deadline.
(2) If a petition for the nomination or election of a candidate is invalidated under division (C)(1) of this section, that person's name shall not appear on the ballots for any office for which the person's petition has been invalidated. If the ballots have already been prepared, the board of elections shall remove the name of that person from the ballots to the extent practicable in the time remaining before the election. If the name is not removed from the ballots before the day of the election, the votes for that person are void and shall not be counted.
Sec. 3501.90. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Harassment in violation of the election law" means either of the following:
(a) Any of the following types of conduct in or about a polling place or a place of registration or election: obstructing access of an elector to a polling place; another improper practice or attempt tending to obstruct, intimidate, or interfere with an elector in registering or voting at a place of registration or election; molesting or otherwise engaging in violence against observers in the performance of their duties at a place of registration or election; or participating in a riot, violence, tumult, or disorder in and about a place of registration or election;
(b) A violation of division (A)(1), (2), (3), or (5) or division (B) of section 3501.35 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Person" has the same meaning as in division (C) of section 1.59 of the Revised Code and also includes any organization that is not otherwise covered by that division.
(3) "Trier of fact" means the jury or, in a nonjury action, the court.
(B) An elector who has experienced harassment in violation of the election law has a cause of action against each person that committed the harassment in violation of the election law. In any civil action based on this cause of action, the elector may seek a declaratory judgment, an injunction, or other appropriate equitable relief. The civil action may be commenced by an elector who has experienced harassment in violation of the election law either alone or as a party to a class action under Civil Rule 23.
(C)(1) In addition to the equitable relief authorized by division (B) of this section, an elector who has experienced harassment in violation of the election law may be entitled to relief under division (C)(2) or (3) of this section.
(2) If the harassment in violation of the election law involved intentional or reckless threatening or causing of bodily harm to the elector while the elector was attempting to register to vote, to obtain an absent voter's ballot, or to vote, the elector may seek, in a civil action based on the cause of action created by division (B) of this section, monetary damages as prescribed in this division. The civil action may be commenced by the elector who has experienced harassment in violation of the election law either alone or as a party to a class action under Civil Rule 23. Upon proof by a preponderance of the evidence in the civil action that the harassment in violation of the election law involved intentional or reckless threatening or causing of bodily harm to the elector, the trier of fact shall award the elector the greater of three times of the amount of the elector's actual damages or one thousand dollars. The court also shall award a prevailing elector reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.
(3) Whether a civil action on the cause of action created by division (B) of this section is commenced by an elector who has experienced harassment in violation of the election law alone or as a party to a class action under Civil Rule 23, if the defendant in the action is an organization that has previously been determined in a court of this state to have engaged in harassment in violation of the election law, the elector may seek an order of the court granting any of the following forms of relief upon proof by a preponderance of the evidence:
(a) Divestiture of the organization's interest in any enterprise or in any real property;
(b) Reasonable restrictions upon the future activities or investments of the organization, including, but not limited to, prohibiting the organization from engaging in any harassment in violation of the election law;
(c) The dissolution or reorganization of the organization;
(d) The suspension or revocation of any license, permit, or prior approval granted to the organization by any state agency;
(e) The revocation of the organization's authorization to do business in this state if the organization is a foreign corporation or other form of foreign entity.
(D) It shall not be a defense in a civil action based on the cause of action created by division (B) of this section, whether commenced by an elector who has experienced harassment in violation of the election law alone or as a party to a class action under Civil Rule 23, that no criminal prosecution was commenced or conviction obtained in connection with the conduct alleged to be the basis of the civil action.
(E) In a civil action based on the cause of action created by division (B) of this section, whether commenced by an elector who has experienced harassment in violation of the election law alone or as a party to a class action under Civil Rule 23, the elector may name as defendants each individual who engaged in conduct constituting harassment in violation of the election law as well as any person that employs, sponsors, or uses as an agent any such individual or that has organized a common scheme to cause harassment in violation of the election law.
Sec. 3503.02. All registrars and judges of elections, in determining the residence of a person offering to register or vote, shall be governed by the following rules:
(A) That place shall be considered the residence of a person in which the person's habitation is fixed and to which, whenever the person is absent, the person has the intention of returning.
(B) A person shall not be considered to have lost the person's residence who leaves the person's home and goes into another state or county of this state, for temporary purposes only, with the intention of returning.
(C) A person shall not be considered to have gained a residence in any county of this state into which the person comes for temporary purposes only, without the intention of making such county the permanent place of abode.
(D) The place where the family of a married man or woman person
resides shall be considered to be his or her the person's place
of residence; except that when the husband and wife spouses have
separated and live apart, the place where he or she such a
spouse resides the length of time required to entitle a person to vote
shall be considered to be his or her the spouse's place of
residence.
(E) If a person removes to another state with the intention of making such state the person's residence, the person shall be considered to have lost the person's residence in this state.
(F) Except as otherwise provided in division (G) of this section, if a person removes from this state and continuously resides outside this state for a period of four years or more, the person shall be considered to have lost the person's residence in this state, notwithstanding the fact that the person may entertain an intention to return at some future period.
(G) If a person removes from this state to engage in the services of the United States government, the person shall not be considered to have lost the person's residence in this state during the period of such service, and likewise should the person enter the employment of the state, the place where such person resided at the time of the person's removal shall be considered to be the person's place of residence.
(H) If a person goes into another state and while there exercises the right of a citizen by voting, the person shall be considered to have lost the person's residence in this state.
(I) If a person does not have a fixed place of habitation, but has a shelter or other location at which the person has been a consistent or regular inhabitant and to which the person has the intention of returning, that shelter or other location shall be deemed the person's residence for the purpose of registering to vote.
Sec. 3503.06. (A) No person shall be entitled to vote at any election, or to sign
or circulate any declaration of candidacy or any nominating, initiative,
referendum, or
recall petition, unless the person is registered as an
elector and will have
resided in the county and precinct where the person is registered for at least
thirty days at the time of the next election.
(B)(1) No person shall be entitled to circulate any initiative or referendum petition unless the person is a resident of this state.
(2) All election officials, in determining the residence of a person circulating a petition under division (B)(1) of this section, shall be governed by the following rules:
(a) That place shall be considered the residence of a person in which the person's habitation is fixed and to which, whenever the person is absent, the person has the intention of returning.
(b) A person shall not be considered to have lost the person's residence who leaves the person's home and goes into another state for temporary purposes only, with the intention of returning.
(c) A person shall not be considered to have gained a residence in any county of this state into which the person comes for temporary purposes only, without the intention of making that county the permanent place of abode.
(d) If a person removes to another state with the intention of making that state the person's residence, the person shall be considered to have lost the person's residence in this state.
(e) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(2)(f) of this section, if a person removes from this state and continuously resides outside this state for a period of four years or more, the person shall be considered to have lost the person's residence in this state, notwithstanding the fact that the person may entertain an intention to return at some future period.
(f) If a person removes from this state to engage in the services of the United States government, the person shall not be considered to have lost the person's residence in this state during the period of that service, and likewise should the person enter the employment of the state, the place where that person resided at the time of the person's removal shall be considered to be the person's place of residence.
(g) If a person goes into another state and, while there, exercises the right of a citizen by voting, the person shall be considered to have lost the person's residence in this state.
(C) No person shall be entitled to sign any initiative or referendum petition unless the person is registered as an elector and will have resided in the county and precinct where the person is registered for at least thirty days at the time of the next election.
Sec. 3503.11. When any person applies for a driver's
license, commercial driver's license, a state of Ohio
identification card issued under section 4507.50 of the Revised
Code, or motorcycle operator's license or endorsement, or the
renewal or duplicate of any license or endorsement under Chapter
4506. or 4507. of the Revised Code, the registrar of motor
vehicles or deputy registrar shall offer the applicant the
opportunity to register to vote or to update his or her the
applicant's voter
registration. The registrar of motor vehicles or deputy registrar also
shall make available to all other customers voter registration applications or and
change of residence or and change of name applications, forms, but is not required to
offer assistance to these customers in completing the a voter registration
application or other form.
The registrar or deputy registrar shall send any completed
registration application or any completed change of residence and or change of
name notice form to the board of elections of the county in which the
office of the registrar or deputy registrar is located, within
five days after accepting the application or notice other form.
The registrar shall collect from each deputy registrar
through the reports filed under division (J) of section 4503.03
of the Revised Code and transmit to the secretary of state
information on the number of voter registration applications and
change of residence or change of name notices forms completed or
declined, and any additional information required by the
secretary of state to comply with the National Voter Registration
Act of 1993. No information relating to an applicant's decision
to decline to register or update his or her the applicant's
voter registration at the
office of the registrar or deputy registrar may be used for any
purpose other than voter registration record-keeping required by
the secretary of state, and all such information shall be kept
confidential.
The secretary of state shall prescribe voter registration
applications and change of residence and change of name notices forms
for use by the bureau of motor vehicles. The bureau of motor
vehicles shall supply all of its deputy registrars with a
sufficient number of voter registration applications and change
of residence and change of name notices forms.
Sec. 3503.13. (A) Except as provided in division (C) of
this section, registration forms shall consist of original and
duplicate cards or loose-leaf pages as prescribed by the
secretary of state. When such registration forms have been
filled out and filed in the office of the board of elections, the
original forms shall be filed together in one file and the
duplicate forms shall be filed together in another file. Except
as otherwise provided in division (D) of this section, the
original forms shall be filed by precincts and shall constitute
the precinct register for use in polling places on election day.
The duplicate forms shall be filed alphabetically and shall
constitute the permanent office record of the board. It shall
not be removed from the office of the board except upon the order
of a court.
(B) Except as otherwise provided by state or federal law, the registration
records forms submitted by applicants and the statewide voter registration database established under section 3503.15 of the Revised Code shall be open to public
inspection at all times when the office of the board of elections is open for
business, under such regulations as the board adopts, provided
that no person shall be permitted to inspect such records voter registration forms except
in the presence of an employee of the board.
(C) The board of elections of a county that adopts or has
adopted electronic data processing for the registration of
qualified electors of the county may use a single registration
form complying with the requirements of division (A) of this
section. The information contained on the form may be duplicated
on punch cards, magnetic tape, discs, diskettes, or such other
media as are compatible with the data processing system adopted
by the board and may constitute the permanent office record in
lieu of the duplicate registration card.
(D) Instead of using the original registration forms as
the precinct register in the polling places on election day as
provided in division (A) of this section, a
(B) A board of elections
that has adopted electronic data processing may use a legible
digitized signature list of voter signatures, copied from the
signatures on the registration forms in a form and manner
prescribed by the secretary of state, provided that the board
continues to record and maintain at the board office the
information obtained from the form prescribed under section 3503.14 includes the required voter registration information in the statewide voter registration database established under section 3503.15 of the
Revised Code,
and provided that the precinct election officials have computer
printouts at the polls containing any necessary information
specified by the secretary of state that would otherwise be
available to them on the registration forms prepared in the manner required under section 3503.23 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3503.14. (A) The secretary of state shall prescribe the
form and content of the registration and, change of residence, and
change of name form forms used in this state. The form forms shall set forth
the eligibility requirements needed to qualify as an elector and
meet the requirements of the National Voter Registration Act of
1993 and shall include spaces for all of the following:
(1) The voter's name;
(2) The voter's address;
(3) The current date;
(4) The voter's date of birth;
(5) The voter to provide one or more of the following:
(a) The voter's driver's license number, if any;
(b) The last four digits of the voter's social security number, if any;
(c) A copy of a current and valid photo identification, a copy of a military identification that shows the voter's name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the voter's name and address.
(6) The voter's signature. The
The registration form shall include a space on which the person registering an applicant shall sign the person's name and provide the person's address and a space on which the person registering an applicant shall name the employer who is employing that person to register the applicant. No election official or employee of a designated agency who is
Except for forms prescribed by the secretary of state under section 3503.11 of the Revised Code, the secretary of state shall permit boards of elections to produce forms that have subdivided spaces for each individual alphanumeric character of the information provided by the voter so as to accommodate the electronic reading and conversion of the voter's information to data and the subsequent electronic transfer of that data to the statewide voter registration database established under section 3503.15 of the Revised Code.
(B) None of the following persons who are registering an applicant in the course of that official's or employee's normal duties shall be required to sign the election official's or employee's person's name, provide the person's address, or to name the employer who is employing the election official or employee person to register an applicant on a form prepared under this section:
(1) An election official;
(2) A county treasurer;
(3) A deputy registrar of motor vehicles;
(4) An employee of a designated agency;
(5) An employee of a public high school;
(6) An employee of a public vocational school;
(7) An employee of a public library;
(8) An employee of the office of a county treasurer;
(9) An employee of the bureau of motor vehicles;
(10) An employee of a deputy registrar of motor vehicles;
(11) An employee of an election official.
(B) Any (C) Except as provided in section 3501.382 of the Revised Code, any applicant who is unable to sign the applicant's own name
shall make an
"X," if possible, which shall be certified by the signing of the
name of the applicant by the person filling out the
form, who shall add the person's own signature. If an
applicant is unable
to make an "X," the applicant shall indicate in some manner
that the applicant desires
to register to vote or to change the applicant's name or
residence. The
person registering the applicant shall sign the form and
attest that the applicant indicated that the applicant
desired to register
to vote or to change the applicant's name or residence.
(C)(D) No registration and, change of residence and, or change of name form shall be rejected solely on the basis that a person registering an applicant failed to sign the person's name or failed to name the employer who is employing that person to register the applicant as required under division (A) of this section.
(D)(E) As used in this section, "registering an applicant" includes any effort, for compensation, to provide voter registration forms or to assist persons in completing or returning those forms or returning them to the board of elections, the office of the secretary of state, or another appropriate public office.
Sec. 3503.15. (A) The secretary of state shall establish and maintain a statewide voter registration database that shall be continuously available to each board of elections and to other agencies as authorized by law.
(B) The statewide voter registration database established under this section shall be the official list of registered voters for all elections conducted in this state.
(C) The statewide voter registration database established under this section shall, at a minimum, include all of the following:
(1) An electronic network that connects all board of elections offices with the office of the secretary of state and with the offices of all other boards of elections;
(2) A computer program that harmonizes the records contained in the database with records maintained by each board of elections;
(3) An interactive computer program that allows access to the records contained in the database by each board of elections and by any persons authorized by the secretary of state to add, delete, modify, or print database records, and to conduct updates of the database;
(4) A search program capable of verifying registered voters and their registration information by name, driver's license number, birth date, social security number, or current address;
(5) Safeguards and components to ensure that the integrity, security, and confidentiality of the voter registration information is maintained.
(D) The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code doing all of the following:
(1) Specifying the manner in which existing voter registration records maintained by boards of elections shall be converted to electronic files for inclusion in the statewide voter registration database;
(2) Establishing a uniform method for entering voter registration records into the statewide voter registration database on an expedited basis, but not less than once per day, if new registration information is received;
(3) Establishing a uniform method for purging canceled voter registration records from the statewide voter registration database in accordance with section 3503.21 of the Revised Code;
(4) Specifying the persons authorized to add, delete, modify, or print records contained in the statewide voter registration database and to make updates of that database;
(5) Establishing a process for annually auditing the information contained in the statewide voter registration database.
(E) A board of elections promptly shall purge a voter's name and voter registration information from the statewide voter registration database in accordance with the rules adopted by the secretary of state under division (D)(3) of this section after the cancellation of a voter's registration under section 3503.21 of the Revised Code.
(F) The secretary of state shall provide training in the operation of the statewide voter registration database to each board of elections and to any persons authorized by the secretary of state to add, delete, modify, or print database records, and to conduct updates of the database.
(G)(1) The statewide voter registration database established under this section shall be made available on a web site of the office of the secretary of state as follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (G)(1)(b) of this section, only the following information from the statewide voter registration database regarding a registered voter shall be made available on the web site:
(i) The voter's name;
(ii) The voter's address;
(iii) The voter's precinct number;
(iv) The voter's voting history.
(b) During the thirty days before the day of a primary or general election, the web site interface of the statewide voter registration database shall permit a voter to search for the polling location at which that voter may cast a ballot.
(2) The secretary of state shall establish, by rule adopted under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, a process for boards of elections to notify the secretary of state of changes in the locations of precinct polling places for the purpose of updating the information made available on the secretary of state's web site under division (G)(1)(b) of this section. Those rules shall require a board of elections, during the thirty days before the day of a primary or general election, to notify the secretary of state within one business day of any change to the location of a precinct polling place within the county.
(3) During the thirty days before the day of a primary or general election, not later than one business day after receiving a notification from a county pursuant to division (G)(2) of this section that the location of a precinct polling place has changed, the secretary of state shall update that information on the secretary of state's web site for the purpose of division (G)(1)(b) of this section.
Sec. 3503.16. (A) Whenever a registered elector changes the place of residence of that registered elector from one precinct to another within a county or from one county to another, or has a change of name, that registered elector shall report the change by delivering a change of residence or change of name form, whichever is appropriate, as prescribed by the secretary of state under section 3503.14 of the Revised Code to the state or local office of a designated agency, a public high school or vocational school, a public library, the office of the county treasurer, the office of the secretary of state, any office of the registrar or deputy registrar of motor vehicles, or any office of a board of elections in person or by a third person. Any voter registration, change of address, or change of name application, returned by mail, may be sent only to the secretary of state or the board of elections.
A registered elector also may update the registration of that registered elector by filing a change of residence or change of name form on the day of a special, primary, or general election at the polling place in the precinct in which that registered elector resides or at the board of elections or at another site designated by the board.
