Cosponsors:
Senators Schaffer, Seitz, Jordan, Eklund, Coley, Widener, Burke, Lehner
Representatives Adams, J., Beck, Becker, Blessing, Boose, Brenner, Buchy, Damschroder, Green, Hayes, Henne, Hood, Huffman, Maag, McClain, Retherford, Roegner, Scherer, Sears, Terhar, Thompson, Wachtmann, Young Speaker Batchelder
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 |
(C) Absent voter's ballots provided for use at a general or | 47 |
primary election, or special election to be held on the day | 48 |
specified by division (E) of section 3501.01 of the Revised Code | 49 |
for the holding of a primary election, designated by the general | 50 |
assembly for the purpose of submitting constitutional amendments | 51 |
proposed by the general assembly to the voters of the state, shall | 52 |
include only those questions, issues, and candidacies that have | 53 |
been lawfully ordered submitted to the electors voting at that | 54 |
election. | 55 |
(D) If the laws governing the holding of a special election | 56 |
on a day other than the day on which a primary or general election | 57 |
is held make it impossible for absent voter's ballots to be | 58 |
printed and ready for use by the deadlines established in division | 59 |
(B) of this section, absent voter's ballots for those special | 60 |
elections shall be ready for use as many days before the day of | 61 |
the election as reasonably possible under the laws governing the | 62 |
holding of that special election. | 63 |
Sec. 3511.10. If, after the thirty-fifthfirst day after the | 69 |
close of voter registration before a general or primary election | 70 |
and before the close of the polls on the day of a general or | 71 |
primarythat election, a valid application for uniformed services | 72 |
or overseas absent voter's ballots is delivered to the director of | 73 |
the board of elections at the office of the board by a person | 74 |
making the application on the person's own behalf, the director | 75 |
shall forthwith deliver to the person all uniformed services or | 76 |
overseas absent voter's ballots then ready for use, together with | 77 |
an identification envelope. The person shall then immediately | 78 |
retire to a voting booth in the office of the board, and mark the | 79 |
ballots. The person shall then fold each ballot separately so as | 80 |
to conceal the person's markings thereon, and deposit all of the | 81 |
ballots in the identification envelope and securely seal it. | 82 |
Thereupon the person shall fill in answers to the questions on the | 83 |
face of the identification envelope, and by writing the person's | 84 |
usual signature in the proper place thereon, the person shall | 85 |
declare under penalty of election falsification that the answers | 86 |
to those questions are true and correct to the best of that | 87 |
person's knowledge and belief. The person shall then deliver the | 88 |
identification envelope to the director. If thereafter, and before | 89 |
the third day preceding such election, the board provides | 90 |
additional separate official issue or special election ballots, as | 91 |
provided for in section 3511.04 of the Revised Code, the director | 92 |
shall promptly, and not later than twelve noon of the third day | 93 |
preceding the day of election, mail such additional ballots to | 94 |
such person at the address specified by that person for that | 95 |
purpose. | 96 |
In the event any person serving in the armed forces of the | 97 |
United States is discharged after the closing date of | 98 |
registration, and that person or that person's spouse, or both, | 99 |
meets all the other qualifications set forth in section 3511.011 | 100 |
of the Revised Code, the person or spouse shall be permitted to | 101 |
vote prior to the date of the election in the office of the board | 102 |
in the person's or spouse's county, as set forth in this section. | 103 |