| (B)
Issue instructions by directives and advisories to | 16 |
|
members
of
the boards as to the proper methods
of conducting | 17 |
|
elections. In addition to any other publication of those | 18 |
| directives and advisories, the secretary of state shall publish | 19 |
| those directives and advisories on a web site of the office of the | 20 |
| secretary of state as soon as is practicable after they are | 21 |
| issued, but not later than the close of business on the same day | 22 |
| as a directive or advisory is issued. The secretary of state shall | 23 |
| not remove from the web site any directives and advisories so | 24 |
| posted. The secretary of state shall provide on that web site | 25 |
| access to all directives and advisories currently in effect and to | 26 |
| an archive of all directives and advisories previously published | 27 |
| on that web site. | 28 |
| (2) On and after
August
24, 1995, report a failure to
comply | 67 |
| with or a violation of a
provision in sections 3517.08 to 3517.13, | 68 |
|
3517.17, 3517.18,
3517.20 to 3517.22, 3599.03, or 3599.031 of the | 69 |
| Revised
Code,
whenever the secretary of state has or should have | 70 |
| knowledge of a
failure to comply with or a violation of a | 71 |
| provision in one of
those sections,
by filing a complaint with the | 72 |
| Ohio elections
commission under section
3517.153 of the Revised | 73 |
| Code; | 74 |
| (R) Prescribe a general program for registering voters or | 103 |
|
updating voter
registration information, such as name and | 104 |
| residence changes, at designated
agencies, the offices of deputy | 105 |
|
registrars of motor
vehicles, public high schools and vocational | 106 |
|
schools, public
libraries, and the offices of county treasurers, | 107 |
|
and prescribe
a program of distribution of voter registration | 108 |
|
forms through
those agencies, the offices of the
registrar
and | 109 |
|
deputy registrars of motor
vehicles, public high schools and | 110 |
|
vocational schools, public
libraries, and the offices of county | 111 |
|
treasurers; | 112 |
| (W) Ensure that all directives, advisories, other | 137 |
| instructions, or decisions issued or made during or as a result of | 138 |
| any conference or teleconference call with a board of elections to | 139 |
| discuss the proper methods and procedures for conducting | 140 |
| elections, to answer questions regarding elections, or to discuss | 141 |
| the interpretation of directives, advisories, or other | 142 |
| instructions issued by the secretary of state are posted on a web | 143 |
| site of the office of the secretary of state as soon as is | 144 |
| practicable after the completion of the conference or | 145 |
| teleconference call, but not later than the close of business on | 146 |
| the same day as the conference or teleconference call takes place. | 147 |
| (X) Publish a report on a web site of the office of the | 148 |
| secretary of state not later than one month after the completion | 149 |
| of the canvass of the election returns for each primary and | 150 |
| general election, identifying, by county, the number of absent | 151 |
| voter's ballots cast and the number of those ballots that were | 152 |
| counted, and the number of provisional ballots cast and the number | 153 |
| of those ballots that were counted, for that election. The | 154 |
| secretary of state shall maintain the information on the web site | 155 |
| in an archive format for each subsequent election. | 156 |
| Whenever a primary election is held under section 3513.32 of | 164 |
|
the Revised Code
or a special
election is held under section | 165 |
|
3521.03 of the Revised Code to fill a vacancy
in the office of | 166 |
|
representative to congress, the secretary of state shall establish | 167 |
|
a deadline,
notwithstanding any other deadline required under the | 168 |
|
Revised
Code, by which any or all of the following shall occur: | 169 |
|
the filing
of a declaration of candidacy and petitions or a | 170 |
|
statement of candidacy and
nominating petition together with the | 171 |
|
applicable filing fee; the filing of
protests against the | 172 |
|
candidacy of any person filing a declaration of candidacy
or | 173 |
|
nominating petition; the filing of a declaration of intent to be a | 174 |
|
write-in
candidate; the filing of campaign finance reports; the | 175 |
|
preparation of, and the
making of corrections or challenges to, | 176 |
|
precinct voter registration lists; the
receipt of applications for | 177 |
|
absent voter's ballots or armed service absent
voter's ballots; | 178 |
|
the supplying of election materials to precincts by boards of | 179 |
|
elections; the holding of hearings by boards of elections to | 180 |
|
consider
challenges to the right of a person to appear on a voter | 181 |
|
registration list;
and the scheduling of programs to instruct or | 182 |
|
reinstruct election officers. | 183 |
| In the performance of the
secretary of state's
duties as the | 184 |
| chief election officer, the secretary of state may
administer | 185 |
|
oaths, issue
subpoenas, summon witnesses, compel the
production of | 186 |
| books,