(B)(1)(a) Any registered elector who moves within a precinct or
changes the name of that registered elector and remains within a precinct on
or prior to the day of a general, primary, or special election and has not
filed a notice of change of residence or change of name, whichever is
appropriate, with the board of elections may vote in that election by going to
that registered elector's assigned polling place, completing and signing a
notice of change of residence or change of name, whichever is appropriate, showing identification in the form of a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter's name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the name and current address of the elector,and
casting a ballot. If the elector provides either a driver's license or a state identification card issued under section 4507.50 of the Revised Code that does not contain the elector's current residence address, the elector shall provide the last four digits of the elector's driver's license number or state identification card number, and the precinct election official shall mark the poll list or signature pollbook to indicate that the elector has provided a driver's license or state identification card number with a former address and record the last four digits of the elector's driver's license number or state identification card number.
(b) Any registered elector who changes the name of that registered elector and remains within a precinct on or prior to the day of a general, primary, or special election and has not filed a notice of change of name with the board of elections may vote in that election by going to that registered elector's assigned polling place, completing and signing a notice of a change of name, and casting a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code.
(2) Any registered elector who moves from one precinct to another within a county or moves from one precinct to another and changes the name of that registered elector on or prior to the day of a general, primary, or special election and has not filed a notice of change of residence or change of name, whichever is appropriate, with the board of elections may vote in that election if that registered elector complies with division (G) of this section or does all of the following:
(a) Appears at anytime during
regular business hours
on or after the twenty-eighth day
prior to the
election in which that registered elector wishes to vote, or,
if the election is held
on the day of a presidential primary election, the twenty-fifth
day prior to the election, through noon of the Saturday prior to
the election or at the office of the board of elections, appears at any time during regular business hours on the Monday prior
to the election at the office of the board of elections, or
appears on the day of the election at either of the following
locations:
(i) The polling place in the precinct in which that registered elector resides;
(ii) The location designated by the board of elections, which
shall be the office of the board or another
appropriate site designated by the board in the county in which
that registered elector resides of elections or, if pursuant to division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code the board has designated another location in the county at which registered electors may vote, at that other location instead of the office of the board of elections.
(b) Completes and signs, under penalty of election
falsification, a notice of change of residence or change of name,
whichever is appropriate, and files it with election officials at
the polling place, at the office of the board of elections, or at
the site designated by the board or, if pursuant to division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code the board has designated another location in the county at which registered electors may vote, at that other location instead of the office of the board of elections, whichever is appropriate;
(c) Votes a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code at the polling place, at the office of the board
of elections, or at the site designated by the board or, if pursuant to division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code the board has designated another location in the county at which registered electors may vote, at that other location instead of the office of the board of elections, whichever
is appropriate, by absent voter's ballots using the address to
which that registered elector has moved or
the name of that registered elector as changed, whichever is
appropriate;
(d) Completes and signs, under penalty of election
falsification, a statement attesting that that registered
elector moved or had a change of name, whichever
is appropriate, on or prior to the day of the
election, has voted a provisional ballot at the polling place in the precinct in
which that registered elector resides, at the office of the
board of elections, or
at the site designated by the board or, if pursuant to division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code the board has designated another location in the county at which registered electors may vote, at that other location instead of the office of the board of elections, whichever is appropriate,
and will not vote or attempt to vote at any other
location for that particular election. The statement required
under division (B)(2)(d) of this section shall be included on
the
notice of change of residence or change of name, whichever is
appropriate, required under division (B)(2)(b) of this section.
(C) Any registered elector who moves from one county to another county within the state on or prior to the day of a general, primary, or special election and has not registered to vote in the county to which that registered elector moved may vote in that election if that registered elector complies with division (G) of this section or does all of the following:
(1) Appears at any time during regular
business
hours on or after the
twenty-eighth day prior to
the election in which that registered elector wishes to vote,
or, if the election is
held on the day of a presidential primary election, the
twenty-fifth day prior to the election, through noon of the
Saturday prior to the election or at the office of the board of elections or, if pursuant to division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code the board has designated another location in the county at which registered electors may vote, at that other location instead of the office of the board of elections, appears during regular business hours
on the Monday prior to the election at the office of the board of
elections or, if pursuant to division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code the board has designated another location in the county at which registered electors may vote, at that other location instead of the office of the board of elections, or appears on the day of the
election at the
location designated by the board of elections, which shall be
either the office of the board or another appropriate site
designated by the board in the county in which that registered
elector resides of elections or, if pursuant to division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code the board has designated another location in the county at which registered electors may vote, at that other location instead of the office of the board of elections;
(2) Completes and signs, under penalty of election
falsification, a notice of change of residence and files it with
election officials at the board or at the site designated by the
board, whichever is appropriate of elections or, if pursuant to division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code the board has designated another location in the county at which registered electors may vote, at that other location instead of the office of the board of elections;
(3) Votes a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code at the office of the board of elections or at a
site designated by the board by absent voter's ballots or, if pursuant to division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code the board has designated another location in the county at which registered electors may vote, at that other location instead of the office of the board of elections, using the
address to which that registered elector has moved;
(4) Completes and signs, under penalty of election
falsification, a statement attesting that that registered
elector has moved from one
county to another county within the state on or prior to the day
of the election, has voted at the office of the board of
elections or at the site designated by the board, whichever is
appropriate or, if pursuant to division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code the board has designated another location in the county at which registered electors may vote, at that other location instead of the office of the board of elections, and will not vote or attempt to vote at any
other location for that particular election. The statement
required under division (C)(4) of this section shall be included on
the notice of change of residence required under division (C)(2)
of this section.
(D) A person who votes by absent voter's ballots pursuant
to division (B), (C), or (G) of this
section shall not make written
application for the ballots pursuant to Chapter 3509. of the
Revised Code. Ballots cast pursuant to division (B),
(C), or (G) of
this section shall be set aside in a special envelope and counted
during the official canvass of votes in the manner provided for
in sections 3505.32 and 3509.06 of the Revised Code insofar as
that manner is applicable. The board shall examine the pollbooks
to verify that no ballot was cast at the polls or by absent voter's ballots
under Chapter 3509. or 3511. of the Revised Code by an elector who
has voted by absent voter's ballots pursuant to division (B),
(C), or (G) of this section. Any ballot determined to
be insufficient
for any of the reasons stated above or stated in section 3509.07
of the Revised Code shall not be counted.
A Subject to division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code, a board of elections may lease or otherwise acquire a site
different from the office of the board at which registered
electors may vote pursuant to division (B) or (C) of this
section.
(E) Upon receiving a change of residence or change of name form, the board of elections shall immediately send the registrant an acknowledgment notice. If the change of residence or change of name form is valid, the board shall update the voter's registration as appropriate. If that form is incomplete, the board shall inform the registrant in the acknowledgment notice specified in this division of the information necessary to complete or update that registrant's registration.
(F) Change of residence and change of name forms shall be available at each polling place, and when these forms are completed, noting changes of residence or name, as appropriate, they shall be filed with election officials at the polling place. Election officials shall return completed forms, together with the pollbooks and tally sheets, to the board of elections.
The board of elections shall provide change of residence and change of name forms to the probate court and court of common pleas. The court shall provide the forms to any person eighteen years of age or older who has a change of name by order of the court or who applies for a marriage license. The court shall forward all completed forms to the board of elections within five days after receiving them.
(G) A registered elector who otherwise would qualify to vote
under division (B) or (C) of this section but is unable to
appear at the office of the board or other location designated by the
board of elections or, if pursuant to division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code the board has designated another location in the county at which registered electors may vote, at that other location, on account of personal illness, physical disability, or
infirmity, may vote on the day of the election if that registered elector does
all of the following:
(1) Makes a written application that includes all of the information required under section 3509.03 of the Revised Code to the appropriate board for an absent voter's ballot on or after the twenty-seventh day prior to the election in which the registered elector wishes to vote through noon of the Saturday prior to that election and requests that the absent voter's ballot be sent to the address to which the registered elector has moved if the registered elector has moved, or to the address of that registered elector who has not moved but has had a change of name;
(2) Declares that the registered elector has moved or had a change of
name, whichever is
appropriate, and otherwise is qualified to vote under the circumstances
described in division (B) or (C) of this section, whichever
is appropriate, but that the registered elector is unable to appear at the
board or other
location designated by the board of elections because of personal illness, physical
disability, or infirmity;
(3) Completes and returns along with the completed absent voter's ballot a notice of change of residence indicating the address to which the registered elector has moved, or a notice of change of name, whichever is appropriate;
(4) Completes and signs, under penalty of election falsification, a
statement attesting that the registered elector has moved or had a change of
name on or prior to the day before the election, has voted by absent voter's
ballot because
of personal illness, physical disability, or infirmity that prevented
the registered elector from appearing at the board or other location
designated by the board of elections, and will not vote or attempt to vote at any other
location or by absent voter's ballot mailed to any other location or address
for that particular election.
Sec. 3503.19. (A) Persons qualified to register or to
change their registration because of a change of address or
change of name may register or change their registration in
person at any state or local office of a designated agency, at
the office of the registrar or any deputy registrar of motor
vehicles, at a public high school or vocational
school, at a public library, at the office of a county treasurer,
or at a branch office established by
the board of elections, or in person, through another person, or
by mail at the office of the secretary of state or at the office of a board
of elections. A registered elector may also change the
elector's registration on election day at any polling place where the
elector is eligible to vote,
on election day in the manner provided under section 3503.16 of the Revised Code.
Any state or local office of a designated agency, the office of the registrar or any deputy registrar of motor vehicles, a public high school or vocational school, a public library, or the office of a county treasurer shall transmit any voter registration application or change of registration form that it receives to the board of elections of the county in which the state or local office is located, within five days after receiving the voter registration application or change of registration form.
An otherwise valid voter registration application that is returned to the appropriate office other than by mail must be received by a state or local office of a designated agency, the office of the registrar or any deputy registrar of motor vehicles, a public high school or vocational school, a public library, the office of a county treasurer, the office of the secretary of state, or the office of a board of elections no later than the thirtieth day preceding a primary, special, or general election for the person to qualify as an elector eligible to vote at that election. An otherwise valid registration application received after that day entitles the elector to vote at all subsequent elections.
Any state or local office of a designated agency, the office of the registrar or any deputy registrar of motor vehicles, a public high school or vocational school, a public library, or the office of a county treasurer shall date stamp a registration application or change of name or change of address form it receives using a date stamp that does not disclose the identity of the state or local office that receives the registration.
Voter registration applications, if otherwise valid, that are returned by mail to the office of the secretary of state or to the office of a board of elections must be postmarked no later than the thirtieth day preceding a primary, special, or general election in order for the person to qualify as an elector eligible to vote at that election. If an otherwise valid voter registration application that is returned by mail does not bear a postmark or a legible postmark, the registration shall be valid for that election if received by the office of the secretary of state or the office of a board of elections no later than twenty-five days preceding any special, primary, or general election.
(B)(1) Any person may apply in person,
by telephone, by mail, or through another person for voter
registration forms to the office of the secretary of state or the
office of a board of elections. Completed
(2)(a) An applicant may return the applicant's completed registration forms may
be returned form in person or through another person or by mail to any state or
local office of a designated agency, to a public high school or
vocational school, to a public library, or to the office of a county
treasurer, or in person, through
another person, or by mail to the office of the secretary of
state, or to the office of a board of elections.
(b) Subject to division (B)(2)(c) of this section, an applicant may return the applicant's completed registration form through another person to any board of elections or the office of the secretary of state.
(c) A person who receives compensation for registering a voter shall return any registration form entrusted to that person by an applicant to any board of elections or to the office of the secretary of state.
(d) If a board of elections or the office of the secretary of state receives a registration form under division (B)(2)(b) or (c) of this section before the thirtieth day before an election, the board or the office of the secretary of state, as applicable, shall forward the registration to the board of elections of the county in which the applicant is seeking to register to vote within ten days after receiving the application. If a board of elections or the office of the secretary of state receives a registration form under division (B)(2)(b) or (c) of this section on or after the thirtieth day before an election, the board or the office of the secretary of state, as applicable, shall forward the registration to the board of elections of the county in which the applicant is seeking to register to vote within thirty days after that election.
(C)(1) A board of elections that receives a voter
registration application and is satisfied as to the truth of the
statements made in the registration form shall register the
applicant and not later than twenty business days after receiving the application, unless that application is received during the thirty days immediately preceding the day of an election. The board shall promptly notify the applicant in writing of each of
the following:
(a) The applicant's registration and the;
(b) The precinct in which the
applicant is to vote. The;
(c) In bold type as follows:
"Voters must bring identification to the polls in order to verify identity. Identification may include a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter's name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than this notification or a notification of an election mailed by a board of elections, that shows the voter's name and current address. Voters who do not provide one of these documents will still be able to vote by providing the last four digits of the voter's social security number and by casting a provisional ballot. Voters who do not have any of the above forms of identification, including a social security number, will still be able to vote by signing an affirmation swearing to the voter's identity under penalty of election falsification and by casting a provisional ballot."
The notification shall be by
nonforwardable mail, and if. If the mail is returned to the board, it
shall investigate and cause the notification to be delivered to
the correct address; or if it determines that the voter is not
eligible to vote for residency reasons it shall cancel the
registration and notify the registrant, at the last known
address, of a need to reregister. If the board does not accept
the application for registration, it shall immediately notify the
applicant of the reasons for rejecting the application and
request the applicant to provide whatever information or
verification is necessary to complete the application.
(2) If, after investigating as required under division (C)(1) of this section, the board is unable to verify the voter's correct address, it shall cause the voter's name in the official registration list and in the poll list or signature pollbook to be marked to indicate that the voter's notification was returned to the board.
At the first election at which a voter whose name has been so marked appears to vote, the voter shall be required to provide identification to the election officials and to vote by provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code. If the provisional ballot is counted pursuant to division (B)(3) of section 3505.183 of the Revised Code, the board shall correct that voter's registration, if needed, and shall remove the indication that the voter's notification was returned from that voter's name on the official registration list and on the poll list or signature pollbook. If the provisional ballot is not counted pursuant to division (B)(4)(a)(i), (v), or (vi) of section 3505.183 of the Revised Code, the voter's registration shall be canceled. The board shall notify the voter by United States mail of the cancellation.
(3) If a notice of the disposition of an otherwise valid mail
registration application is sent by nonforwardable mail and is
returned undelivered, the person shall be registered as provided in division (C)(2) of this section and sent a
confirmation notice by forwardable mail. If the person fails to
respond to the confirmation notice, update the person's
registration, or vote by provisional ballot as provided in division (C)(2) of this section in any election during the period of two federal
elections subsequent to the mailing of the confirmation notice, the person's
registration shall be canceled.
Sec. 3503.21. (A) The registration of a registered elector shall be canceled upon the occurrence of any of the following:
(1) The filing by a registered elector of a written
request with a board of elections, on a form prescribed by the
secretary of state and signed by the elector, that his the
registration be canceled. The filing of such a request does not
prohibit an otherwise qualified elector from reregistering to
vote at any time.
(2) The filing of a notice of the death of the registered elector as provided in section 3503.18 of the Revised Code;
(3) The conviction of the registered elector of a felony under the laws of this state, any other state, or the United States as provided in section 2961.01 of the Revised Code;
(4) The adjudication of incompetency of the registered elector for the purpose of voting as provided in section 5122.301 of the Revised Code;
(5) The change of residence of the registered elector to a location outside the county of registration in accordance with division (B) of this section;
(6) The failure of the registered elector, after he has having
been mailed a confirmation notice, to do either of the following:
(a) Respond to such a notice and vote at least once during a period of four consecutive years, which period shall include two general federal elections;
(b) Update his the elector's registration and vote at least
once during
a period of four consecutive years, which period shall include
two general federal elections.
(B)(1) The secretary of state shall prescribe procedures to
identify and cancel the registration in a prior county of
residence of any registrant who changes his the registrant's
voting residence to a
location outside his the registrant's current county of
registration. Any
procedures prescribed in this division shall be uniform and
nondiscriminatory, and shall comply with the Voting Rights Act of
1965. The secretary of state may prescribe procedures under this
division that include the use of the national change of address
service provided by the United States postal system through its
licensees. Any program so prescribed shall be completed not
later than ninety days prior to the date of any primary or
general election for federal office.
(2) The registration of any elector identified as having
changed his the elector's voting residence to a location outside
his the elector's current
county of registration shall not be canceled unless the
registrant is sent a confirmation notice on a form prescribed by
the secretary of state and the registrant fails to respond to the
confirmation notice or otherwise update his the registration and
fails to vote in any election during the period of two federal
elections subsequent to the mailing of the confirmation notice.
(C) The registration of a registered elector shall not be canceled except as provided in this section, division (Q) of section 3501.05 of the Revised Code, division (C)(2) of section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, or division (C) of section 3503.24 of the Revised Code.
(D) Boards of elections shall send their voter
registration lists information to the secretary of state semiannually as required under section 3503.15 of the Revised Code. In
the first quarter of each odd-numbered year, the secretary of
state shall send the information contained in these lists to the
national change of address service described in division (B) of
this section and request that service to provide the secretary of
state with a list of any voters on the lists sent by the
secretary of state who have moved within the last thirty-six
months. The secretary of state shall transmit to each
appropriate board of elections whatever lists he the secretary of
state receives from
that service. The board shall send a notice to each person on
the list transmitted by the secretary of state requesting
confirmation of the person's change of address, together with a
postage prepaid, preaddressed return envelope containing a form
on which the voter may verify or correct the change of address
information.
(E) The registration of a registered elector described in division (A)(6) or (B)(2) of this section shall be canceled not later than one hundred twenty days after the date of the second general federal election in which the elector fails to vote or not later than one hundred twenty days after the expiration of the four-year period in which the elector fails to vote or respond to a confirmation notice, whichever is later.
