|
|
To amend section 3506.21; to amend, for the purpose | 1 |
of adopting a new section number as indicated in | 2 |
parentheses, section 3505.25 (3599.07); and to | 3 |
enact new section 3505.25 of the Revised Code to | 4 |
clarify that an optical scan ballot with more | 5 |
than the proper number of selections for a | 6 |
particular office, issue, or question is | 7 |
invalidated only for that office, issue, or | 8 |
question; to permit midday collection and | 9 |
delivery to the board of elections of optical | 10 |
scan ballots that will be counted at a central | 11 |
location for the March 4, 2008, primary election; | 12 |
to generally prohibit the central counting of | 13 |
optical scan ballots; to terminate the provisions | 14 |
of this act authorizing the midday collection and | 15 |
delivery of optical scan ballots on May 1, 2008, | 16 |
by repealing section 3505.25 of the Revised Code | 17 |
on that date; and to declare an emergency. | 18 |
Section 1. That section 3506.21 be amended, section 3505.25 | 19 |
(3599.07) be amended for the purpose of adopting a new section | 20 |
number as indicated in parentheses, and new section 3505.25 of | 21 |
the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows: | 22 |
Sec. 3505.25. (A) As used in this section: | 23 |
(1) "Designated agents" means a team of two persons who are | 24 |
members of different political parties, including law enforcement | 25 |
officers or employees or agents of a county board of elections | 26 |
who have taken an oath to uphold the laws and Constitution of | 27 |
Ohio, including an oath that they will directly, promptly, and | 28 |
securely collect the voted ballots from the polling places and | 29 |
deliver them to the board of elections. | 30 |
(2) "Midday" means the period beginning at noon and ending at | 31 |
three p.m. on the day of an election. | 32 |
(3) "Optical scan ballot" has the same meaning as in section | 33 |
3506.21 of the Revised Code. | 34 |
(B) Notwithstanding division (D) of section 3506.21 of the | 35 |
Revised Code or any other provision of the Revised Code to the | 36 |
contrary, a board of elections that voted, prior to February 1, | 37 |
2008, to tabulate the unofficial results of optical scan ballots | 38 |
voted in a precinct polling place at the March 4, 2008, primary | 39 |
election at a central location may do both of the following: | 40 |
(1) Tabulate the unofficial results of optical scan ballots | 41 |
voted on election day at a central location; | 42 |
(2) Arrange to have voted ballots collected and delivered | 43 |
to the office of the board of elections at any time during | 44 |
midday. Voted ballots that have been properly sealed in locked | 45 |
containers shall be collected and delivered to the board by | 46 |
members of the board or by their designated agents. | 47 |
(C) If a board of elections chooses to conduct a midday | 48 |
ballot collection under this section, the presiding judge of each | 49 |
precinct shall, by proclamation, announce that a midday collection | 50 |
of the ballots for delivery to the board of elections shall be | 51 |
conducted. | 52 |
Two judges of elections, who shall be members of different | 53 |
political parties, shall do all of the following in the presence | 54 |
of any observers before the designated agents who have been | 55 |
assigned by the board of elections to collect and deliver the | 56 |
voted ballots collect those ballots from the polling location for | 57 |
midday delivery to the board of elections: | 58 |
(1) Count the number of electors who have voted, as shown in | 59 |
the pollbook or poll list; | 60 |
(2) Insert the number determined under division (C)(1) of | 61 |
this section on the report forms in the pollbook or poll list; | 62 |
(3) Count the number of voted ballots. If the number of voted | 63 |
ballots exceeds the number determined under division (C)(1) of | 64 |
this section, the presiding judge shall enter in the pollbook or | 65 |
poll list an explanation of that discrepancy. If the remaining | 66 |
judges agree with the explanation, they shall subscribe their | 67 |
signatures in the pollbook or poll list along with the | 68 |
explanation. Any judge with a different explanation shall enter | 69 |
that explanation in the pollbook or poll list and subscribe the | 70 |
judge's signature with that explanation. | 71 |
(4) Separately retain spoiled ballots for reconciliation | 72 |
following the close of the polls. | 73 |
Once the judges have determined the number of electors who | 74 |
have voted under division (C)(1) of this section and the number of | 75 |
ballots that have been voted under division (C)(3) of this | 76 |
section, the judges shall certify that information to the board of | 77 |
elections as of the time the presiding judge has proclaimed for | 78 |
the midday collection and delivery of ballots. The certification | 79 |
shall be made by a summary statement prepared by the judges in | 80 |
duplicate, on forms provided by the board of elections and | 81 |
prescribed by the secretary of state. | 82 |
(D) From the time the voted ballots are removed from the | 83 |
ballot box for the purpose of determining the number of voted | 84 |
ballots under division (C)(3) of this section until the number of | 85 |
those ballots is determined and the certification required under | 86 |
division (C) of this section has been completed, signed, and | 87 |
tendered to the designated agents along with the voted ballots for | 88 |
midday collection, no judge in the precinct shall separate or | 89 |
leave the polling place, except from unavoidable necessity. An | 90 |
"unavoidable necessity," under this division includes illness, | 91 |
death of a family member, or other incapacitation that would | 92 |
prevent the judge from observing or assisting in the midday ballot | 93 |
reconciliation and collection of the voted ballots. At no time | 94 |
shall more than one half of the judges of elections conducting a | 95 |
midday ballot reconciliation under division (C) of this section be | 96 |
members of the same political party. | 97 |
(E) After the judges have completed the midday reconciliation | 98 |
of the voted ballots and signed the certification required under | 99 |
division (C) of this section, the judges shall, in the presence of | 100 |
the designated agents, place all voted ballots to be collected by | 101 |
the designated agents and delivered to the board of elections in a | 102 |