papers, records, and other evidence, and fix
the time and | 187 |
| place
for hearing any matters relating to the
administration and | 188 |
|
enforcement of the election laws. | 189 |
| The secretary of state may apply to any court that is
hearing | 202 |
|
a case in which the secretary of state is a party, for a
change of | 203 |
|
venue as a
substantive right, and
the change of venue shall
be | 204 |
|
allowed, and
the case removed to the
court of common pleas
of an | 205 |
| adjoining county
named in the application or,
if there
are cases | 206 |
| pending in
more than one jurisdiction that
involve the
same or | 207 |
| similar
issues,
the court of common pleas of
Franklin county. | 208 |
| Sec. 3501.29. (A) The board of elections shall provide
for | 213 |
| each precinct a polling place and provide adequate facilities
at | 214 |
| each polling place for conducting the election. The board
shall | 215 |
| provide a sufficient number of screened or curtained voting | 216 |
|
compartments to which electors may retire and conveniently mark | 217 |
|
their ballots, protected from the observation of others. Each | 218 |
|
voting compartment shall be provided at all times with writing | 219 |
|
implements, instructions how to vote, and other
necessary | 220 |
|
conveniences for marking the ballot. The presiding judge shall | 221 |
|
ensure that the voting compartments at all times are adequately | 222 |
|
lighted and contain the necessary supplies. The board shall | 223 |
|
utilize, in so far as practicable, rooms in public schools and | 224 |
|
other public buildings for polling places. Upon application of
the | 225 |
| board of elections, the authority which has the control of
any | 226 |
| building or grounds supported by taxation under the laws of
this | 227 |
| state, shall make available the necessary space therein for
the | 228 |
| purpose of holding elections and adequate space for the
storage of | 229 |
| voting machines, without charge for the use thereof.
A reasonable | 230 |
| sum may be paid for necessary janitorial service.
When polling | 231 |
| places are established in private buildings, the
board may pay a | 232 |
| reasonable rental therefor, and also the cost of
liability | 233 |
| insurance covering the premises when used for election
purposes, | 234 |
| or the board may purchase a single liability policy
covering the | 235 |
| board and the owners of the premises when used for
election | 236 |
| purposes. When removable buildings are supplied by the
board, they | 237 |
| shall be constructed under the contract let to the
lowest and best | 238 |
| bidder, and the board shall observe all
ordinances and regulations | 239 |
| then in force as to safety. The board
shall remove all such | 240 |
| buildings from streets and other public
places within thirty days | 241 |
| after an election, unless another
election is to be held within | 242 |
| ninety days. | 243 |
(3) AllNotwithstanding division (B)(1)(a), (c), or (d) of | 264 |
this section, certain polling places in each county shallmay be | 265 |
in
compliance by November 1, 1982, except those that are | 266 |
|
specifically exempted by the secretary of state upon
certification | 267 |
| by a board of elections that a good faith, but
unsuccessful, | 268 |
| effort has been made to modify, or change the
location of, such | 269 |
| polling places. | 270 |
(C) At any polling place that is not in compliance with
the | 271 |
requirements of division (B) of this section or is exempted
from | 272 |
| compliance by the secretary of state, the board of elections
shall | 273 |
| permit any handicapped elector who travels to that elector's | 274 |
|
polling
place, but who is unable to enter the polling place, to | 275 |
| vote,
with the assistance of two polling place officials of major | 276 |
|
political parties, in the vehicle that conveyed that elector to | 277 |
| the
polling place, or to receive and cast that elector's ballot at | 278 |
| the
door of
the polling place. | 279 |
| (2) Work with organizations that represent or provide | 285 |
|
services to handicapped, disabled, or elderly citizens to effect
a | 286 |
| wide dissemination of information about the availability of | 287 |
|
absentee voting, voting in the voter's vehicle or at the door of | 288 |
|
the polling place, or other election services to handicapped, | 289 |
|
disabled, or elderly citizens. | 290 |
| Sec. 3501.38. All declarations of candidacy, nominating | 301 |
|
petitions, or other petitions presented to or filed with the | 302 |
|
secretary of state or a board of elections or with any other | 303 |
|
public office for the purpose of becoming a candidate for any | 304 |
|
nomination or office or for the holding of an election on any | 305 |
|
issue shall, in addition to meeting the other specific | 306 |
|
requirements prescribed in the sections of the Revised Code | 307 |
|
relating
to them, be governed by the following rules: | 308 |
| (C) Each signer shall place on the petition after
the | 317 |
|
signer's name the date of signing and the location of
the
signer's | 318 |
| voting residence, including the street and number if in a | 319 |
|
municipal corporation or