Sec. 3503.23. (A) At least fifteen Fourteen days before an election, the
board of elections shall cause to be prepared from the registration cards statewide voter registration database established under section 3503.15 of the Revised Code a
complete and official registration list for each precinct,
containing the names, addresses, and political party whose ballot
the elector voted in the most recent primary election within the
current year and the immediately preceding two calendar
years, of all
qualified registered voters in the precinct. All the names,
insofar as practicable, shall be arranged either in alphabetical
order, or in geographical order according to streets in the
precincts. All the The lists shall may be prepared either in sheet form and on
one side of the paper or in electronic form, at the discretion of the board. Each precinct list shall be headed
"Register of Voters," and under the heading shall be indicated
the district or ward and precinct followed by the statement:
"Any voter of the county on or before the seventh day prior
to the election may file with the board of elections at the
board's offices located at ................. objections to the
registration of any person on this list who, he has
reason to
believe, is not eligible to vote, or a request for the addition
to the list of registered voters whose names have been omitted or
who have been erroneously dropped from the registration list of
the precinct.".
Appended to each precinct list shall be attached the names
of the members of the board and the name of the director. A
sufficient number of such lists may shall be provided for distribution to the
candidates, political parties, or organized groups that apply for them. The
board shall
have each precinct list available at the board for viewing
by the
public during normal business hours. The
board shall ensure that, by the opening of the polls on the day of a
general or primary election, each precinct has a paper copy of the registration list
of voters in that precinct.
(B) On the day of a general or primary election, precinct election officials shall do both of the following:
(1) By the time the polls open, conspicuously post and display at the polling place one copy of the registration list of voters in that precinct in an area of the polling place that is easily accessible;
(2) At 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. place a mark, on the official registration list posted at the polling place, before the name of those registered voters who have voted.
(C) Notwithstanding division (B) of section 3501.35 of the Revised Code, any person may enter the polling place for the sole purpose of reviewing the official registration list posted in accordance with division (B) of this section, provided that the person does not engage in conduct that would constitute harassment in violation of the election law, as defined in section 3501.90 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3503.24. (A) Application for the correction of any
precinct registration list or a challenge of the right to vote of
any registered elector may be made by any qualified elector of
the county at the office of the board of elections not later than
eleven twenty days prior to the election. The
applications or challenges,
with the reasons for the application or challenge,
shall be filed with the board on a
form prescribed by the secretary of state and shall be signed
under penalty of election falsification.
(B) On receiving an application or challenge filed under this section, the board of elections promptly shall review the board's records. If the board is able to determine that an application or challenge should be granted or denied solely on the basis of the records maintained by the board, the board immediately shall vote to grant or deny that application or challenge.
If the board is not able to determine whether an application or challenge should be granted or denied solely on the basis of the records maintained by the board, the director shall promptly set a time and date for a
hearing before the board. The Except as otherwise provided in division (D) of this section, the hearing shall be held, and the application or challenge shall be decided, no later
than two ten days prior to any election after the board receives the application or challenge. The director shall send
written notice to any elector whose right to vote is challenged
and to any person whose name is alleged to have been omitted from
a registration list. The notice shall inform the person of the
time and date of the hearing, and of the person's right to
appear and
testify, call witnesses, and be represented by counsel. The
notice shall be sent by first class mail no later than three days
before the day of any scheduled hearing. The director shall also
provide the person who filed the application or challenge with
such written notice of the date and time of the hearing.
At the request of either party or any member of the board, the board shall issue subpoenas to witnesses to appear and testify before the board at a hearing held under this section. All witnesses shall testify under oath. The board shall reach a decision on all applications and challenges immediately after hearing.
(C) If the board decides that any such person is not entitled
to have the person's name on the registration list,
the person's name shall be
removed from the list and the
person's registration forms canceled. If the
board decides that the name of any such person should appear on
such the registration list, it shall be added thereto to the list, and the
person's registration forms placed in the proper registration files. All
such corrections and additions shall be made on a copy of the
precinct lists, which shall constitute the poll lists, to be
furnished to the respective precincts with other election
supplies on the day preceding the election, to be used by the
clerks election officials in receiving the signatures of voters and in checking
against the registration forms.
(D)(1) If an application or challenge for which a hearing is required to be conducted under division (B) of this section is filed after the thirtieth day before the day of an election, the board of elections, in its discretion, may postpone that hearing and any notifications of that hearing until after the day of the election. Any hearing postponed under this division shall be conducted not later than ten days after the day of the election.
(2) The board of elections shall cause the name of any registered elector whose registration is challenged and whose challenge hearing is postponed under division (D)(1) of this section to be marked in the official registration list and in the poll list or signature pollbook for that elector's precinct to indicate that the elector's registration is subject to challenge.
(3) Any elector who is the subject of an application or challenge hearing that is postponed under division (D)(1) of this section shall be permitted to vote a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code. The validity of a provisional ballot cast pursuant to this section shall be determined in accordance with section 3505.183 of the Revised Code, except that no such provisional ballot shall be counted unless the hearing conducted under division (B) of this section after the day of the election results in the elector's inclusion in the official registration list.
Sec. 3503.28. (A) The secretary of state shall develop an information brochure regarding voter registration. The brochure shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following information:
(1) The applicable deadlines for registering to vote or for returning an applicant's completed registration form;
(2) The applicable deadline for returning an applicant's completed registration form if the person returning the form is being compensated for registering voters;
(3) The locations to which a person may return an applicant's completed registration form;
(4) The location to which a person who is compensated for registering voters may return an applicant's completed registration form;
(5) The registration and affirmation requirements applicable to persons who are compensated for registering voters under section 3503.29 of the Revised Code;
(6) A notice, which shall be written in bold type, stating as follows:
"Voters must bring identification to the polls in order to verify identity. Identification may include a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter's name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election or a voter registration notification sent by a board of elections, that shows the voter's name and current address. Voters who do not provide one of these documents will still be able to vote by providing the last four digits of the voter's social security number and by casting a provisional ballot. Voters who do not have any of the above forms of identification, including a social security number, will still be able to vote by signing an affirmation swearing to the voter's identity under penalty of election falsification and by casting a provisional ballot."
(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (D) of this section, a board of elections, designated agency, public high school, public vocational school, public library, office of a county treasurer, or deputy registrar of motor vehicles shall distribute a copy of the brochure developed under division (A) of this section to any person who requests more than two voter registration forms at one time.
(C)(1) The secretary of state shall provide the information required to be included in the brochure developed under division (A) of this section to any person who prints a voter registration form that is made available on a web site of the office of the secretary of state.
(2) If a board of elections operates and maintains a web site, the board shall provide the information required to be included in the brochure developed under division (A) of this section to any person who prints a voter registration form that is made available on that web site.
(D) A board of elections shall not be required to distribute a copy of a brochure under division (B) of this section to any of the following officials or employees who are requesting more than two voter registration forms at one time in the course of the official's or employee's normal duties:
(1) An election official;
(2) A county treasurer;
(3) A deputy registrar of motor vehicles;
(4) An employee of a designated agency;
(5) An employee of a public high school;
(6) An employee of a public vocational school;
(7) An employee of a public library;
(8) An employee of the office of a county treasurer;
(9) An employee of the bureau of motor vehicles;
(10) An employee of a deputy registrar of motor vehicles;
(11) An employee of an election official.
(E) As used in this section, "registering voters" includes any effort, for compensation, to provide voter registration forms or to assist persons in completing or returning those forms.
Sec. 3503.29. (A) The secretary of state shall develop and make available through a web site of the office of the secretary of state a training program for any person who receives or expects to receive compensation for registering a voter. The secretary of state shall specify, by rule adopted pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, the information to be included in the online training program developed under this division.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (E) of this section, the secretary of state, by rules adopted pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, shall prescribe a program under which the secretary of state shall register any person who receives or expects to receive compensation for registering a voter in this state.
(C) Except as otherwise provided in division (E) of this section, in each year in which a person receives or expects to receive compensation for registering a voter, that person, prior to registering a voter, shall do all of the following:
(1) Register with the secretary of state in accordance with the program prescribed under division (B) of this section;
(2) Complete the training program established by the secretary of state under division (A) of this section.
(3) Sign an affirmation that includes all of the following:
(a) The person's name;
(b) The person's date of birth;
(c) The person's permanent address;
(d) The name of each county in which the person expects to register voters;
(e) A statement that the person has registered, as required under division (C)(1) of this section, with the secretary of state;
(f) A statement that the person has completed the training program required under division (C)(2) of this section;
(g) A statement that the person will follow all applicable laws of this state while registering voters.
(D) Except as otherwise provided in division (E) of this section, each time a person who receives or expects to receive compensation for registering a voter submits a completed registration form that has been entrusted to that person to a board of elections, the person also shall submit, with the voter registration form, a copy of the affirmation signed by the person under division (C)(3) of this section. A single copy of the signed affirmation may be submitted with all voter registration forms that are returned by that person at one time.
(E) None of the following officials or employees who are registering voters in the course of the official's or employee's normal duties shall be required to comply with divisions (C) and (D) of this section:
(1) An election official;
(2) A county treasurer;
(3) A deputy registrar of motor vehicles;
(4) An employee of a designated agency;
(5) An employee of a public high school;
(6) An employee of a public vocational school;
(7) An employee of a public library;
(8) An employee of the office of a county treasurer;
(9) An employee of the bureau of motor vehicles;
(10) An employee of a deputy registrar of motor vehicles;
(11) An employee of an election official.
(F) As used in this section, "registering a voter" and "registering voters" includes any effort, for compensation, to provide voter registration forms or to assist persons in completing or returning those forms.
Sec. 3505.062. The Ohio ballot board shall do all of the following:
(A) Examine, within ten days after its receipt, each written initiative petition received from the attorney general under section 3519.01 of the Revised Code to determine whether it contains only one proposed law or constitutional amendment so as to enable the voters to vote on a proposal separately. If the board so determines, it shall certify its approval to the attorney general, who then shall file with the secretary of state in accordance with division (A) of section 3519.01 of the Revised Code a verified copy of the proposed law or constitutional amendment together with its summary and the attorney general's certification of it.
If the board determines that the initiative petition contains more than one proposed law or constitutional amendment, the board shall divide the initiative petition into individual petitions containing only one proposed law or constitutional amendment so as to enable the voters to vote on each proposal separately and certify its approval to the attorney general. If the board so divides an initiative petition and so certifies its approval to the attorney general, the petitioners shall resubmit to the attorney general appropriate summaries for each of the individual petitions arising from the board's division of the initiative petition, and the attorney general then shall review the resubmissions as provided in division (A) of section 3519.01 of the Revised Code.
(B) Prescribe the ballot language for constitutional amendments proposed by the general assembly to be printed on the questions and issues ballot, which language shall properly identify the substance of the proposal to be voted upon;
(B)(C) Prepare an explanation of each
constitutional amendment
proposed by the general assembly,
which
explanation may include
the purpose and effects of the proposed amendment;
(C)(D) Certify the ballot language and explanation, if any, to
the secretary of
state no later than
eighty seventy-five days
before the election at which the
proposed question or issue is to
be submitted
to the voters;
(D)(E)
Prepare, or designate a group of persons to prepare,
arguments in support of or in opposition to a constitutional
amendment proposed by a resolution of the general assembly, a
constitutional amendment or state law proposed by initiative
petition,
or a state law, or section or item of state law, subject
to a referendum
petition, if the persons otherwise responsible for
the preparation
of those arguments fail to timely prepare and file
them;
(E)(F) Direct the means by which the secretary of state shall
disseminate
information concerning proposed
constitutional
amendments to the voters;
(F)(G) Direct the
chairperson to reimburse county
boards
of elections
for public notice costs associated with
statewide ballot issues, to the extent
that the general assembly
appropriates money for
that purpose.
Sec. 3505.063. (A) When the general assembly adopts a
resolution proposing a constitutional amendment, it
may, by
resolution, designate a group of members who voted in support of
the resolution to prepare arguments for the proposed amendment,
and a group of members who voted in opposition to the resolution
to prepare arguments against the proposed amendment. If no
members voted in opposition to the resolution,
or if the general
assembly chooses not to designate a group of members to prepare
arguments for the proposed amendment or chooses not to designate a
group of members to prepare arguments against the proposed
amendment, the Ohio ballot
board
shall prepare
or
designate a group of
persons to prepare
the
relevant arguments. All
arguments
prepared under this division
shall be filed with the
secretary of state no not later
than
seventy-five eighty days before the date
of the election. No
argument
shall exceed three hundred words.
(B)(1) If the group of members of the general assembly or
other group of persons designated under division (A) of this
section fail to prepare and file their arguments in support of or
in opposition to the proposed amendment by the seventy-fifth eightieth day
before the date of the election, the secretary of state shall
notify the Ohio ballot board that those arguments have not been so
prepared and filed. The board then shall prepare the missing
arguments or designate a group of persons to prepare those
arguments. All arguments prepared under this division shall be
filed with the secretary of state no not later than seventy seventy-five days
before the date of the election. No argument shall exceed three
hundred words.
(2) If the Ohio ballot board fails to provide for the preparation of missing arguments under division (B)(1) of this section after being notified by the secretary of state that one or more arguments have not been timely prepared and filed, the positions of the four appointed members of the board shall be considered vacant, and new members shall be appointed in the manner provided for original appointments.
(C) The secretary of state shall disseminate information, which may include part or all of the official explanation and arguments concerning proposed amendments, by means of direct mail or other written publication, broadcast, or other means or combination of means, as the Ohio ballot board may direct, in order to inform the voters as fully as possible concerning proposed amendments.
Sec. 3505.16. Before the opening of the polls, the package of supplies and
the ballot boxes shall be opened in the presence of the precinct officials.
The ballot boxes, the package of ballots, registration forms, and other
supplies shall at all times be in full sight of the challenger or witnesses observers,
and no ballot box or unused ballots during the balloting or counting shall be
removed or screened from their full sight until the counting has been closed
and the final returns completed and the certificate signed by the judges and
clerks.
Sec. 3505.18. (A)(1) When an elector appears in a polling place
to vote he, the elector shall announce his to the precinct election officials the
elector's full name and current address to the
precinct election officials. He and provide proof of the elector's identity in the form of a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter's name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the name and current address of the elector. If the elector provides either a driver's license or a state identification card issued under section 4507.50 of the Revised Code that does not contain the elector's current residence address, the elector shall provide the last four digits of the elector's driver's license number or state identification card number, and the precinct election official shall mark the poll list or signature pollbook to indicate that the elector has provided a driver's license or state identification card number with a former address and record the last four digits of the elector's driver's license number or state identification card number.
(2) If an elector has but is unable to provide to the precinct election officials any of the forms of identification required under division (A)(1) of this section, but has a social security number, the elector may provide the last four digits of the elector's social security number. Upon providing the social security number information, the elector may cast a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code, the envelope of which ballot shall include that social security number information.
(3) If an elector has but is unable to provide to the precinct election officials any of the forms of identification required under division (A)(1) of this section and if the elector has a social security number but is unable to provide the last four digits of the elector's social security number, the elector may cast a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code.
(4) If an elector does not have any of the forms of identification required under division (A)(1) of this section and cannot provide the last four digits of the elector's social security number because the elector does not have a social security number, the elector may execute an affirmation under penalty of election falsification that the elector cannot provide the identification required under that division or the last four digits of the elector's social security number for those reasons. Upon signing the affirmation, the elector may cast a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code. The secretary of state shall prescribe the form of the affirmation, which shall include spaces for all of the following:
(a) The elector's name;
(b) The elector's address;
(c) The current date;
(d) The elector's date of birth;
(e) The elector's signature.
(5) If an elector does not have any of the forms of identification required under division (A)(1) of this section and cannot provide the last four digits of the elector's social security number because the elector does not have a social security number, and if the elector declines to execute an affirmation under division (A)(4) of this section, the elector may cast a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code, the envelope of which ballot shall include the elector's name.
(6) If an elector has but declines to provide to the precinct election officials any of the forms of identification required under division (A)(1) of this section or the elector has a social security number but declines to provide to the precinct election officials the last four digits of the elector's social security number, the elector may cast a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code.
(B) After the elector has announced the elector's full name and current address and provided any of the forms of identification required under division (A)(1) of this section, the elector shall then write
his the elector's name and
address at the proper place in the poll lists list or signature
pollbooks pollbook provided therefor for the purpose, except that if, for any reason, an
elector shall be is unable to write his the elector's name and current
address in the poll
list or signature pollbook, the elector may make his the
elector's mark at the
place intended for his the elector's name, and a precinct election
official shall write
the name of the elector at the proper place on the poll list or
signature pollbook following the elector's mark, upon the
presentation of proper identification. The making of such a mark
shall be attested by the precinct election official, who shall evidence the
same by signing his the precinct election official's name on the poll
list or signature pollbook
as a witness to such the mark. Alternatively, if applicable, an attorney in fact acting pursuant to section 3501.382 of the Revised Code may sign the elector's signature in the poll list or signature pollbook in accordance with that section.
The elector's signature in the poll lists list or signature
pollbooks shall pollbook then shall be compared with his the elector's
signature on his the elector's
registration form or a digitized signature list as provided for
in section 3503.13 of the Revised Code, and if, in the opinion of
a majority of the precinct election officials, the signatures are
the signatures of the same person, the clerks election officials shall enter the
date of the election on the registration form or shall record the
date by such other means as may be prescribed by the secretary of
state. If The validity of an attorney in fact's signature on behalf of an elector shall be determined in accordance with section 3501.382 of the Revised Code.
If the right of the elector to vote is not then
challenged, or, if being challenged, he the elector establishes
his the elector's right to
vote, he the elector shall be allowed to proceed into to use the voting
machine. If
voting machines are not being used in that precinct, the judge in
charge of ballots shall then detach the next ballots to be issued
to the elector from Stub B attached to each ballot, leaving Stub
A attached to each ballot, hand the ballots to the elector, and
call his the elector's name and the stub number on each of the
ballots. The
clerk judge shall enter the stub numbers opposite the signature of the
elector in the pollbook. The elector shall then retire to one of
the voting compartments to mark his the elector's ballots. No
mark shall be
made on any ballot which would in any way enable any person to
identify the person who voted the ballot.