sealed container that cannot be opened without breaking the seal. | 103 |
The container and its seal shall each bear a number that | 104 |
corresponds to a recorded key or list of such numbers that the | 105 |
board of elections maintains. The number on the container and its | 106 |
seal shall be verified and recorded on the key or list when the | 107 |
voted ballots are delivered midday to the board of elections. | 108 |
Before leaving the polling location, the designated agents | 109 |
shall sign a receipt, which shall be maintained by the judges of | 110 |
that precinct, acknowledging that the designated agents have | 111 |
received the voted ballots, forms, certifications, and any other | 112 |
materials prescribed the secretary of state for midday delivery to | 113 |
the board of elections. A plain indication that the items are to | 114 |
be delivered midday to the board of elections shall appear in a | 115 |
prominent location on the outside of the items. | 116 |
The designated agents shall deliver the voted ballots, forms, | 117 |
certifications, and any other materials prescribed by the | 118 |
secretary of state for midday delivery to the director and deputy | 119 |
director of the board of elections, who shall record their | 120 |
delivery as provided in this division and in the manner prescribed | 121 |
by the secretary of state. | 122 |
(F) The secretary of state, by directive, shall provide | 123 |
requirements for all of the following regarding the midday | 124 |
collection and delivery of voted ballots to a board of elections | 125 |
under this section: | 126 |
(1) Persons to serve as designated agents; | 127 |
(2) The manner of handling ballots during collection and | 128 |
delivery; | 129 |
(3) Maintenance of ballot boxes for each precinct; | 130 |
(4) Secure delivery of the voted ballots to the board of | 131 |
elections; | 132 |
(5) Ballot reconciliations with the pollbook or poll lists | 133 |
that are transported to and from a polling location. | 134 |
Sec. 3506.21. (A) As used in this section, "optical scan | 135 |
ballot" means a ballot that is marked by using a specified writing | 136 |
instrument to fill in a designated position to record a voter's | 137 |
candidate, question, or issue choice and that can be scanned and | 138 |
electronically read in order to tabulate the vote. | 139 |
(B)(1) In addition to marks that can be scanned and | 140 |
electronically read by automatic tabulating equipment, any of the | 141 |
following marks, if a majority of those marks are made in a | 142 |
consistent manner throughout an optical scan ballot, shall be | 143 |
counted as a valid vote: | 144 |
(a) A candidate, question, or issue choice that has been | 145 |
circled by the voter; | 146 |
(b) An oval beside the candidate, question, or issue choice | 147 |
that has been circled by the voter; | 148 |
(c) An oval beside the candidate, question, or issue choice | 149 |
that has been marked by the voter with an "x," a check mark, or | 150 |
other recognizable mark; | 151 |
(d) A candidate, question, or issue choice that has been | 152 |
marked with a writing instrument that cannot be recognized by | 153 |
automatic tabulating equipment. | 154 |
(2) Marks made on an optical scan ballot in accordance with | 155 |
division (B)(1) of this section shall be counted as valid votes | 156 |
only if that optical scan ballot contains no marks that can be | 157 |
scanned and electronically read by automatic tabulating equipment. | 158 |
(3) If automatic tabulating equipment detects that more marks | 159 |
were made on an optical scan ballot for a particular office, | 160 |
question, or issue than the number of selections that a voter may | 161 |
properly make for that office, question, or issue, the voter's | 162 |
ballot shall be invalidated for that office, question, or issue. | 163 |
The ballot shall not be invalidated for any other office, | 164 |
question, or issue for which the automatic tabulating equipment | 165 |
detects a vote to have been properly cast. | 166 |
(C) The secretary of state may adopt rules under Chapter 119. | 167 |
of the Revised Code to authorize additional types of optical scan | 168 |
ballots and to specify the types of marks on those ballots that | 169 |
shall be counted as a valid vote to ensure consistency in the | 170 |
counting of ballots throughout the state. | 171 |
(D)(1) A board of elections of a county that uses optical | 172 |
scan ballots and automatic tabulating equipment as the primary | 173 |
voting system for the county shall not tabulate the unofficial | 174 |
results of optical scan ballots voted on election day at a central | 175 |
location. | 176 |
(2) A board of elections that provides for the tabulation of | 177 |
the unofficial results of optical scan ballots for a precinct in a | 178 |
precinct polling place, and then, at a central location, combines | 179 |
those precinct ballot totals with the ballot totals from other | 180 |
precincts shall not be considered to be tabulating the unofficial | 181 |
results of optical scan ballots at a central location for the | 182 |
purpose of division (D)(1) of this section. | 183 |
| 184 |
police officer admitted into the polling rooms at the election, at | 185 |
any time while the polls are open, shall have in the individual's | 186 |
possession, distribute, or give out any ballot or ticket to any | 187 |
person on any pretense during the receiving, counting, or | 188 |
certifying of the votes, or have any ballot or ticket in the | 189 |
individual's possession or control, except in the proper discharge | 190 |
of the individual's official duty in receiving, counting, or | 191 |
canvassing the votes. This section does not prevent the lawful | 192 |
exercise by a judge of elections or observer of the individual | 193 |
right to vote at such election. | 194 |
Section 2. That existing sections 3505.25 and 3506.21 of the | 195 |
Revised Code are hereby repealed. | 196 |
Section 3. Section 3505.25 of the Revised Code is hereby | 197 |
repealed, effective May 1, 2008. | 198 |
Section 4. This act is hereby declared to be an emergency | 199 |
measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public | 200 |
peace, health, and safety. The reason for such necessity is to | 201 |
ensure an orderly and timely election process for the March 4, | 202 |
2008, primary. Therefore, this act shall go into immediate | 203 |
effect. | 204 |