the rural route number, post office | 320 |
|
address, or township if
outside a municipal corporation. The | 321 |
|
voting address given on the
petition shall be the address | 322 |
|
appearing in the registration
records at the board of elections. | 323 |
| (D) Except as otherwise provided in section 3501.382 of the | 324 |
| Revised Code, no person shall write any name other than
the | 325 |
|
person's
own on any petition. Except as otherwise provided in | 326 |
| section 3501.382 of the Revised Code, no person may authorize | 327 |
| another to
sign for
the person. If a petition contains the | 328 |
| signature
of an elector
two
or more
times, only the first
| 329 |
| signature
shall be counted. | 330 |
| (E)(1) On each petition paper, the circulator shall indicate | 331 |
|
the number of signatures contained
on it, and shall sign a | 332 |
|
statement made under penalty of election falsification that
the | 333 |
|
circulator witnessed the affixing of every signature, that all | 334 |
|
signers
were to the best of
the circulator's knowledge and
belief | 335 |
|
qualified to sign, and that every signature is to the best
of
the | 336 |
|
circulator's knowledge and belief the signature of the
person | 337 |
|
whose
signature it purports to be or of an attorney in fact acting | 338 |
| pursuant to section 3501.382 of the Revised Code. On the | 339 |
| circulator's statement for a declaration of candidacy or | 340 |
| nominating petition for a person seeking to become a statewide | 341 |
| candidate or for a statewide initiative or a statewide referendum | 342 |
| petition, the circulator shall identify the circulator's name, the | 343 |
address of the circulator's permanent residentresidence, and the | 344 |
| name and address of the person employing the circulator to | 345 |
| circulate the petition, if any. | 346 |
| (F) Except as otherwise provided in section 3501.382 of the | 352 |
| Revised Code, if a circulator knowingly permits an unqualified | 353 |
|
person
to sign a petition paper or permits a person to write a | 354 |
|
name other
than
the person's own on a petition paper, that | 355 |
|
petition paper
is
invalid; otherwise, the signature of a person | 356 |
| not qualified
to
sign shall be rejected but shall not invalidate | 357 |
| the other valid
signatures
on the paper. | 358 |
| (b) No petition presented to or filed with the secretary of | 375 |
| state, a board of elections, or any other public office for the | 376 |
| purpose of the holding of an election on any question or issue may | 377 |
| be resubmitted after it is withdrawn from a public office. Nothing | 378 |
| in this division prevents a question or issue petition from being | 379 |
| withdrawn by the filing of a written notice of the withdrawal by a | 380 |
| majority of the members of the petitioning committee with the same | 381 |
| public office with which the petition was filed prior to the | 382 |
| sixtieth day before the election at which the question or issue is | 383 |
| scheduled to appear on the ballot. | 384 |
| (L) If a board of elections distributes for use a petition | 391 |
| form for a declaration of candidacy, nominating petition, or any | 392 |
| type of question or issue petition that does not satisfy the | 393 |
| requirements of law as of the date of that distribution, the board | 394 |
| shall not invalidate the petition on the basis that the petition | 395 |
| form does not satisfy the requirements of law, if the petition | 396 |
| otherwise is valid. Division (L) of this section applies only if | 397 |
| the candidate received the petition from the board within ninety | 398 |
| days of when the petition is required to be filed. | 399 |
Sec. 3505.01. OnExcept as otherwise provided in section | 400 |
| 3519.08 of the Revised Code, on the sixtieth day before the day of | 401 |
| the
next general election, the secretary of state shall certify to | 402 |
|
the board of elections of each county the forms of the official | 403 |
|
ballots to be used at that general election, together with the | 404 |
|
names of the candidates to be printed on those ballots whose | 405 |
| candidacy is
to be submitted to the electors of the entire state. | 406 |
| In the case
of the presidential ballot for a general election , | 407 |
| that
certification shall be made on the fifty-fifth day before the | 408 |
| day of
the general election. On the seventy-fifth day before a | 409 |
| special
election to be held on the day specified by division (E) | 410 |
| of
section 3501.01 of the Revised Code for the holding of a | 411 |
| primary
election, designated by the general assembly for the | 412 |
| purpose of
submitting to the voters of the state constitutional | 413 |
| amendments
proposed by the general assembly, the secretary of | 414 |
| state shall
certify to the board of elections of each county the | 415 |
| forms of the
official ballots to be used at that election. | 416 |
| The board of the most populous county in each district | 417 |
|
comprised of more than one county but less than all of the | 418 |
|
counties of the state, in which there are candidates whose | 419 |
|