Sec. 3505.181. (A) All of the following individuals shall be permitted to cast a provisional ballot at an election:
(1) An individual who declares that the individual is a registered voter in the jurisdiction in which the individual desires to vote and that the individual is eligible to vote in an election, but the name of the individual does not appear on the official list of eligible voters for the polling place or an election official asserts that the individual is not eligible to vote;
(2) An individual who has a social security number and provides to the election officials the last four digits of the individual's social security number as permitted by division (A)(2) of section 3505.18 of the Revised Code;
(3) An individual who has but is unable to provide to the election officials any of the forms of identification required under division (A)(1) of section 3505.18 of the Revised Code and who has a social security number but is unable to provide the last four digits of the individual's social security number as permitted under division (A)(2) of that section;
(4) An individual who does not have any of the forms of identification required under division (A)(1) of section 3505.18 of the Revised Code, who cannot provide the last four digits of the individual's social security number under division (A)(2) of that section because the individual does not have a social security number, and who has executed an affirmation as permitted under division (A)(4) of that section;
(5) An individual whose name in the poll list or signature pollbook has been marked under section 3509.09 or 3511.13 of the Revised Code as having requested an absent voter's ballot or an armed service absent voter's ballot for that election and who appears to vote at the polling place;
(6) An individual whose notification of registration has been returned undelivered to the board of elections and whose name in the official registration list and in the poll list or signature pollbook has been marked under division (C)(2) of section 3503.19 of the Revised Code;
(7) An individual who is challenged under section 3505.20 of the Revised Code and the election officials determine that the person is ineligible to vote or are unable to determine the person's eligibility to vote;
(8) An individual whose application or challenge hearing has been postponed until after the day of the election under division (D)(1) of section 3503.24 of the Revised Code;
(9) An individual who changes the individual's name and remains within the precinct, moves from one precinct to another within a county, moves from one precinct to another and changes the individual's name, or moves from one county to another within the state, and completes and signs the required forms and statements under division (B) or (C) of section 3503.16 of the Revised Code;
(10) An individual whose signature, in the opinion of the precinct officers under section 3505.22 of the Revised Code, is not that of the person who signed that name in the registration forms;
(11) An individual who is challenged under section 3513.20 of the Revised Code who refuses to make the statement required under that section, who a majority of the precinct officials find lacks any of the qualifications to make the individual a qualified elector, or who a majority of the precinct officials find is not affiliated with or a member of the political party whose ballot the individual desires to vote;
(12) An individual who does not have any of the forms of identification required under division (A)(1) of section 3505.18 of the Revised Code, who cannot provide the last four digits of the individual's social security number under division (A)(2) of that section because the person does not have a social security number, and who declines to execute an affirmation as permitted under division (A)(4) of that section;
(13) An individual who has but declines to provide to the precinct election officials any of the forms of identification required under division (A)(1) of section 3501.18 of the Revised Code or who has a social security number but declines to provide to the precinct election officials the last four digits of the individual's social security number.
(B) An individual who is eligible to cast a provisional ballot under division (A) of this section shall be permitted to cast a provisional ballot as follows:
(1) An election official at the polling place shall notify the individual that the individual may cast a provisional ballot in that election.
(2) The individual shall be permitted to cast a provisional ballot at that polling place upon the execution of a written affirmation by the individual before an election official at the polling place stating that the individual is both of the following:
(a) A registered voter in the jurisdiction in which the individual desires to vote;
(b) Eligible to vote in that election.
(3) An election official at the polling place shall transmit the ballot cast by the individual, the voter information contained in the written affirmation executed by the individual under division (B)(2) of this section, or the individual's name if the individual declines to execute such an affirmation to an appropriate local election official for verification under division (B)(4) of this section.
(4) If the appropriate local election official to whom the ballot or voter or address information is transmitted under division (B)(3) of this section determines that the individual is eligible to vote, the individual's provisional ballot shall be counted as a vote in that election.
(5)(a) At the time that an individual casts a provisional ballot, the appropriate local election official shall give the individual written information that states that any individual who casts a provisional ballot will be able to ascertain under the system established under division (B)(5)(b) of this section whether the vote was counted, and, if the vote was not counted, the reason that the vote was not counted.
(b) The appropriate state or local election official shall establish a free access system, in the form of a toll-free telephone number, that any individual who casts a provisional ballot may access to discover whether the vote of that individual was counted, and, if the vote was not counted, the reason that the vote was not counted. The free access system established under this division also shall provide to an individual whose provisional ballot was not counted information explaining how that individual may contact the board of elections to register to vote or to resolve problems with the individual's voter registration.
The appropriate state or local election official shall establish and maintain reasonable procedures necessary to protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity of personal information collected, stored, or otherwise used by the free access system established under this division. Access to information about an individual ballot shall be restricted to the individual who cast the ballot.
(6) If, at the time that an individual casts a provisional ballot, the individual provides identification in the form of a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter's name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the individual's name and current address, or provides the last four digits of the individual's social security number, or executes an affirmation that the elector does not have any of those forms of identification or the last four digits of the individual's social security number because the individual does not have a social security number, or declines to execute such an affirmation, the appropriate local election official shall record the type of identification provided, the social security number information, the fact that the affirmation was executed, or the fact that the individual declined to execute such an affirmation and include that information with the transmission of the ballot or voter or address information under division (B)(3) of this section. If the individual declines to execute such an affirmation, the appropriate local election official shall record the individual's name and include that information with the transmission of the ballot under division (B)(3) of this section.
(7) If an individual casts a provisional ballot pursuant to division (A)(3), (7), (8), (12), or (13) of this section, the election official shall indicate, on the provisional ballot verification statement required under section 3505.182 of the Revised Code, that the individual is required to provide additional information to the board of elections or that an application or challenge hearing has been postponed with respect to the individual, such that additional information is required for the board of elections to determine the eligibility of the individual who cast the provisional ballot.
(8) During the ten days after the day of an election, an individual who casts a provisional ballot pursuant to division (A)(3), (7), (12), or (13) of this section shall appear at the office of the board of elections and provide to the board any additional information necessary to determine the eligibility of the individual who cast the provisional ballot.
(a) For a provisional ballot cast pursuant to division (A)(3), (12), or (13) of this section to be eligible to be counted, the individual who cast that ballot, within ten days after the day of the election, shall do any of the following:
(i) Provide to the board of elections proof of the individual's identity in the form of a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter's name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the individual's name and current address;
(ii) Provide to the board of elections the last four digits of the individual's social security number;
(iii) In the case of a provisional ballot executed pursuant to division (A)(12) of this section, execute an affirmation as permitted under division (A)(4) of section 3505.18 of the Revised Code.
(b) For a provisional ballot cast pursuant to division (A)(7) of this section to be eligible to be counted, the individual who cast that ballot, within ten days after the day of that election, shall provide to the board of elections any identification or other documentation required to be provided by the applicable challenge questions asked of that individual under section 3505.20 of the Revised Code.
(C)(1) If an individual declares that the individual is eligible to vote in a jurisdiction other than the jurisdiction in which the individual desires to vote, or if, upon review of the precinct voting location guide using the residential street address provided by the individual, an election official at the polling place at which the individual desires to vote determines that the individual is not eligible to vote in that jurisdiction, the election official shall direct the individual to the polling place for the jurisdiction in which the individual appears to be eligible to vote, explain that the individual may cast a provisional ballot at the current location but the ballot will not be counted if it is cast in the wrong precinct, and provide the telephone number of the board of elections in case the individual has additional questions.
(2) If the individual refuses to travel to the polling place for the correct jurisdiction or to the office of the board of elections to cast a ballot, the individual shall be permitted to vote a provisional ballot at that jurisdiction in accordance with division (B) of this section. If any of the following apply, the provisional ballot cast by that individual shall not be opened or counted:
(a) The individual is not properly registered in that jurisdiction.
(b) The individual is not eligible to vote in that election in that jurisdiction.
(c) The individual's eligibility to vote in that jurisdiction in that election cannot be established upon examination of the records on file with the board of elections.
(D) The appropriate local election official shall cause voting information to be publicly posted at each polling place on the day of each election.
(E) As used in this section and sections 3505.182 and 3505.183 of the Revised Code:
(1) "Jurisdiction" means the precinct in which a person is a legally qualified elector.
(2) "Precinct voting location guide" means either of the following:
(a) An electronic or paper record that lists the correct jurisdiction and polling place for either each specific residential street address in the county or the range of residential street addresses located in each neighborhood block in the county;
(b) Any other method that a board of elections creates that allows a precinct election official or any elector who is at a polling place in that county to determine the correct jurisdiction and polling place of any qualified elector who resides in the county.
(3) "Voting information" means all of the following:
(a) A sample version of the ballot that will be used for that election;
(b) Information regarding the date of the election and the hours during which polling places will be open;
(c) Instructions on how to vote, including how to cast a vote and how to cast a provisional ballot;
(d) Instructions for mail-in registrants and first-time voters under applicable federal and state laws;
(e) General information on voting rights under applicable federal and state laws, including information on the right of an individual to cast a provisional ballot and instructions on how to contact the appropriate officials if these rights are alleged to have been violated;
(f) General information on federal and state laws regarding prohibitions against acts of fraud and misrepresentation.
Sec. 3505.182. Each individual who casts a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code shall execute a written affirmation. The form of the written affirmation shall be printed upon the face of the provisional ballot envelope and shall be substantially as follows:
STATE OF OHIO
I, .................... (Name of provisional voter), solemnly swear or affirm that I am a registered voter in the jurisdiction in which I am voting this provisional ballot and that I am eligible to vote in the election in which I am voting this provisional ballot.
I understand that, if the above-provided information is not fully completed and correct, if the board of elections determines that I am not registered to vote, a resident of this precinct, or eligible to vote in this election, or if the board of elections determines that I have already voted in this election, my provisional ballot will not be counted. I further understand that knowingly providing false information is a violation of law and subjects me to possible criminal prosecution.
I hereby declare, under penalty of election falsification, that the above statements are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
| (Signature of Voter) | |
| (Voter's date of birth) |
| The last four digits of the voter's social security number | |
| (To be provided if the voter is unable to provide a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter's name and current address, or a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the voter's name and current address but is able to provide these last four digits) |
WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS GUILTY OF A FELONY OF THE FIFTH DEGREE.
| Voter's current address: | ||
| Voter's former address if photo identification does not contain voter's current address | ||
| Voter's driver's license number or, if not provided above, the last four digits of voter's social security number | ||
| (Please circle number type) | ||
| (Voter may attach a copy of any of the following for identification purposes: a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter's name and current address, or a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the voter's name and current address.) | ||
| Reason for voting provisional ballot (Check one): | ||
| ..... Requested, but did not receive, absent voter's ballot | ||
| ..... Other |
The Provisional Ballot Affirmation printed above was subscribed and affirmed before me this .......... day of .......... (Month), .......... (Year).
(If applicable, the election official must check the following true statement concerning additional information needed to determine the eligibility of the provisional voter.)
...... The provisional voter is required to provide additional information to the board of elections.
...... An application or challenge hearing regarding this voter has been postponed until after the election.
(The election official must check the following true statement concerning identification provided by the provisional voter, if any.)
...... The provisional voter provided a current and valid photo identification.
...... The provisional voter provided a current valid photo identification, other than a driver's license or a state identification card, with the voter's former address instead of current address and has provided the election official both the current and former addresses.
...... The provisional voter provided a military identification that shows the voter's name and current address or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, with the voter's name and current address.
...... The provisional voter provided the last four digits of the voter's social security number.
...... The provisional voter is not able to provide a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter's name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, with the voter's name and current address but does have one of these forms of identification. The provisional voter must provide one of the foregoing items of identification to the board of elections within ten days after the election.
..... The provisional voter is not able to provide a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter's name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, with the voter's name and current address but does have one of these forms of identification. Additionally, the provisional voter does have a social security number but is not able to provide the last four digits of the voter's social security number before voting. The provisional voter must provide one of the foregoing items of identification or the last four digits of the voter's social security number to the board of elections within ten days after the election.
..... The provisional voter does not have a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter's name and current address, a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document with the voter's name and current address, or a social security number, but has executed an affirmation.
..... The provisional voter does not have a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter's name and current address, a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document with the voter's name and current address, or a social security number, and has declined to execute an affirmation.
..... The provisional voter declined to provide a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter's name and current address, a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document with the voter's name and current address, or the last four digits of the voter's social security number but does have one of these forms of identification or a social security number. The provisional voter must provide one of the foregoing items of identification or the last four digits of the voter's social security number to the board of elections within ten days after the election.
| (Signature of Election Official)" |
In addition to any information required to be included on the written affirmation, an individual casting a provisional ballot may provide additional information to the election official to assist the board of elections in determining the individual's eligibility to vote in that election, including the date and location at which the individual registered to vote, if known.
If the individual declines to execute the affirmation, an appropriate local election official shall comply with division (B)(6) of section 3505.181 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3505.183. (A) When the ballot boxes are delivered to the board of elections from the precincts, the board shall separate the provisional ballot envelopes from the rest of the ballots. Teams of employees of the board consisting of one member of each major political party shall place the sealed provisional ballot envelopes in a secure location within the office of the board. The sealed provisional ballot envelopes shall remain in that secure location until the validity of those ballots is determined under division (B) of this section. While the provisional ballot is stored in that secure location, and prior to the counting of the provisional ballots, if the board receives information regarding the validity of a specific provisional ballot under division (B) of this section, the board may note, on the sealed provisional ballot envelope for that ballot, whether the ballot is valid and entitled to be counted.
(B)(1) To determine whether a provisional ballot is valid and entitled to be counted, the board shall examine its records and determine whether the individual who cast the provisional ballot is registered and eligible to vote in the applicable election. The board shall examine the information contained in the written affirmation executed by the individual who cast the provisional ballot under division (B)(2) of section 3505.181 of the Revised Code. If the individual declines to execute such an affirmation, the individual's name, written by either the individual or the election official at the direction of the individual, shall be included in a written affirmation in order for the provisional ballot to be eligible to be counted; otherwise, the following information shall be included in the written affirmation in order for the provisional ballot to be eligible to be counted:
(a) The individual's name and signature;
(b) A statement that the individual is a registered voter in the jurisdiction in which the provisional ballot is being voted;
(c) A statement that the individual is eligible to vote in the election in which the provisional ballot is being voted.
(2) In addition to the information required to be included in an affirmation under division (B)(1) of this section, in determining whether a provisional ballot is valid and entitled to be counted, the board also shall examine any additional information for determining ballot validity provided by the provisional voter on the affirmation, provided by the provisional voter to an election official under section 3505.182 of the Revised Code, or provided to the board of elections during the ten days after the day of the election under division (B)(8) of section 3505.181 of the Revised Code, to assist the board in determining the individual's eligibility to vote.
(3) If, in examining a provisional ballot affirmation and additional information under divisions (B)(1) and (2) of this section, the board determines that all of the following apply, the provisional ballot envelope shall be opened, and the ballot shall be placed in a ballot box to be counted:
(a) The individual named on the affirmation is properly registered to vote.
(b) The individual named on the affirmation is eligible to cast a ballot in the precinct and for the election in which the individual cast the provisional ballot.
(c) The individual provided all of the information required under division (B)(1) of this section in the affirmation that the individual executed at the time the individual cast the provisional ballot.
(d) If applicable, the individual provided any additional information required under division (B)(8) of section 3505.181 of the Revised Code within ten days after the day of the election.
(e) If applicable, the hearing conducted under division (B) of section 3503.24 of the Revised Code after the day of the election resulted in the individual's inclusion in the official registration list.
(4)(a) If, in examining a provisional ballot affirmation and additional information under divisions (B)(1) and (2) of this section, the board determines that any of the following applies, the provisional ballot envelope shall not be opened, and the ballot shall not be counted:
(i) The individual named on the affirmation is not qualified or is not properly registered to vote.
(ii) The individual named on the affirmation is not eligible to cast a ballot in the precinct or for the election in which the individual cast the provisional ballot.
(iii) The individual did not provide all of the information required under division (B)(1) of this section in the affirmation that the individual executed at the time the individual cast the provisional ballot.
(iv) The individual has already cast a ballot for the election in which the individual cast the provisional ballot.
(v) If applicable, the individual did not provide any additional information required under division (B)(8) of section 3505.181 of the Revised Code within ten days after the day of the election.
(vi) If applicable, the hearing conducted under division (B) of section 3503.24 of the Revised Code after the day of the election did not result in the individual's inclusion in the official registration list.
(vii) The individual failed to provide a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter's name and current address, a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, with the voter's name and current address, or the last four digits of the individual's social security number or to execute an affirmation under division (A) of section 3505.18 or division (B) of section 3505.181 of the Revised Code.
(b) If, in examining a provisional ballot affirmation and additional information under divisions (B)(1) and (2) of this section, the board is unable to determine either of the following, the provisional ballot envelope shall not be opened, and the ballot shall not be counted:
(i) Whether the individual named on the affirmation is qualified or properly registered to vote;
(ii) Whether the individual named on the affirmation is eligible to cast a ballot in the precinct or for the election in which the individual cast the provisional ballot.
(C)(1) For each provisional ballot rejected under division (B)(4) of this section, the board shall record the name of the provisional voter who cast the ballot, the identification number of the provisional ballot envelope, the names of the election officials who determined the validity of that ballot, the date and time that the determination was made, and the reason that the ballot was not counted.
(2) Provisional ballots that are rejected under division (B)(4) of this section shall not be counted but shall be preserved in their provisional ballot envelopes unopened until the time provided by section 3505.31 of the Revised Code for the destruction of all other ballots used at the election for which ballots were provided, at which time they shall be destroyed.
