As Introduced

130th General Assembly
Regular Session
2013-2014
S. B. No. 238


Senator LaRose 

Cosponsors: Senators Schaffer, Seitz, Jordan, Eklund, Coley, Widener 

A BILL
To amend sections 3509.01 and 3511.10 of the Revised 1
Code to reduce the days for absent voting.2


BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       Section 1.  That sections 3509.01 and 3511.10 of the Revised 3
Code be amended to read as follows:4

       Sec. 3509.01. (A) The board of elections of each county shall 5
provide absent voter's ballots for use at every primary and 6
general election, or special election to be held on the day 7
specified by division (E) of section 3501.01 of the Revised Code 8
for the holding of a primary election, designated by the general 9
assembly for the purpose of submitting constitutional amendments 10
proposed by the general assembly to the voters of the state. Those 11
ballots shall be the same size, shall be printed on the same kind 12
of paper, and shall be in the same form as has been approved for 13
use at the election for which those ballots are to be voted; 14
except that, in counties using marking devices, ballot cards may 15
be used for absent voter's ballots, and those absent voters shall 16
be instructed to record the vote in the manner provided on the 17
ballot cards. In counties where punch card ballots are used, those 18
absent voters shall be instructed to examine their marked ballot 19
cards and to remove any chads that remain partially attached to 20
them before returning them to election officials.21

       (B) The rotation of names of candidates and questions and 22
issues shall be substantially complied with on absent voter's 23
ballots, within the limitation of time allotted. Those ballots 24
shall be designated as "Absent Voter's Ballots." Except as 25
otherwise provided in division (D) of this section, those ballots 26
shall be printed and ready for use as follows:27

        (1) For overseas voters and absent uniformed services voters 28
eligible to vote under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 29
Absentee Voting Act, Pub. L. No. 99-410, 100 Stat. 924, 42 U.S.C. 30
1973ff, et seq., as amended, ballots shall be printed and ready 31
for use other than in person on the forty-fifth day before the day 32
of the election.33

        (2) For all other voters, other than overseas voters and 34
absent uniformed services voters, who are applying to vote absent 35
voter's ballots other than in person, ballots shall be printed and 36
ready for use on the thirty-fifthtwenty-ninth day before the day 37
of the election.38

       (3) For all voters who are applying to vote absent voter's 39
ballots in person, ballots shall be printed and ready for use 40
beginning on the twenty-ninth day before the day of the election.41

       If, at the time for the close of in-person absent voting on a 42
particular day, there are voters waiting in line to cast their 43
ballots, the in-person absent voting location shall be kept open 44
until such waiting voters have cast their absent voter's ballots.45

       (C) Absent voter's ballots provided for use at a general or 46
primary election, or special election to be held on the day 47
specified by division (E) of section 3501.01 of the Revised Code 48
for the holding of a primary election, designated by the general 49
assembly for the purpose of submitting constitutional amendments 50
proposed by the general assembly to the voters of the state, shall 51
include only those questions, issues, and candidacies that have 52
been lawfully ordered submitted to the electors voting at that 53
election.54

        (D) If the laws governing the holding of a special election 55
on a day other than the day on which a primary or general election 56
is held make it impossible for absent voter's ballots to be 57
printed and ready for use by the deadlines established in division 58
(B) of this section, absent voter's ballots for those special 59
elections shall be ready for use as many days before the day of 60
the election as reasonably possible under the laws governing the 61
holding of that special election.62

       (E) A copy of the absent voter's ballots shall be forwarded 63
by the director of the board in each county to the secretary of 64
state at least twenty-five days before the election.65

       (F) As used in this section, "chad" and "punch card ballot" 66
have the same meanings as in section 3506.16 of the Revised Code.67

       Sec. 3511.10.  If, after the thirty-fifthtwenty-ninth day 68
and before the close of the polls on the day of a general or 69
primary election, a valid application for uniformed services or 70
overseas absent voter's ballots is delivered to the director of 71
the board of elections at the office of the board by a person 72
making the application on the person's own behalf, the director 73
shall forthwith deliver to the person all uniformed services or 74
overseas absent voter's ballots then ready for use, together with 75
an identification envelope. The person shall then immediately 76
retire to a voting booth in the office of the board, and mark the 77
ballots. The person shall then fold each ballot separately so as 78
to conceal the person's markings thereon, and deposit all of the 79
ballots in the identification envelope and securely seal it. 80
Thereupon the person shall fill in answers to the questions on the 81
face of the identification envelope, and by writing the person's 82
usual signature in the proper place thereon, the person shall 83
declare under penalty of election falsification that the answers 84
to those questions are true and correct to the best of that 85
person's knowledge and belief. The person shall then deliver the 86
identification envelope to the director. If thereafter, and before 87
the third day preceding such election, the board provides 88
additional separate official issue or special election ballots, as 89
provided for in section 3511.04 of the Revised Code, the director 90
shall promptly, and not later than twelve noon of the third day 91
preceding the day of election, mail such additional ballots to 92
such person at the address specified by that person for that 93
purpose.94

       In the event any person serving in the armed forces of the 95
United States is discharged after the closing date of 96
registration, and that person or that person's spouse, or both, 97
meets all the other qualifications set forth in section 3511.011 98
of the Revised Code, the person or spouse shall be permitted to 99
vote prior to the date of the election in the office of the board 100
in the person's or spouse's county, as set forth in this section.101

       Section 2.  That existing sections 3509.01 and 3511.10 of the 102
Revised Code are hereby repealed.103