candidacies are to be submitted to the electors of that district, | 420 |
|
shall, on the sixtieth day before the day of the next general | 421 |
|
election, certify to the board of each county in the district
the | 422 |
| names of those candidates to be printed on such ballots. | 423 |
| The board of a county in which the major portion of a | 424 |
|
subdivision, located in more than one county, is located shall,
on | 425 |
| the sixtieth day before the day of the next general election, | 426 |
|
certify to the board of each county in which other portions of
| 427 |
| that subdivision are located the names of candidates whose | 428 |
|
candidacies are to be submitted to the electors of that | 429 |
|
subdivision, to be printed on such ballots. | 430 |
| If, subsequently to the sixtieth day before, or in the case | 431 |
| of a presidential ballot for a general election the fifty-fifth | 432 |
| day before, and prior to
the tenth day before the day of a general | 433 |
| election, a
certificate is filed with the secretary of state to | 434 |
| fill a
vacancy caused by the death of a candidate, the secretary | 435 |
| of
state shall forthwith make a supplemental certification to the | 436 |
|
board of each county amending and correcting the secretary of | 437 |
|
state's
original
certification provided for in the first paragraph | 438 |
| of this
section. If, within that time, such a certificate is filed | 439 |
| with
the board of the most populous county in a district comprised | 440 |
| of
more than one county but less than all of the counties of the | 441 |
|
state, or with the board of a county in which the major portion
of | 442 |
| the population of a subdivision, located in more than one
county, | 443 |
| is located, the board with which the certificate is
filed shall | 444 |
| forthwith make a supplemental certification to the
board of each | 445 |
| county in the district or to the board of each
county in which | 446 |
| other portions of the subdivision are located,
amending and | 447 |
| correcting its original certification provided for
in the second | 448 |
| and third paragraphs of this section. If, at the
time such | 449 |
| supplemental certification is received by a board,
ballots | 450 |
| carrying the name of the deceased candidate have been
printed, the | 451 |
| board shall cause strips of paper bearing the name
of the | 452 |
| candidate certified to fill the vacancy to be printed and
pasted | 453 |
| on those ballots so as to cover the name of the deceased | 454 |
|
candidate, except that in voting places using marking devices,
the | 455 |
| board shall cause strips of paper bearing the revised list of | 456 |
|
candidates for the office, after certification of a candidate to | 457 |
|
fill the vacancy, to be printed and pasted on the ballot cards
so | 458 |
| as to cover the names of candidates shown prior to the new | 459 |
|
certification, before such ballots are delivered to electors. | 460 |
| Sec. 3519.08. (A) Notwithstanding division (I)(2) of section | 461 |
| 3501.38 of the Revised Code, at any time prior to the sixtieth day | 462 |
| before the day of an election at which an initiative or referendum | 463 |
| is scheduled to appear on the ballot, a majority of the members of | 464 |
| the committee named to represent the petitioners in the petition | 465 |
| proposing that initiative or referendum under section 3519.02 of | 466 |
| the Revised Code may withdraw the petition by giving written | 467 |
| notice of the withdrawal to the secretary of state. | 468 |
| Section 3. (A) The amendments to sections 3501.05, 3501.38, | 489 |
| and 3505.01 and the enactment of section 3519.08 of the Revised | 490 |
| Code relating to the withdrawal of statewide initiative and | 491 |
| referendum petitions shall be considered to be purely remedial in | 492 |
| operation and shall be applied to any statewide initiative or | 493 |
| referendum petition for which the Secretary of State has not yet | 494 |
| certified a ballot form or wording to the boards of elections | 495 |
| regardless of when the statewide initiative or referendum petition | 496 |
| was filed with the Secretary of State and regardless of whether | 497 |
| the statewide initiative or referendum petition has been verified | 498 |
| by the Secretary of State. | 499 |
| (B) The amendments to sections 3501.05 and 3501.38 of the | 500 |
| Revised Code relating to the withdrawal of initiative and | 501 |
| referendum petitions filed for a municipal corporation, county, | 502 |
| township, other political subdivision, or other statutory body | 503 |
| exercising governmental authority shall be considered to be purely | 504 |
| remedial in operation and shall be applied to any initiative or | 505 |
| referendum petition for which the applicable board of elections | 506 |
| has not yet given approval to or submitted to the Secretary of | 507 |
| State ballot language and for which the Secretary of State has not | 508 |
| yet given final approval to ballot language, regardless of when | 509 |
| the initiative or referendum petition was filed and regardless of | 510 |
| whether the initiative or referendum petition has been verified. | 511 |