(D) Provisional ballots that the board determines are eligible to be counted under division (B)(3) of this section shall be counted in the same manner as provided for other ballots under section 3505.27 of the Revised Code. No provisional ballots shall be counted in a particular county until the board determines the eligibility to be counted of all provisional ballots cast in that county under division (B) of this section for that election. Observers, as provided in section 3505.21 of the Revised Code, may be present at all times that the board is determining the eligibility of provisional ballots to be counted and counting those provisional ballots determined to be eligible. No person shall recklessly disclose the count or any portion of the count of provisional ballots in such a manner as to jeopardize the secrecy of any individual ballot.
(E)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (E)(2) of this section, nothing in this section shall prevent a board of elections from examining provisional ballot affirmations and additional information under divisions (B)(1) and (2) of this section to determine the eligibility of provisional ballots to be counted during the ten days after the day of an election.
(2) A board of elections shall not examine the provisional ballot affirmation and additional information under divisions (B)(1) and (2) of this section of any provisional ballot for which an election official has indicated under division (B)(7) of section 3505.181 of the Revised Code that additional information is required for the board of elections to determine the eligibility of the individual who cast that provisional ballot until the individual provides any information required under division (B)(8) of section 3505.181 of the Revised Code, until any hearing required to be conducted under section 3503.24 of the Revised Code with regard to the provisional voter is held, or until the eleventh day after the day of the election, whichever is earlier.
Sec. 3505.19. Any person registered as an elector may be
challenged by any qualified elector as to his the registered
elector's right to vote at
any prior to the nineteenth day before the day of an election. Such qualified elector may, at any time during the
year, either by appearing in person at the office of the board of
elections, or by letter addressed to the board, challenge the
right of such registered elector to vote. Any such challenge
must state the ground upon which the challenge is made, and must
be signed by the challenger giving his the challenger's address
and voting
precinct. If, after public hearing, of which both the challenger
and challenged shall be notified, the board is satisfied, in accordance with division (B) of section 3503.24 of the Revised Code, that the
challenge is well taken, the director shall so indicate on the
registration cards and he shall so notify in writing the judges
and clerks of the precinct. If such challenged person offers to
vote at such election he, the challenged person shall be examined
as in the case of an
original challenge. If such person establishes, to the
satisfaction of the judges and clerks, that his the person's
disabilities have
been removed and that he the person has a right to vote,
he the person shall be
permitted to vote.
Sec. 3505.20. Any person offering to vote may be
challenged at the polling place by any challenger, any elector
then lawfully in the polling place, or by any judge or clerk of
elections. If the board of elections has ruled on the question
presented by a challenge prior to election day, its finding and
decision shall be final, and the presiding judge shall be notified
in writing. If the board has not ruled, the question shall be
determined as set forth in this section. If any person is so
challenged as unqualified to vote, the presiding judge shall
tender the person the following oath: "You do swear or
affirm under penalty of election falsification that you
will fully and truly answer all of the following questions put to
you, touching your place of residence and concerning your qualifications as
an elector at this election."
(A) If the person is challenged as unqualified on the ground that the person is not a citizen, the judges shall put the following questions:
(1) Are you a citizen of the United States?
(2) Are you a native or naturalized citizen?
(3) Where were you born?
(4) What official documentation do you possess to prove your citizenship? Please provide that documentation.
If the person offering to vote claims to be a naturalized
citizen of the United States, the person shall, before the
vote is received, either produce for inspection of the judges a
certificate of naturalization and declare under oath that the
person is the identical person named therein, or state under oath when and
where the person was naturalized, that the
person has had a certificate of the person's
naturalization, and that it is lost, destroyed, or beyond the
person's power to produce to the judges in the certificate. If the person
states under
oath that, by
reason of the naturalization of the person's parents or one
of them, the person has become a citizen of the United
States, and when or where the person's parents were
naturalized, the certificate of naturalization need
not be produced. If the person is unable to provide a certificate of naturalization on the day of the election, the judges shall provide to the person, and the person may vote, a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code. The provisional ballot shall not be counted unless it is properly completed and the board of elections determines that the voter is properly registered and eligible to vote in the election.
(B) If the person is challenged as unqualified on the ground that the person has not resided in this state for thirty days immediately preceding the election, the judges shall put the following questions:
(1) Have you resided in this state for thirty days
immediately preceding this election? If so, where have you
resided? Name two persons who know of your place of residence.
(2) Have you been absent from this state within the thirty
days immediately preceding this election? If yes, then the
following questions:
(a) Have you continuously resided outside this state for
a period of four years or more?
(b) Did you, while absent, look upon and regard this state
as your home?
(c) Did you, while absent, vote in any other state? Did you properly register to vote?
(3) Can you provide some form of identification containing your current mailing address in this precinct? Please provide that identification.
(4) Have you voted or attempted to vote at any other location in this or in any other state at this election?
(5) Have you applied for an absent voter's ballot in any state for this election?
If the judges are unable to verify the person's eligibility to cast a ballot in the election, the judges shall provide to the person, and the person may vote, a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code. The provisional ballot shall not be counted unless it is properly completed and the board of elections determines that the voter is properly registered and eligible to vote in the election.
(C) If the person is challenged as unqualified on the
ground that the person is not a resident of the county or
precinct where
he the person offers to vote, the judges shall put the following
questions:
(1) Do you now reside in this county?
(2) Do you now reside in this precinct?
(2) When did you move into this precinct?
(3) When you came into this precinct, did you come for a temporary purpose merely or for the purpose of making it your home?
(4) What is your current mailing address?
(5) Do you have some official identification containing your current address in this precinct? Please provide that identification.
(6) Have you voted or attempted to vote at any other location in this or in any other state at this election?
(7) Have you applied for any absent voter's ballot in any state for this election?
The judges shall direct an individual who is not in the appropriate polling place to the appropriate polling place. If the individual refuses to go to the appropriate polling place, or if the judges are unable to verify the person's eligibility to cast a ballot in the election, the judges shall provide to the person, and the person may vote, a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code. The provisional ballot shall not be counted unless it is properly completed and the board of elections determines that the voter is properly registered and eligible to vote in the election.
(D) If the person is challenged as unqualified on the
ground that the person is not of legal voting age, the judges
shall put the following question questions:
(1) Are you eighteen years of age or more to the best of your
knowledge and belief?
(2) What is your date of birth?
(3) Do you have some official identification verifying your age? Please provide that identification.
If the judges are unable to verify the person's age and eligibility to cast a ballot in the election, the judges shall provide to the person, and the person may vote, a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code. The provisional ballot shall not be counted unless it is properly completed and the board of elections determines that the voter is properly registered and eligible to vote in the election.
The presiding judge shall put such other questions to the
person challenged under respective heads designated by this
section, as are necessary to test determine the person's
qualifications as an
elector at the election. If a person challenged refuses to
answer fully any question put to the person, is unable to
answer the
questions as they were answered on the registration form by the
person under whose name the person offers to vote, or refuses to
sign the person's name or make the
person's mark, or if for any other reason a majority of
the judges believes the person is not entitled to vote, the
judges shall
refuse the person a ballot. If a person is disqualified
under division
(C) of this section because the person does not now reside in
the county
or precinct, the presiding judge shall inform the person of the
person's right to vote in the person's proper county or
precinct of residence and
instruct the person to contact the appropriate board of
elections for
information concerning the location of the person's voting
precinct provide to the person, and the person may vote, a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code. The provisional ballot shall not be counted unless it is properly completed and the board of elections determines that the voter is properly registered and eligible to vote in the election.
A qualified citizen who has certified the citizen's intention to vote for president and vice-president as provided by Chapter 3504. of the Revised Code shall be eligible to receive only the ballot containing presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
The decision of said judges shall be final as to the right
of the person challenged to vote at such election.
However, prior to the nineteenth day before the day of an election and in accordance with section 3503.24 of the Revised Code, any person qualified to vote may challenge the right of any other person to be registered as a voter, or the right to cast an absent voter's ballot, or to make application for such ballot. Such challenge shall be made in accordance with section 3503.24 of the Revised Code, and the board of elections of the county in which the voting residence of the challenged voter is situated shall make a final determination relative to the legality of such registration or application.
Sec. 3505.21. At any primary, special, or general
election, any political party supporting candidates to be voted
upon at such election and any group of five or more candidates
may appoint to the board of elections or to any of the polling places precincts in the county or city
one person, a qualified elector, who shall serve as challenger observer
for such party or such candidates during the casting of the
ballots, and one person, a qualified elector, who shall serve as
witness during the counting of the ballots; provided that one
such person separate observers may be appointed to serve as both challenger and
witness during the casting and during the counting of the ballots. No candidate, no uniformed peace officer as defined by
section 2935.01 of the Revised Code, no uniformed state highway
patrol trooper, no uniformed member of any fire department, no
uniformed member of the armed services, no uniformed member of
the organized militia, no person wearing any other uniform, and no
person carrying a firearm or other deadly weapon shall serve as a
witness or challenger an observer, nor shall any candidate be represented by
more than one challenger and one witness observer at any one polling place precinct
except that a candidate who is a member of a party controlling
committee, as defined in section 3517.03 of the Revised Code, may
serve as a witness or challenger an observer. Any political party or group
of candidates appointing witnesses or challengers observers shall notify
the board of elections of the names and addresses of its
appointees and the polling places precincts at which they shall serve.
Notification shall take place not less than eleven days before
the election on forms prescribed by the secretary of state and
may be amended by filing an amendment with the board of elections
at any time until four p.m. of the day before the election. The
challenger and witness observer serving on behalf of a political party
shall be appointed in writing by the chairman chairperson and
secretary of
the respective controlling party committees committee. Challengers and
witnesses Observers serving for any five or more candidates shall have
their certificates signed by such those candidates. Challengers and
witnesses so Observers appointed to a precinct may file their certificates of appointment
with the presiding judge of the precinct at the meeting on the
evening prior to the election, or with the presiding judge of the
precinct on the day of the election. Witnesses shall not be
admitted to the booths before the closing of the polls except for
the purpose of filing their certificates. Upon the filing of a
certificate, the person named as challenger therein observer in the certificate shall be
permitted to be in and about the polling place for the precinct during the casting
of the ballots and shall be permitted to watch every proceeding
of the judges and clerks of elections from the time of the
opening until the closing of the polls. Any such witnesses so
appointed The observer also may inspect the counting of the all ballots in the precinct polling place or board of elections
from the time of the closing of the polls until the counting is
completed and the final returns are certified and signed. Observers appointed to the board of elections under this section may observe at the board of elections and may observe at any precinct in the county. The
judges of elections shall protect such challengers and witnesses observers
in all of the rights and privileges granted to them by Title XXXV
of the Revised Code.
No persons other than the judges and clerks of elections,
the witnesses observers, a police officer, other persons who are detailed
to any precinct on request of the board of elections, or the
secretary of state or his the secretary of state's legal
representative shall be admitted
to the polling place, or any room in which a board of elections is counting ballots, after the closing of the polls until the
counting, certifying, and signing of the final returns of each
election have been completed.
Not later than eleven days four p.m. of the twentieth day prior to an election at which
questions are to be submitted to a vote of the people, any
committee which that in good faith advocates or opposes a measure may
file a petition with the board of any county asking that such the
petitioners be recognized as the committee entitled to appoint
witnesses observers to the count at such the election. If more than one
committee alleging themselves to advocate or oppose the same
measure file such petitions a petition, the board shall decide and announce
by registered mail to each committee not less than three twelve days
immediately preceding the election which committee is recognized as being entitled to
appoint such witnesses observers. Such The decision shall not be final, but
any aggrieved party may institute mandamus proceedings in the
court of common pleas of the county wherein such in which the board has
jurisdiction to compel the judges of elections to accept the
appointees of such aggrieved party. Any such recognized
committee may appoint a challenger and a witness an observer to the count in
each precinct. Committees appointing witnesses or challengers observers
shall notify the board of elections of the names and addresses of
its appointees and the polling places precincts at which they shall serve.
Notification shall take place not less than eleven days before
the election on forms prescribed by the secretary of state and
may be amended by filing an amendment with the board of elections
at any time until four p.m. on the day before the election. A
person so appointed shall file his the person's certificate of
appointment
with the presiding judge in the precinct in which he the person
has been
appointed to serve. Witnesses Observers shall file their certificates
before the polls are closed. In no case shall more than six such
challengers and six witnesses observers be appointed for any one election
in any one precinct. If more than three questions are to be
voted on, the committees which have appointed challengers and
witnesses observers may agree upon not to exceed six challengers and six
witnesses observers, and the judges of elections shall appoint such
challengers and witnesses observers. If such committees fail to agree, the
judges of elections shall appoint six challengers and six
witnesses observers from the appointees so certified, in such manner that
each side of the several questions shall be represented.
No person shall serve as a witness or challenger an observer at any
polling place precinct unless the board of elections of the county in
which such witness or challenger observer is to serve has first been
notified of the name, address, and polling place precinct at which such
witness or challenger observer is to serve. Notification to the board of
elections shall be given by the political party, group of
candidates, or committee appointing such witness or challenger observer as
prescribed in this section. No such challengers and witnesses observers
shall receive any compensation from the county, municipal
corporation, or township, and they shall take the following oath,
to be administered by one of the judges of elections:
"You do solemnly swear that you will faithfully and
impartially discharge the duties as an official challenger and
witness observer, assigned by law; that you will not cause any delay to
persons offering to vote, further than is necessary to procure
satisfactory information of their qualification as electors; and
that you will not disclose or communicate to any person how any
elector has voted at such election."
Sec. 3505.22. If any precinct officer, challenger, or other elector has
reason to believe
that a person is impersonating an elector, then such that person, before he
is being
given a ballot, shall be questioned as to his the person's right
to vote, and shall be
required to sign his the person's name or make his the
person's mark in ink on a card to be provided
therefor. If, in the opinion of a majority of the precinct officers, the
signature is not that of the person who signed such the name in the registration
forms, then such that person may shall be refused permitted to cast a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code. Such person may appeal to
the board of elections and if the board finds that he
is eligible to vote, an
order instructing the precinct officer to permit him
to vote shall be given to
such person. Such order shall be recognized by such precinct officers when
presented and signed and such person shall be permitted to vote.
Sec. 3505.25. No judge or clerk of elections, challenger observer, or police officer
admitted into the polling rooms at the election, at any time while the polls
are open, shall have in his the individual's possession,
distribute, or give out any ballot or
ticket to any person on any pretense during the receiving, counting, or
certifying of the votes, or have any ballot or ticket in his the
individual's possession or
control, except in the proper discharge of his the individual's official duty in
receiving, counting, or
canvassing the votes. This section does not prevent the lawful exercise by a
judge or clerk of elections, witness, or challenger observer of his the
individual right to
vote at such election.
Sec. 3505.26. At the time for closing the polls, the presiding judge shall by proclamation announce that the polls are closed.
The judges and clerks shall then in the presence of
witnesses observers proceed as follows:
(A) Count the number of electors who voted, as shown on
the pollbooks.;
(B) Count the unused ballots without removing stubs.;
(C) Count the soiled and defaced ballots.;
(D) Insert the totals of (A), (B), and (C) on the report
forms provided therefor in the pollbook.;
(E) Count the voted ballots. If the number of voted
ballots exceeds the number of voters whose names appear upon the
pollbooks, the presiding judge shall enter on the pollbooks
an explanation of such that discrepancy, and such that explanation, if
agreed to, shall be subscribed to by all of the judges and
clerks. Any judge or clerk having a different explanation shall
enter it in the pollbooks and subscribe to it.
(F) Put the unused ballots with stubs attached, and soiled and defaced ballots with stubs attached, in the envelopes or containers provided therefor, certify the number, and then proceed to count and tally the votes in the manner prescribed by section 3505.27 of the Revised Code and certify the result of the election to the board of elections.
Sec. 3505.27. Unless otherwise ordered by the secretary of state or the board of elections, the counting and tallying of ballots shall be conducted according to procedures prescribed by the board of elections that assure an accurate count of all votes cast and that include all of the following:
(A) The counting and tallying of ballots at the appropriate
office, as designated by the board, in the full view of members of the board
and witnesses observers;
(B) The recording on a worksheet or other appropriate document of the number of votes cast for each candidate and the number of votes cast for and against each question or issue;
(C) The periodic reporting to the public and the office of the secretary of state of the number of votes cast for each candidate and the number of votes cast for and against each question or issue as tallied at the time of the report;
(D) An examination and verification by the appropriate authority, as designated by the board, of the votes so tallied and recorded in the pollbook under section 3505.26 of the Revised Code.
The board shall prescribe additional procedures as necessary to assure an accurate count of all votes cast. These procedures shall be followed until all of the ballots that are required to be counted on the day of the election after the close of the polls have been counted.
All work sheets that are prepared at the polling locations shall be preserved and placed inside the pollbook and returned to the board.
If there is any disagreement as to how a ballot should be
counted, it shall be submitted to the members of
the board for a decision on whether or to what extent the ballot should be
counted. If three of
the members do not agree as to how any part of the ballot shall
be
counted, only that part of such the ballot on which three of the
members do
agree shall be counted. A notation shall be made upon the
ballot
indicating what part has not been counted, and the ballot shall be placed in
an envelope marked "Disputed
Ballots."
Sec. 3505.32. (A) Except as otherwise provided in division (D) of this section, not earlier than the eleventh day or later than the fifteenth day after a general or special election or, if a special election was held on the day of a presidential primary election, not earlier than the twenty-first day or later than the twenty-fifth day after the special election, the board of elections shall begin to canvass the election returns from the precincts in which electors were entitled to vote at that election. It shall continue the canvass daily until it is completed and the results of the voting in that election in each of the precincts are determined.
The board shall complete the canvass not later than the date
set by the secretary of state under division (U) of section
3501.05 of the Revised Code twenty-first day after the day of the election, or if a special election was held on the day of a presidential primary election, not later than the thirty-first day after the day of the special election. Sixty Eighty-one days after the date set by day of the
secretary of state for the completion of the canvass election, or ninety-one days after the day of a special election held on the day of the presidential primary election, the canvass
of election returns shall be deemed final, and no amendments to
the canvass may be made after that date. The secretary of state
may specify an earlier date upon which the canvass of election
returns shall be deemed final, and after which amendments to the
final canvass may not be made, if so required by federal law.
(B) The county executive committee of each political party,
each committee designated in a petition nominating an independent
or nonpartisan candidate for election at
an election, each
committee designated in a petition to represent the petitioners
pursuant to which a question or issue was submitted at
an
election, and any committee opposing a question or issue
submitted
at
an election
that was permitted by
section
3505.21 of the
Revised Code to have a qualified elector
serve as
a witness an observer during
the counting of the ballots at each
polling
place at
an election
may designate a qualified
elector who may
be present and may
witness observe the making of
the
official canvass.
(C) The board shall first open all envelopes containing uncounted ballots and shall count and tally them.
In connection with its investigation of any apparent or suspected error or defect in the election returns from a polling place, the board may cause subpoenas to be issued and served requiring the attendance before it of the election officials of that polling place, and it may examine them under oath regarding the manner in which the votes were cast and counted in that polling place, or the manner in which the returns were prepared and certified, or as to any other matters bearing upon the voting and the counting of the votes in that polling place at that election.
Finally, the board shall open the sealed container containing the ballots that were counted in the polling place at the election and count those ballots, during the official canvass, in the presence of all of the members of the board and any other persons who are entitled to witness the official canvass.
(D) Prior to the tenth day after a primary, general, or special election, the board may examine the pollbooks, poll lists, and tally sheets received from each polling place for its files and may compare the results of the voting in any polling place with the summary statement received from the polling place. If the board finds that any of these records or any portion of them is missing, or that they are incomplete, not properly certified, or ambiguous, or that the results of the voting in the polling place as shown on the summary statement from the polling place are different from the results of the voting in the polling place as shown by the pollbook, poll list, or tally sheet from the polling place, or that there is any other defect in the records, the board may make whatever changes to the pollbook, poll list, or tally sheet it determines to be proper in order to correct the errors or defects.
Sec. 3506.01. As used in this chapter and Chapters 3501., 3503., 3505., 3509., 3511., 3513., 3515., 3517., 3519., 3521., 3523., and 3599. of the Revised Code:
(A) "Marking device" means an apparatus operated by a voter to record the voter's choices through the piercing or marking of ballots enabling them to be examined and counted by automatic tabulating equipment.
(B) "Ballot" means the official election presentation of offices and candidates, including write-in candidates, and of questions and issues, and the means by which votes are recorded.
(C) "Automatic tabulating equipment" means a machine or electronic device, or interconnected or interrelated machines or electronic devices, that will automatically examine and count votes recorded on ballots.
(D) "Central counting station" means a location, or one of a number of locations, designated by the board of elections for the automatic examining, sorting, or counting of ballots.
(E) "Voting machines" means mechanical or electronic equipment for the direct recording and tabulation of votes.
(F) "Direct recording electronic voting machine" means a voting machine that records votes by means of a ballot display provided with mechanical or electro-optical components that can be actuated by the voter, that processes the data by means of a computer program, and that records voting data and ballot images in internal or external memory components. A "direct recording electronic voting machine" produces a tabulation of the voting data stored in a removable memory component and in printed copy.
(G) "Help America Vote Act of 2002" means the "Help America Vote Act of 2002," Public Law Pub. L. No. 107-252, 116 Stat. 1666.
(H) "Voter verified paper audit trail" means a physical paper printout on which the voter's ballot choices, as registered by a direct recording electronic voting machine, are recorded. The voter shall be permitted to visually or audibly inspect the contents of the physical paper printout. The physical paper printout shall be securely retained at the polling place until the close of the polls on the day of the election; the secretary of state shall adopt rules under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code specifying the manner of storing the physical paper printout at the polling place. After the physical paper printout is produced, but before the voter's ballot is recorded, the voter shall have an opportunity to accept or reject the contents of the printout as matching the voter's ballot choices. If a voter rejects the contents of the physical paper printout, the system that produces the voter verified paper audit trail shall invalidate the printout and permit the voter to recast the voter's ballot. On and after the first federal election that occurs after January 1, 2006, unless required sooner by the Help America Vote Act of 2002, any system that produces a voter verified paper audit trail shall be accessible to disabled voters, including visually impaired voters, in the same manner as the direct recording electronic voting machine that produces it.
Sec. 3506.05. (A) As used in this section, except when used as part of the phrase "tabulating equipment" or "automatic tabulating equipment":
(1) "Equipment" means a voting machine, marking device, automatic tabulating equipment, or software.
(2) "Vendor" means the person that owns, manufactures, distributes, or has the legal right to control the use of equipment, or the person's agent.
(B) No voting machine, marking device, automatic tabulating equipment, or software for the purpose of casting or tabulating votes or for communications among systems involved in the tabulation, storage, or casting of votes shall be purchased, leased, put in use, or continued to be used, except for experimental use as provided in division (B) of section 3506.04 of the Revised Code, unless it, a manual of procedures governing its use, and training materials, service, and other support arrangements have been certified by the secretary of state and unless the board of elections of each county where the equipment will be used has assured that a demonstration of the use of the equipment has been made available to all interested electors. The secretary of state shall appoint a board of voting machine examiners to examine and approve equipment and its related manuals and support arrangements. The board shall consist of one competent and experienced election officer and two persons who are knowledgeable about the operation of such equipment, who shall serve during the secretary of state's term.
For the member's service, each member of the board shall receive three hundred dollars per day for each combination of marking device, tabulating equipment, and voting machine examined and reported, but in no event shall a member receive more than six hundred dollars to examine and report on any one marking device, item of tabulating equipment, or voting machine. Each member of the board shall be reimbursed for expenses the member incurs during an examination or during the performance of any related duties that may be required by the secretary of state. Reimbursement of these expenses shall be made in accordance with, and shall not exceed, the rates provided for under section 126.31 of the Revised Code.
Neither the secretary of state nor the board, nor any public officer who participates in the authorization, examination, testing, or purchase of equipment, shall have any pecuniary interest in the equipment or any affiliation with the vendor.
(C)(1) A vendor who desires to have the secretary of state certify equipment shall first submit the equipment, all current related procedural manuals, and a current description of all related support arrangements to the board of voting machine examiners for examination, testing, and approval. The submission shall be accompanied by a fee of eighteen hundred dollars and a detailed explanation of the construction and method of operation of the equipment, a full statement of its advantages, and a list of the patents and copyrights used in operations essential to the processes of vote recording and tabulating, vote storage, system security, and other crucial operations of the equipment as may be determined by the board. An additional fee, in an amount to be set by rules promulgated by the board, may be imposed to pay for the costs of alternative testing or testing by persons other than board members, record-keeping, and other extraordinary costs incurred in the examination process. Moneys not used shall be returned to the person or entity submitting the equipment for examination.
(2) Fees collected by the secretary of state under this section shall be deposited into the state treasury to the credit of the board of voting machine examiners fund, which is hereby created. All moneys credited to this fund shall be used solely for the purpose of paying for the services and expenses of each member of the board or for other expenses incurred relating to the examination, testing, reporting, or certification of voting machine devices, the performance of any related duties as required by the secretary of state, or the reimbursement of any person submitting an examination fee as provided in this chapter.
(D) Within sixty days after the submission of the equipment and payment of the fee, or as soon thereafter as is reasonably practicable, but in any event within not more than ninety days after the submission and payment, the board of voting machine examiners shall examine the equipment and file with the secretary of state a written report on the equipment with its recommendations and its determination or condition of approval regarding whether the equipment, manual, and other related materials or arrangements meet the criteria set forth in sections 3506.07 and 3506.10 of the Revised Code and can be safely used by the voters at elections under the conditions prescribed in Title XXXV of the Revised Code, or a written statement of reasons for which testing requires a longer period. The board may grant temporary approval for the purpose of allowing experimental use of equipment. If the board finds that the equipment meets the criteria set forth in sections 3506.06, 3506.07, and 3506.10 of the Revised Code, can be used safely and can be depended upon to record and count accurately and continuously the votes of electors, and has the capacity to be warranted, maintained, and serviced, it shall approve the equipment and recommend that the secretary of state certify the equipment. The secretary of state shall notify all boards of elections of any such certification. Equipment of the same model and make, if it provides for recording of voter intent, system security, voter privacy, retention of vote, and communication of voting records in an identical manner, may then be adopted for use at elections.
(E) The vendor shall notify the secretary of state, who shall then notify the board of voting machine examiners, of any enhancement and any significant adjustment to the hardware or software that could result in a patent or copyright change or that significantly alters the methods of recording voter intent, system security, voter privacy, retention of the vote, communication of voting records, and connections between the system and other systems. The vendor shall provide the secretary of state with an updated operations manual for the equipment, and the secretary of state shall forward the manual to the board. Upon receiving such a notification and manual, the board may require the vendor to submit the equipment to an examination and test in order for the equipment to remain certified. The board or the secretary of state shall periodically examine, test, and inspect certified equipment to determine continued compliance with the requirements of this chapter and the initial certification. Any examination, test, or inspection conducted for the purpose of continuing certification of any equipment in which a significant problem has been uncovered or in which a record of continuing problems exists shall be performed pursuant to divisions (C) and (D) of this section, in the same manner as the examination, test, or inspection is performed for initial approval and certification.
(F) If, at any time after the certification of equipment, the board of voting machine examiners or the secretary of state is notified by a board of elections of any significant problem with the equipment or determines that the equipment fails to meet the requirements necessary for approval or continued compliance with the requirements of this chapter, or if the board of voting machine examiners determines that there are significant enhancements or adjustments to the hardware or software, or if notice of such enhancements or adjustments has not been given as required by division (E) of this section, the secretary of state shall notify the users and vendors of that equipment that certification of the equipment may be withdrawn.
(G)(1) The notice given by the secretary of state under division (F) of this section shall be in writing and shall specify both of the following:
(a) The reasons why the certification may be withdrawn;
(b) The date on which certification will be withdrawn unless the vendor takes satisfactory corrective measures or explains why there are no problems with the equipment or why the enhancements or adjustments to the equipment are not significant.
(2) A vendor who receives a notice under division (F) of this section shall, within thirty days after receiving it, submit to the board of voting machine examiners in writing a description of the corrective measures taken and the date on which they were taken, or the explanation required under division (G)(1)(b) of this section.
(3) Not later than fifteen days after receiving a written description or explanation under division (G)(2) of this section from a vendor, the board shall determine whether the corrective measures taken or the explanation is satisfactory to allow continued certification of the equipment, and the secretary of state shall send the vendor a written notice of the board's determination, specifying the reasons for it. If the board has determined that the measures taken or the explanation given is unsatisfactory, the notice shall include the effective date of withdrawal of the certification. This date may be different from the date originally specified in division (G)(1)(b) of this section.
(4) A vendor who receives a notice under division (G)(3) of this section indicating a decision to withdraw certification may, within thirty days after receiving it, request in writing that the board hold a hearing to reconsider its decision. Any interested party shall be given the opportunity to submit testimony or documentation in support of or in opposition to the board's recommendation to withdraw certification. Failure of the vendor to take appropriate steps as described in division (G)(1)(b) or to comply with division (G)(2) of this section results in a waiver of the vendor's rights under division (G)(4) of this section.
(H)(1) The secretary of state, in consultation with the board of voting machine examiners, shall establish, by rule, guidelines for the approval, certification, and continued certification of the voting machines, marking devices, and tabulating equipment to be used under Title XXXV of the Revised Code. The guidelines shall establish procedures requiring vendors or computer software developers to place in escrow with an independent escrow agent approved by the secretary of state a copy of all source code and related documentation, together with periodic updates as they become known or available. The secretary of state shall require that the documentation include a system configuration and that the source code include all relevant program statements in low- or high-level languages. As used in this division, "source code" does not include variable codes created for specific elections.
(2) Nothing in any rule adopted under division (H) of this section shall be construed to limit the ability of the secretary of state to follow or adopt, or to preclude the secretary of state from following or adopting, any guidelines proposed by the federal election commission, any entity authorized by the federal election commission to propose guidelines, the election assistance commission, or any entity authorized by the election assistance commission to propose guidelines.
(3)(a) Before the initial certification of any direct recording electronic voting machine with a voter verified paper audit trail, and as a condition for the continued certification and use of those machines, the secretary of state shall establish, by rule, standards for the certification of those machines. Those standards shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(i) A definition of a voter verified paper audit trail as a paper record of the voter's choices that is verified by the voter prior to the casting of the voter's ballot and that is securely retained by the board of elections;
(ii) Requirements that the voter verified paper audit trail shall not be retained by any voter and shall not contain individual voter information;
(iii) A prohibition against the production by any direct recording electronic voting machine of anything that legally could be removed by the voter from the polling place, such as a receipt or voter confirmation;
(iv) A requirement that paper used in producing a voter verified paper audit trail be sturdy, clean, and resistant to degradation.;
(v) A requirement that the voter verified paper audit trail shall be capable of being optically scanned for the purpose of conducting a recount or other audit of the voting machine and shall be readable in a manner that makes the voter's ballot choices obvious to the voter without the use of computer or electronic codes;
(vi) A requirement, for office-type ballots, that the voter verified paper audit trail include the name of each candidate selected by the voter;
(vii) A requirement, for questions and issues ballots, that the voter verified paper audit trail include the title of the question or issue, the name of the entity that placed the question or issue on the ballot, and the voter's ballot selection on that question or issue, but not the entire text of the question or issue.
(b) The secretary of state, by rule adopted under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, may waive the requirement under division (H)(3)(a)(v) of this section, if the secretary of state determines that the requirement is cost prohibitive.
Sec. 3506.12. In counties where marking devices, automatic tabulating equipment, voting machines, or any combination of these are in use or are to be used, the board of elections:
(A) May combine, rearrange, and enlarge precincts; but the board shall arrange for a sufficient number of these devices to accommodate the number of electors in each precinct as determined by the number of votes cast in that precinct at the most recent election for the office of governor, taking into consideration the size and location of each selected polling place, available parking, handicap accessibility and other accessibility to the polling place, and the number of candidates and issues to be voted on. Notwithstanding section 3501.22 of the Revised Code, the board may appoint more than four precinct officers to each precinct if this is made necessary by the number of voting machines to be used in that precinct.
(B)
Except as otherwise provided in this division,
shall
establish one or more counting stations to
receive
voted
ballots
and other precinct election supplies after
the
polling
precincts
are closed.
Those stations shall be under
the
supervision and
direction of the board of elections.
Processing
and counting of
voted ballots, and the preparation of
summary
sheets, shall be
done in the presence of witnesses observers
approved by the
board. A
certified copy of the summary sheet for
the precinct
shall be
posted at each
counting station
immediately after
completion of
the summary sheet.
In counties where punch card ballots are used, one or more counting stations, located at the board of elections, shall be established, at which location all punch card ballots shall be counted.
As used in this division, "punch card ballot" has the same meaning as in section 3506.16 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3506.13. In precincts where marking devices, automatic tabulating
equipment, voting machines, or any combination of these are used, challengers
and witnesses observers may be appointed as prescribed in section 3505.21 of the Revised
Code. The duties and privileges of challengers observers in such precincts during the
hours the polls are open, shall be as provided in section 3505.21 of the
Revised Code.
Challengers Observers shall be allowed to remain in the polling place after the polls
close and may observe the processing of the ballots and the sealing and
signing of the envelopes or containers or both containing the voted ballots.
Witnesses shall not be allowed in the polling place, but shall file their
certificates of appointment at the proper counting station after the polls
close, and may observe all functions there.
Sec. 3506.18. (A) For any recount of an election in which ballots are cast using a direct recording electronic voting machine with a voter verified paper audit trail, the voter verified paper audit trail shall serve as the official ballot to be recounted.
(B) Voter verified paper audit trails shall be preserved in the same manner and for the same time period as paper ballots are preserved under section 3505.31 of the Revised Code.
(C) A voter verified paper audit trail shall be treated as are other ballots for purposes of section 149.43 of the Revised Code and shall be retained in accordance with the county records retention schedule established under section 149.38 of the Revised Code after the relevant time period prescribed for its preservation in section 3505.31 of the Revised Code, or as ordered by the secretary of state or a court of competent jurisdiction.
(D) If a voter verified paper audit trail is made available to the public, any information on that voter verified paper audit trail that identifies the particular direct recording electronic voting machine that produced it shall be redacted.
Sec. 3506.20. (A) As used in this section, "ballots on demand voting system" means a system that utilizes ballots printed as needed by election officials at the board of elections for distribution to electors, either in person or by mail.
(B) No board of elections shall use a ballots on demand voting system unless each ballot printed by the system includes a tracking number.
Sec. 3506.21. (A) As used in this section, "optical scan ballot" means a ballot that is marked by using a specified writing instrument to fill in a designated position to record a voter's candidate, question, or issue choice and that can be scanned and electronically read in order to tabulate the vote.
(B)(1) In addition to marks that can be scanned and electronically read by automatic tabulating equipment, any of the following marks, if a majority of those marks are made in a consistent manner throughout an optical scan ballot, shall be counted as a valid vote:
(a) A candidate, question, or issue choice that has been circled by the voter;
(b) An oval beside the candidate, question, or issue choice that has been circled by the voter;
(c) An oval beside the candidate, question, or issue choice that has been marked by the voter with an "x," a check mark, or other recognizable mark;
(d) A candidate, question, or issue choice that has been marked with a writing instrument that cannot be recognized by automatic tabulating equipment.
(2) Marks made on an optical scan ballot in accordance with division (B)(1) of this section shall be counted as valid votes only if that optical scan ballot contains no marks that can be scanned and electronically read by automatic tabulating equipment.
(C) The secretary of state may adopt rules under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to authorize additional types of optical scan ballots and to specify the types of marks on those ballots that shall be counted as a valid vote to ensure consistency in the counting of ballots throughout the state.
Sec. 3506.22. (A) Beginning in the year 2013 and thereafter, a county that selects direct recording electronic voting machines as the primary voting system to be used in the county and not only for accessibility for individuals with disabilities as required under the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and section 3506.19 of the Revised Code shall acquire, if needed, sufficient direct recording electronic voting machines to meet the minimum number of direct recording electronic voting machines required to be established by the secretary of state under division (B) of this section.
(B) Beginning in the year 2013 and every eight years thereafter, the secretary of state shall establish, for each county, a minimum number of direct recording electronic voting machines that the county shall be required to have if it elects to use direct recording electronic voting machines as the primary voting system in the county. The minimum number for each county shall be calculated as follows:
(1) The total number of registered voters in the county as of the October deadline for voter registration for the last presidential election or the average of the total number of registered voters in the county as of the October deadline for voter registration for the last two presidential elections, whichever number is higher, shall be determined.
(2) The number resulting from the determination under division (B)(1) of this section shall be divided by one hundred seventy-five.
(3) Any fraction resulting from the calculation under division (B)(2) of this section shall be rounded up to the next whole number.
(C) A county that selects direct recording electronic voting machines as the primary voting system to be used in the county and not only for accessibility for individuals with disabilities as required under the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and section 3506.19 of the Revised Code after the effective date of this section but before the year 2013 shall do so in accordance with the formula set forth in Section 514.03 of Am. Sub. H.B. 66 of the 126th general assembly.
Sec. 3506.23. A voting machine shall not be connected to the internet.
Sec. 3509.02. (A) Any qualified elector may vote by absent voter's ballots at an election.
(B) Any qualified elector who is unable to appear at the office of the board of elections or other location designated by the board or, if pursuant to division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code the board has designated another location in the county at which registered electors may vote, at that other location on account of personal illness, physical disability, or infirmity, and who moves from one precinct to
another within a county, changes
the elector's name
and moves from one precinct to another
within a county, or moves from one county to another county within the state,
on or
prior to the day of a general, primary, or special election and
has not
filed a notice of change of residence or change of name
may vote by absent
voter's ballots in that election as specified
in division (G)
of section 3503.16 of the Revised Code.
"Sec. 3509.03. Except as provided in section 3509.031 or division (B) of section 3509.08 of the Revised Code, any qualified elector desiring to vote absent voter's ballots at an election shall make written application for those ballots to the director of elections of the county in which the elector's voting residence is located. The application need not be in any particular form but shall contain all of the following:
(A) The elector's name;
(B) The elector's signature;
(C) The address at which the elector is registered to vote;
(D) The elector's date of birth;
(E) One of the following:
(1) The elector's driver's license number;
(2) The last four digits of the elector's social security number;
(3) A copy of the elector's current and valid photo identification, a copy of a military identification that shows the elector's name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the name and address of the elector.
(F) A statement identifying the election for which absent voter's ballots are requested;
(G) A statement that the person requesting the ballots is a qualified elector;
(H) If the request is for primary election ballots, the elector's party affiliation;
(I) If the elector desires ballots to be mailed to the elector, the address to which those ballots shall be mailed.
A voter who will be outside the United States on the day of any election during a calendar year may use a single federal post card application to apply for absent voter's ballots. Those ballots shall be sent to the voter for use at the primary and general elections in that year and any special election to be held on the day in that year specified by division (E) of section 3501.01 of the Revised Code for the holding of a primary election, designated by the general assembly for the purpose of submitting constitutional amendments proposed by the general assembly to the voters of the state unless the voter reports a change in the voter's voting status to the board of elections or the voter's intent to vote in any such election in the precinct in this state where the voter is registered to vote. A single federal postcard application shall be processed by the board of elections pursuant to section 3509.04 of the Revised Code the same as if the voter had applied separately for absent voter's ballots for each election. When mailing absent voter's ballots to a voter who applied for them by single federal post card application, the board shall enclose notification to the voter that the voter must report to the board subsequent changes in the voter's voting status or the voter's subsequent intent to vote in any such election in the precinct in this state where the voter is registered to vote. Such notification shall be in a form prescribed by the secretary of state. As used in this section, "voting status" means the voter's name at the time the voter applied for absent voter's ballots by single federal post card application and the voter's address outside the United States to which the voter requested that those ballots be sent.
Each application for absent voter's ballots shall be delivered to the director not earlier than the first day of January of the year of the elections for which the absent voter's ballots are requested or not earlier than ninety days before the day of the election at which the ballots are to be voted, whichever is earlier, and not later than twelve noon of the third day before the day of the election at which the ballots are to be voted, or not later than the close of regular business hours on the day before the day of the election at which the ballots are to be voted if the application is delivered in person to the office of the board.
Sec. 3509.031. (A) Any qualified elector who is a member of the organized militia called to active duty within the state and who will be unable to vote on election day on account of that active duty may make written application for absent voter's ballots to the director of elections for the county in which the elector's voting residence is located. The elector may personally deliver the application to the director or may mail it, send it by facsimile machine, or otherwise send it to the director. The application need not be in any particular form but shall contain all of the following:
(1) The elector's name;
(2) The elector's signature;
(3) The address at which the elector is registered to vote;
(4) The elector's date of birth;
(5) One of the following:
(a) The elector's driver's license number;
(b) The last four digits of the elector's social security number;
(c) A copy of the elector's current and valid photo identification, a copy of a military identification that shows the elector's name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the name and address of the elector.
(6) A statement identifying the election for which absent voter's ballots are requested;
(7) A statement that the person requesting the ballots is a qualified elector;
(8) A statement that the elector is a member of the organized militia serving on active duty within the state;
(9) If the request is for primary election ballots, the elector's party affiliation;
(10) If the elector desires ballots to be mailed to the elector, the address to which those ballots shall be mailed;
(11) If the elector desires ballots to be sent to the elector by facsimile machine, the telephone number to which they shall be so sent.
(B) Application to have absent voter's ballots mailed or sent by facsimile machine to a qualified elector who is a member of the organized militia called to active duty within the state and who will be unable to vote on election day on account of that active duty may be made by the spouse of the militia member or the father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, grandfather, grandmother, brother or sister of the whole blood or half blood, son, daughter, adopting parent, adopted child, stepparent, stepchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece of the militia member. The application shall be in writing upon a blank form furnished only by the director. The form of the application shall be prescribed by the secretary of state. The director shall furnish that blank form to any of the relatives specified in this division desiring to make the application, only upon the request of such a relative in person at the office of the board or upon the written request of such a relative mailed to the office of the board. The application, subscribed and sworn to by the applicant, shall contain all of the following:
(1) The full name of the elector for whom ballots are requested;
(2) A statement that such person is a qualified elector in the county;
(3) The address at which the elector is registered to vote;
(4) The elector's date of birth;
(5) One of the following:
(a) The elector's driver's license number;
(b) The last four digits of the elector's social security number;
(c) A copy of the elector's current and valid photo identification, a copy of a military identification that shows the elector's name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the name and address of the elector.
(6) A statement identifying the election for which absent voter's ballots are requested;
(7) A statement that the elector is a member of the organized militia serving on active duty within the state;
(8) If the request is for primary election ballots, the elector's party affiliation;
(9) A statement that the applicant bears a relationship to the elector as specified in division (B) of this section;
(10) The address to which ballots shall be mailed or telephone number to which ballots shall be sent by facsimile machine;
(11) The signature and address of the person making the application.
(C) Applications to have absent voter's ballots mailed or sent by facsimile machine shall not be valid if dated, postmarked, or received by the director prior to the ninetieth day before the day of the election for which ballots are requested or if delivered to the director later than twelve noon of the third day preceding the day of such election. If, after the ninetieth day and before four p.m. of the day before the day of an election, a valid application for absent voter's ballots is delivered to the director of elections at the office of the board by a militia member making application in the militia member's own behalf, the director shall forthwith deliver to the militia member all absent voter's ballots then ready for use, together with an identification envelope. The militia member shall then vote the absent voter's ballots in the manner provided in section 3509.05 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3509.04. (A) If a director of a board of elections receives an application for absent voter's ballots that does not contain all of the required information, the director promptly shall notify the applicant of the additional information required to be provided by the applicant to complete that application.
(B) Upon receipt by the director of elections of an application for absent voter's ballots that contain all of the required information, as provided by sections 3509.03 and 3509.031 and division (G) of section 3503.16 of the Revised Code, the director, if the director finds that the applicant is a qualified elector, shall deliver to the applicant in person or mail directly to the applicant by special delivery mail, air mail, or regular mail, postage prepaid, proper absent voter's ballots. The director shall deliver or mail with the ballots an unsealed identification envelope upon the face of which shall be printed a form substantially as follows:
I, ........................(Name of voter), declare under penalty of election falsification that the within ballot or ballots contained no voting marks of any kind when I received them, and I caused the ballot or ballots to be marked, enclosed in the identification envelope, and sealed in that envelope.
My voting residence in Ohio is
...................................................................
of ................................ (City, Village, or Township) Ohio, which is in Ward ............... Precinct ................ in that city, village, or township.
The primary election ballots, if any, within this envelope are primary election ballots of the ............. Party.
Ballots contained within this envelope are to be voted at the .......... (general, special, or primary) election to be held on the .......................... day of ......................, ....
My date of birth is ............... (Month and Day), .......... (Year).
(Voter must provide one of the following:)
My driver's license number is ............... (Driver's license number).
The last four digits of my Social Security Number are ............... (Last four digits of Social Security Number).
...... In lieu of providing a driver's license number or the last four digits of my Social Security Number, I am enclosing a copy of one of the following in the return envelope in which this identification envelope will be mailed: a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows my name and current address, or a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections, that shows my name and address.
I hereby declare, under penalty of election falsification, that the statements above are true, as I verily believe.
| .................................... | |
| (Signature of Voter) |
WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS GUILTY OF A FELONY OF THE FIFTH DEGREE."
The director shall mail with the ballots and the unsealed identification envelope an unsealed return envelope upon the face of which shall be printed the official title and post-office address of the director. In the upper left corner on the face of the return envelope, several blank lines shall be printed upon which the voter may write the voter's name and return address, and beneath these lines there shall be printed a box beside the words "check if out-of-country." The voter shall check this box if the voter will be outside the United States on the day of the election. The return envelope shall be of such size that the identification envelope can be conveniently placed within it for returning the identification envelope to the director.
Sec. 3509.05. (A) When an elector receives an absent voter's ballot pursuant to the elector's application or request, the elector shall, before placing any marks on the ballot, note whether there are any voting marks on it. If there are any voting marks, the ballot shall be returned immediately to the board of elections; otherwise, the elector shall cause the ballot to be marked, folded in a manner that the stub on it and the indorsements and facsimile signatures of the members of the board of elections on the back of it are visible, and placed and sealed within the identification envelope received from the director of elections for that purpose. Then, the elector shall cause the statement of voter on the outside of the identification envelope to be completed and signed, under penalty of election falsification.
If the elector does not provide the elector's driver's license number or the last four digits of the elector's social security number on the statement of voter on the identification envelope, the elector also shall include in the return envelope with the identification envelope a copy of the elector's current valid photo identification, a copy of a military identification that shows the elector's name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the name and address of the elector.
The elector shall mail the identification envelope to the director from whom it was received in the return envelope, postage prepaid, or the elector may personally deliver it to the director, or the spouse of the elector, the father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, grandfather, grandmother, brother, or sister of the whole or half blood, or the son, daughter, adopting parent, adopted child, stepparent, stepchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece of the elector may deliver it to the director. The return envelope shall be transmitted to the director in no other manner, except as provided in section 3509.08 of the Revised Code.
Each elector who will be outside the United States on the day of the election shall check the box on the return envelope indicating this fact.
When absent voter's ballots are delivered to an elector at the office of the board, the elector may retire to a voting compartment provided by the board and there mark the ballots. Thereupon, the elector shall fold them, place them in the identification envelope provided, seal the envelope, fill in and sign the statement on the envelope under penalty of election falsification, and deliver the envelope to the director of the board.
Except as otherwise provided in divisions (B) and (C) of this section, all other envelopes containing marked absent voter's ballots shall be delivered to the director not later than the close of the polls on the day of an election. Absent voter's ballots delivered to the director later than the times specified shall not be counted, but shall be kept by the board in the sealed identification envelopes in which they are delivered to the director, until the time provided by section 3505.31 of the Revised Code for the destruction of all other ballots used at the election for which ballots were provided, at which time they shall be destroyed.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (C) of this section, any return envelope that indicates that the voter will be outside the United States on the day of the election shall be delivered to the director prior to the eleventh day after the election. Ballots delivered in such envelopes that are received after the close of the polls on election day through the tenth day thereafter shall be counted on the eleventh day at the board of elections in the manner provided in divisions (C) and (D) of section 3509.06 of the Revised Code. Any such ballots that are signed or postmarked after the close of the polls on the day of the election or that are received by the director later than the tenth day following the election shall not be counted, but shall be kept by the board in the sealed identification envelopes as provided in division (A) of this section.
(C) In any year in which a presidential primary election is held, any return envelope that indicates that the voter will be outside the United States on the day of the presidential primary election shall be delivered to the director prior to the twenty-first day after that election. Ballots delivered in such envelopes that are received after the close of the polls on election day through the twentieth day thereafter shall be counted on the twenty-first day at the board of elections in the manner provided in divisions (C) and (D) of section 3509.06 of the Revised Code. Any such ballots that are signed or postmarked after the close of the polls on the day of that election or that are received by the director later than the twentieth day following that election shall not be counted, but shall be kept by the board in the sealed identification envelopes as provided in division (A) of this section.
Sec. 3509.06. (A) The board of elections shall determine whether absent voter's ballots shall be counted in each precinct, at the office of the board, or at some other location designated by the board, and shall proceed accordingly under division (B) or (C) of this section.
(B) When the board of elections determines that absent voter's ballots shall be counted in each precinct, the director shall deliver to the presiding judge of each precinct on election day identification envelopes purporting to contain absent voter's ballots of electors whose voting residence appears from the statement of voter on the outside of each of those envelopes, to be located in such presiding judge's precinct, and which were received by the director not later than the close of the polls on election day. The director shall deliver to such presiding judge a list containing the name and voting residence of each person whose voting residence is in such precinct to whom absent voter's ballots were mailed.
(C) When the board of elections determines that absent voter's ballots shall be counted at the office of the board of elections or at another location designated by the board, special election judges shall be appointed by the board for that purpose having the same authority as is exercised by precinct judges. The votes so cast shall be added to the vote totals by the board, and the absent voter's ballots shall be preserved separately by the board, in the same manner and for the same length of time as provided by section 3505.31 of the Revised Code.
(D) Each of the identification envelopes purporting to contain absent voter's ballots delivered to the presiding judge of the precinct or the special judge appointed by the board of elections shall be handled as follows: The election officials shall compare the signature of the elector on the outside of the identification envelope with the signature of that elector on the elector's registration form and verify that the absent voter's ballot is eligible to be counted under section 3509.07 of the Revised Code. Any of the precinct officials may challenge the right of the elector named on the identification envelope to vote the absent voter's ballots upon the ground that the signature on the envelope is not the same as the signature on the registration form, or upon any other of the grounds upon which the right of persons to vote may be lawfully challenged. If no such challenge is made, or if such a challenge is made and not sustained, the presiding judge shall open the envelope without defacing the statement of voter and without mutilating the ballots in it, and shall remove the ballots contained in it and proceed to count them.
The name of each person voting who is entitled to vote only an absent voter's presidential ballot shall be entered in a pollbook or poll list or signature pollbook followed by the words "Absentee Presidential Ballot." The name of each person voting an absent voter's ballot, other than such persons entitled to vote only a presidential ballot, shall be entered in the pollbook or poll list or signature pollbook and the person's registration card marked to indicate that the person has voted.
The date of such election shall also be entered on the elector's registration form. If any such challenge is made and sustained, the identification envelope of such elector shall not be opened, shall be endorsed "Not Counted" with the reasons the ballots were not counted, and shall be delivered to the board.
(E) Special election judges or, employees or members of the
board of elections, or observers shall not disclose the count or any portion of
the count of absent voter's ballots prior to the time of the
closing of the polling places. No person shall recklessly disclose the count or any portion of the count of absent voter's ballots in such a manner as to jeopardize the secrecy of any individual ballot.
(F) Observers may be appointed under section 3505.21 of the Revised Code to witness the examination and opening of identification envelopes and the counting of absent voters' ballots under this section.
Sec. 3509.08. (A) Any qualified elector, who, on account of the elector's own personal illness, physical disability, or infirmity, or on account of the elector's confinement in a jail or workhouse under sentence for a misdemeanor or awaiting trial on a felony or misdemeanor, will be unable to travel from the elector's home or place of confinement to the voting booth in the elector's precinct on the day of any general, special, or primary election may make application in writing for an absent voter's ballot to the director of the board of elections of the elector's county. The application shall include all of the information required under section 3509.03 of the Revised Code and shall state the nature of the elector's illness, physical disability, or infirmity, or the fact that the elector is confined in a jail or workhouse and the elector's resultant inability to travel to the election booth in the elector's precinct on election day. The application shall not be valid if it is delivered to the director before the ninetieth day or after twelve noon of the third day before the day of the election at which the ballot is to be voted.
The absent voter's ballot may be mailed directly to the
applicant
at the applicant's voting residence or place of
confinement as
stated in the applicant's application, or the board may
designate
two board
employees belonging to the two major political parties
for the
purpose of delivering the ballot to the disabled or
confined
elector and returning it to the board, unless the
applicant is
confined to a public or private institution within
the county, in
which case the board shall designate two such board
employees belonging to the two major political parties for the
purpose of delivering the ballot to the
disabled or confined
elector and returning it to the board. In
all other instances,
the ballot shall be returned to the office
of the board in the
manner prescribed in section 3509.05 of the
Revised Code.
Any disabled or confined elector who declares to the two board
employees belonging to the two major political parties that the elector is unable to mark
the elector's ballot
by reason of
physical infirmity that is
apparent to
the employees to be sufficient to incapacitate the
voter from
marking
the elector's ballot properly, may receive, upon
request,
the
assistance of the two employees in marking
the elector's
ballot, and they shall thereafter give no
information in regard to this
matter.
Such assistance shall not
be rendered for any other cause.
When two board employees belonging to the two major political parties deliver a ballot to a disabled or confined elector, each of the employees shall be present when the ballot is delivered, when assistance is given, and when the ballot is returned to the office of the board, and shall subscribe to the declaration on the identification envelope.
The secretary of state shall prescribe the form of application for absent voter's ballots under this division.
This chapter applies to disabled and confined absent voter's ballots except as otherwise provided in this section.
(B)(1) Any qualified elector who is unable to travel to the voting booth in the elector's precinct on the day of any general, special, or primary election because of being confined in a hospital as a result of an accident or unforeseeable medical emergency occurring before the election, may apply to the director of the board of elections of the county where the elector is a qualified elector to vote in the election by absent voter's ballot. This application shall be made in writing, shall include all of the information required under section 3509.03 of the Revised Code, and shall be delivered to the director not later than three p.m. on the day of the election. The application shall indicate the hospital where the applicant is confined, the date of the applicant's admission to the hospital, and the offices for which the applicant is qualified to vote. The applicant may also request that a member of the applicant's family, as listed in section 3509.05 of the Revised Code, deliver the absent voter's ballot to the applicant. The director, after establishing to the director's satisfaction the validity of the circumstances claimed by the applicant, shall supply an absent voter's ballot to be delivered to the applicant. When the applicant is in a hospital in the county where the applicant is a qualified elector and no request is made for a member of the family to deliver the ballot, the director shall arrange for the delivery of an absent voter's ballot to the applicant, and for its return to the office of the board, by two board employees belonging to the two major political parties according to the procedures prescribed in division (A) of this section. When the applicant is in a hospital outside the county where the applicant is a qualified elector and no request is made for a member of the family to deliver the ballot, the director shall arrange for the delivery of an absent voter's ballot to the applicant by mail, and the ballot shall be returned to the office of the board in the manner prescribed in section 3509.05 of the Revised Code.
(2) Any qualified elector who is eligible to vote under division (B) or (C) of section 3503.16 of the Revised Code but is unable to do so because of the circumstances described in division (B)(1) of this section may vote in accordance with division (B)(1) of this section if that qualified elector states in the application for absent voter's ballots that that qualified elector moved or had a change of name under the circumstances described in division (B) or (C) of section 3503.16 of the Revised Code and if that qualified elector complies with divisions (G)(1) to (4) of section 3503.16 of the Revised Code.
(C) Any qualified elector described in division (A) or (B)(1) of this section who needs no assistance to vote or to return absent voter's ballots to the board of elections may apply for absent voter's ballots under section 3509.03 of the Revised Code instead of applying for them under this section.
Sec. 3509.09. (A) The poll list or signature pollbook for each precinct shall identify each registered elector in that precinct who has requested an absent voter's ballot for that election.
(B)(1) If a registered elector appears to vote in that precinct and that elector has requested an absent voter's ballot for that election but the director has not received a sealed identification envelope purporting to contain that elector's voted absent voter's ballots for that election, the elector shall be permitted to cast a provisional ballot, generally in the manner prescribed in division (B) of under section 3503.16 3505.181 of the Revised Code, in that precinct on the day of that election.
(2) If a registered elector appears to vote in that precinct and that elector has requested an absent voter's ballot for that election and the director has received a sealed identification envelope purporting to contain that elector's voted absent voter's ballots for that election, the elector shall be permitted to cast a provisional ballot, generally in the manner prescribed in division (B) of under section 3503.16 3505.181 of the Revised Code, in that precinct on the day of that election.
(C)(1) In counting absent voter's ballots under section 3509.06 of the Revised Code, the board of elections or the precinct election officials shall compare the poll list or the signature pollbook for each precinct with the name of each elector in that precinct from whom the director has received a sealed identification envelope purporting to contain that elector's voted absent voter's ballots for that election to the signature on that elector's registration form. Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(2)(3) of this section, if the board of elections determines that an elector who cast a ballot, generally in the manner prescribed in division (B) of section 3503.16 of the Revised Code, in the precinct on the day of the election also returned a sealed identification envelope for that election, the absent voter's ballot in the sealed identification envelope is valid, it shall be counted, and the ballot cast in the precinct on the day of the election shall not be counted. If the board of elections determines that the signature on the sealed identification envelope purporting to contain the elector's voted absent voter's ballot does not match the signature on the elector's registration form, the ballot shall be set aside and the board shall examine, during the time prior to the beginning of the official canvass, the poll list or signature pollbook from the precinct in which the elector is registered to vote to determine if the elector also cast a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code in that precinct on the day of the election.
(2) The board of elections shall count the provisional ballot cast in the precinct on the day of the election, instead of the absent voter's ballot in the returned sealed identification envelope of an elector, if both of the following apply:
(a) The board of elections determines that the signature of the elector on the outside of the identification envelope in which the absent voter's ballots are enclosed does not match the signature of the elector on the elector's registration form;
(b) The elector cast a provisional ballot, generally in the manner prescribed in division (B) of section 3503.16 of the Revised Code, in the precinct on the day of the election.
(3) If the board of elections does not receive the sealed identification envelope purporting to contain the elector's voted absent voter's ballot by the applicable deadline established under section 3509.05 of the Revised Code, the provisional ballot cast under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code in that precinct on the day of the election shall be counted as valid, if that provisional ballot is otherwise determined to be valid pursuant to section 3505.183 of the Revised Code.
(D) If the board of elections counts the a provisional ballot cast in the precinct on the day of the election under this division (C)(2) or (3) of this section, the returned identification envelope of that elector shall not be opened, and the ballot within that envelope shall not be counted. The identification envelope shall be endorsed "Not Counted" with the reason the ballot was not counted.
Sec. 3511.02. Notwithstanding any section of the Revised Code to the contrary, whenever any person applies for registration as a voter on a form adopted in accordance with federal regulations relating to the "Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act," 100 Stat. 924, 42 U.S.C.A. 1973ff (1986), this application shall be sufficient for voter registration and as a request for an absent voter's ballot. Armed service absent voter's ballots may be obtained by any person meeting the requirements of section 3511.01 of the Revised Code by applying to the director of the board of elections of the county in which the person's voting residence is located, in one of the following ways:
(A) That person may make written application for those ballots. The person may personally deliver the application to the director or may mail it, send it by facsimile machine, or otherwise send it to the director. The application need not be in any particular form but shall contain all of the following information:
(1) The elector's name;
(2) The elector's signature;
(3) The address at which the elector is registered to vote;
(4) The elector's date of birth;
(5) One of the following:
(a) The elector's driver's license number;
(b) The last four digits of the elector's social security number;
(c) A copy of the elector's current and valid photo identification, a copy of a military identification that shows the elector's name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the name and address of the elector.
(6) A statement identifying the election for which absent voter's ballots are requested;
(7) A statement that the person requesting the ballots is a qualified elector;
(8) A statement that the elector is an absent uniformed services voter as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1973ff-6;
(9) A statement of the elector's length of residence in the state immediately preceding the commencement of service or immediately preceding the date of leaving to be with or near the service member, whichever is applicable;
(10) If the request is for primary election ballots, the elector's party affiliation;
(11) If the elector desires ballots to be mailed to the elector, the address to which those ballots shall be mailed;
(12) If the elector desires ballots to be sent to the elector by facsimile machine, the telephone number to which they shall be so sent.
(B) A voter or any relative of a voter listed in division (C) of this section may use a single federal post card application to apply for armed service absent voter's ballots for use at the primary and general elections in a given year and any special election to be held on the day in that year specified by division (E) of section 3501.01 of the Revised Code for the holding of a primary election, designated by the general assembly for the purpose of submitting constitutional amendments proposed by the general assembly to the voters of the state. A single federal postcard application shall be processed by the board of elections pursuant to section 3511.04 of the Revised Code the same as if the voter had applied separately for armed service absent voter's ballots for each election.
(C) Application to have armed service absent voter's ballots mailed or sent by facsimile machine to such a person may be made by the spouse when the person is a service member, or by the father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, grandfather, grandmother, brother or sister of the whole blood or half blood, son, daughter, adopting parent, adopted child, stepparent, stepchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece of such a person. The application shall be in writing upon a blank form furnished only by the director or on a single federal post card as provided in division (B) of this section. The form of the application shall be prescribed by the secretary of state. The director shall furnish that blank form to any of the relatives specified in this division desiring to make the application, only upon the request of such a relative made in person at the office of the board or upon the written request of such a relative mailed to the office of the board. The application, subscribed and sworn to by the applicant, shall contain all of the following:
(1) The full name of the elector for whom ballots are requested;
(2) A statement that the elector is an absent uniformed services voter as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1973ff-6;
(3) The address at which the elector is registered to vote;
(4) A statement identifying the elector's length of residence in the state immediately preceding the commencement of service, or immediately preceding the date of leaving to be with or near a service member, as the case may be;
(5) The elector's date of birth;
(6) One of the following:
(a) The elector's driver's license number;
(b) The last four digits of the elector's social security number;
(c) A copy of the elector's current and valid photo identification, a copy of a military identification that shows the elector's name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the name and address of the elector.
(7) A statement identifying the election for which absent voter's ballots are requested;
(8) A statement that the person requesting the ballots is a qualified elector;
(9) If the request is for primary election ballots, the elector's party affiliation;
(10) A statement that the applicant bears a relationship to the elector as specified in division (C) of this section;
(11) The address to which ballots shall be mailed or the telephone number to which ballots shall be sent by facsimile machine;
(12) The signature and address of the person making the application.
Each application for armed service absent voter's ballots shall be delivered to the director not earlier than the first day of January of the year of the elections for which the armed service absent voter's ballots are requested or not earlier than ninety days before the day of the election at which the ballots are to be voted, whichever is earlier, and not later than twelve noon of the third day preceding the day of the election, or not later than the close of regular business hours on the day before the day of the election at which those ballots are to be voted if the application is delivered in person to the office of the board.
(D) If the voter for whom the application is made is entitled to vote for presidential and vice-presidential electors only, the applicant shall submit to the director in addition to the requirements of divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section, a statement to the effect that the voter is qualified to vote for presidential and vice-presidential electors and for no other offices.
Sec. 3511.09. Upon receiving armed service absent voter's ballots, the elector shall cause the questions on the face of the identification envelope to be answered, and, by writing the elector's usual signature in the proper place on the identification envelope, the elector shall declare under penalty of election falsification that the answers to those questions are true and correct to the best of the elector's knowledge and belief. Then, the elector shall note whether there are any voting marks on the ballot. If there are any voting marks, the ballot shall be returned immediately to the board of elections; otherwise, the elector shall cause the ballot to be marked, folded separately so as to conceal the markings on it, deposited in the identification envelope, and securely sealed in the identification envelope. The elector then shall cause the identification envelope to be placed within the return envelope, sealed in the return envelope, and mailed to the director of the board of elections to whom it is addressed. If the elector does not provide the elector's driver's license number or the last four digits of the elector's social security number on the statement of voter on the identification envelope, the elector also shall include in the return envelope with the identification envelope a copy of the elector's current valid photo identification, a copy of a military identification that shows the elector's name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the name and address of the elector. Each elector who will be outside the United States on the day of the election shall check the box on the return envelope indicating this fact and shall mail the return envelope to the director prior to the close of the polls on election day.
Every armed services absent voter's ballot identification envelope shall be accompanied by the following statement in boldface capital letters: WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS GUILTY OF A FELONY OF THE FIFTH DEGREE.
Sec. 3511.13. (A) The poll list or signature pollbook for each precinct shall identify each registered elector in that precinct who has requested an armed services service absent voter's ballot for that election;.
(B)(1) If a registered elector appears to vote in that precinct and that elector has requested an armed service absent voter's ballot for that election but the director has not received a sealed identification envelope purporting to contain that elector's voted armed service absent voter's ballots for that election, the elector shall be permitted to cast a provisional ballot, generally in the manner prescribed in division (B) of under section 3503.16 3505.181 of the Revised Code, in that precinct on the day of that election.
(2) If a registered elector appears to vote in that precinct and that elector has requested an armed service absent voter's ballot for that election and the director has received a sealed identification envelope purporting to contain that elector's voted armed service absent voter's ballots for that election, the elector shall be permitted to cast a provisional ballot, generally in the manner prescribed in division (B) of under section 3503.16 3505.181 of the Revised Code, in that precinct on the day of that election.
(C)(1) In counting armed service absent voter's ballots under section 3511.11 of the Revised Code, the board of elections or the precinct election officials shall compare the poll list or the signature pollbook for each precinct with the name of each elector in that precinct from whom the director has received a sealed identification envelope purporting to contain that elector's voted armed service absent voter's ballots for that election to the signature on the elector's registration form. Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(2)(3) of this section, if the board of elections determines that an elector who cast a ballot, generally in the manner prescribed in division (B) of section 3503.16 of the Revised Code, in the precinct on the day of the election also returned a sealed identification envelope for that election, the armed service absent voter's ballot in the sealed identification envelope is valid, it shall be counted, and the ballot cast in the precinct on the day of the election shall not be counted. If the board of elections determines that the signature on the sealed identification envelope purporting to contain the elector's voted armed service absent voter's ballot does not match the signature on the elector's registration form, the ballot shall be set aside and the board shall examine, during the time prior to the beginning of the official canvass, the poll list or signature pollbook from the precinct in which the elector is registered to vote to determine if the elector also cast a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code in that precinct on the day of the election.
(2) The board of elections shall count the provisional ballot cast in the precinct on the day of the election, instead of the armed service absent voter's ballot, of an elector from whom the director has received an identification envelope purporting to contain that elector's voted armed service absent voter's ballots, if both of the following apply:
(a) The board of elections determines that the signature of the elector on the outside of the identification envelope in which the armed service absent voter's ballots are enclosed does not match the signature of the elector on the elector's registration form;
(b) The elector cast a provisional ballot, generally in the manner prescribed in division (B) of section 3503.16 of the Revised Code, in the precinct on the day of the election.
(3) If the board of elections does not receive the sealed identification envelope purporting to contain the elector's voted armed service absent voter's ballot by the applicable deadline established under section 3511.11 of the Revised Code, the provisional ballot cast under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code in that precinct on the day of the election shall be counted as valid, if that provisional ballot is otherwise determined to be valid pursuant to section 3505.183 of the Revised Code.
(D)
If the board of elections counts the a provisional ballot cast in the precinct on the day of the election under this division (C)(2) or (3) of this section, the returned
identification envelope of that elector shall not be opened, and the ballot within that envelope shall not be counted. The identification envelope shall be endorsed "Not Counted" with the reason the ballot was not counted.
Sec. 3513.04. Candidates for party nominations to state, district, county, and municipal offices or positions, for which party nominations are provided by law, and for election as members of party controlling committees shall have their names printed on the official primary ballot by filing a declaration of candidacy and paying the fees specified for the office under divisions (A) and (B) of section 3513.10 of the Revised Code, except that the joint candidates for party nomination to the offices of governor and lieutenant governor shall, for the two of them, file one declaration of candidacy. The joint candidates also shall pay the fees specified for the joint candidates under divisions (A) and (B) of section 3513.10 of the Revised Code.
The secretary of state shall not accept for filing the
declaration of candidacy of a candidate for party nomination to
the office of governor unless the declaration of candidacy also
shows a joint candidate for the same party's nomination to the
office of lieutenant governor, shall not accept for filing the
declaration of candidacy of a candidate for party nomination to
the office of lieutenant governor unless the declaration of
candidacy also shows a joint candidate for the same party's
nomination to the office of governor, and shall not accept for
filing a declaration of candidacy that shows a candidate for
party
nomination to the office of governor or lieutenant governor
who,
for the same election,
has already
filed a
declaration of
candidacy
or a
declaration of intent to be a
write-in candidate, or has become a candidate by the filling of a
vacancy under section
3513.30 of the Revised Code for any other
state office or any federal or federal or county office.
No person who seeks party nomination for an office or position at a primary election by declaration of candidacy or by declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate and no person who is a first choice for president of candidates seeking election as delegates and alternates to the national conventions of the different major political parties who are chosen by direct vote of the electors as provided in this chapter shall be permitted to become a candidate by nominating petition or by declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate at the following general election for any office other than the office of member of the state board of education, office of member of a city, local, or exempted village board of education, office of member of a governing board of an educational service center, or office of township trustee.
Sec. 3513.041. A write-in space shall be provided on the
ballot for every office, except in an
election for which the board
of elections has received no valid
declarations of intent to be a
write-in candidate under this
section. Write-in votes shall not
be counted
for any candidate who has not filed a declaration of
intent to be
a write-in candidate pursuant to this section. A
qualified
person who has filed a declaration of intent may receive
write-in
votes at either a primary or general election. Any
candidate shall file a declaration of
intent
to be a write-in candidate before four p.m. of the
fiftieth sixty-second day
preceding the election at which such candidacy is to be
considered. If the election is to be determined by electors of a
county or a district or subdivision within the county, such
declaration shall be filed with the board of elections of that
county. If the election is to be determined by electors of a
subdivision located in more than one county, such declaration
shall be filed with the board of elections of the county in which
the major portion of the population of such subdivision is
located. If the election is to be determined by electors of a
district comprised of more than one county but less than all of
the counties of the state, s