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Sub. H. B. No. 350 As Reported by the Senate State and Local Government and Veterans Affairs CommitteeAs Reported by the Senate State and Local Government and Veterans Affairs Committee
127th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2007-2008 |
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Cosponsors:
Representatives Batchelder, Huffman, Evans, Peterson, Fende, Flowers, Williams, S., Webster, Bubp, Combs, Brown, Adams, Bacon, Barrett, Beatty, Bolon, Book, Boyd, Brady, Celeste, Chandler, Daniels, DeBose, DeGeeter, Dolan, Domenick, Driehaus, Dyer, Foley, Garrison, Gerberry, Gibbs, Goodwin, Goyal, Hagan, J., Hagan, R., Harwood, Heard, Hite, Hughes, Jones, Letson, Luckie, Lundy, Mallory, McGregor, J., McGregor, R., Newcomb, Okey, Otterman, J., Patton, Reinhard, Sayre, Schindel, Schlichter, Schneider, Sears, Setzer, Stewart, D., Stewart, J., Strahorn, Sykes, Szollosi, Uecker, Ujvagi, Wachtmann, White, Williams, B., Yates, Yuko, Zehringer
Senators Cates, Grendell, Schuler, Fedor, Roberts, Wagoner
A BILL
To amend sections 3501.05, 3501.22, 3503.01, 3505.31,
3506.05, 3509.05, 3511.06, and 3511.11 and to
enact section 3501.053 of the Revised
Code to
revise the Election Law.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 3501.05, 3501.22, 3503.01, 3505.31,
3506.05, 3509.05, 3511.06, and 3511.11 be amended and section
3501.053 of the Revised
Code be
enacted to read as follows:
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 in
accordance with section 3501.053 of the Revised Code 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
maintain 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) Except as otherwise provided in section 3519.08 of the
Revised Code, 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) Except as otherwise provided in division (I)(2)(b) of
section 3501.38 of the Revised Code, 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) Adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code
for the removal by boards of elections of ineligible voters
from
the statewide voter registration
database and, if
applicable,
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 a
voter who is ineligible to vote from the statewide
voter
registration database and, if applicable, 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, by boards of elections, designated
agencies,
offices of deputy
registrars of motor
vehicles, public high
schools and vocational
schools, public
libraries, and offices
of
county treasurers consistent with the
requirements of section
3503.09 of the Revised Code;
(S) Prescribe
a program of distribution of voter
registration
forms through
boards of elections, designated
agencies, offices of the
registrar
and
deputy registrars of
motor
vehicles, public high schools and
vocational schools, public
libraries, and offices of county
treasurers;
(T) To the extent feasible, provide copies, at no cost and
upon
request, of
the voter registration form in post offices in
this state;
(U) Adopt rules pursuant to section 111.15 of the Revised
Code for the
purpose of implementing the program for registering
voters through boards of elections, designated
agencies, and
the
offices of the registrar and
deputy registrars of motor
vehicles
consistent with this chapter;
(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) Establish and maintain 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;
(X) 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.
(Y) 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.
(Z) Conduct voter education outlining voter
identification,
absent voters ballot, provisional ballot, and
other voting
requirements;
(AA) Establish a procedure by which a registered elector
may
make available to a board of elections a
more
recent signature
to be used in the poll list or signature
pollbook
produced by
the board of elections of the county in
which the
elector
resides;
(BB) Disseminate information, which may include all or
part
of the official explanations and arguments, by means of
direct
mail or other written publication, broadcast, or other
means or
combination of means, as directed by the Ohio ballot
board under
division (F) of section 3505.062 of the Revised Code,
in order to
inform the voters as fully as possible concerning
each proposed
constitutional amendment, proposed law, or
referendum;
(CC) 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. 3501.053. (A) The secretary of state may issue
instructions as to the proper method of conducting elections to
members of the boards of elections by permanent
or temporary
directives.
(1) The secretary of state shall establish a process to allow
public review and public comment of proposed directives. Prior to
issuing any permanent directive, the secretary of state shall
provide reasonable notice of the issuance of the directive and
allow a reasonable amount of time for public review and public
comment of the proposed directive
under this division.
No permanent directive shall be issued during the period
beginning ninety days prior to the day of an election and ending
on the fortieth day following the day of that election.
(2) Temporary directives shall only be issued, and shall only
have effect, during the period beginning ninety days prior to the
day of an election and ending on the fortieth day following the
day of that election. Temporary directives shall not be subject to
public review and public comment under division (A)(1) of this
section.
A temporary directive shall not become a permanent directive
unless the temporary directive is proposed as a permanent
directive and subject to public review and public comment under
division (A)(1) of this section.
If the situation prompting the establishment of a temporary
directive appears likely to recur, the secretary of state shall
establish a permanent directive addressing the situation.
(B) In addition to any other publication of directives and
advisories issued by the secretary of state, 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 maintain an archive of all directives and advisories
previously published on that web site.
Sec. 3501.22. (A) On or before the fifteenth day of
September
in each year, the board of elections by a majority vote
shall,
after careful examination and investigation as to their
qualifications, appoint for each election precinct four residents
of the county in which the precinct is
located, as judges. Except
as otherwise provided in division (C) of this section, all
judges
of election shall be qualified electors. The judges shall
constitute the election
officers of the precinct. Not more than
one-half of the
total number of judges
shall be members of the
same political party. The term of such
precinct officers shall be
for one year. The board may, at any
time, designate any number of
election officers, not more than one-half of
whom shall be members
of the same political
party, to perform their duties at
any
precinct in any election. The board may appoint additional
officials, equally divided between the two major political
parties, when necessary to expedite voting.
Vacancies for unexpired terms shall be filled by the board.
When new precincts have been created, the board shall appoint
judges for those precincts for the unexpired term. Any judge may
be summarily removed from office at any time by the board for
neglect of duty, malfeasance, or misconduct in office or for any
other good and sufficient reason.
Precinct election officials shall perform all of the duties
provided by law
for receiving the ballots and supplies, opening
and closing the polls, and
overseeing the casting of ballots
during the time the polls are open, and any
other duties required
by section 3501.26 of the Revised Code.
A board of elections may designate two precinct election
officials as
counting officials to count and tally the votes cast
and certify the results
of the election at each precinct, and
perform other duties as
provided by law. To expedite the counting
of votes at each precinct, the
board may appoint additional
officials,
not more than one-half of whom shall be members of the
same
political party.
The board shall designate one of the precinct election
officials who is a
member of the dominant political party to serve
as a presiding judge, whose duty it is to deliver the returns of
the election
and all supplies to the office of the board. For
these services, the presiding
judge shall receive additional
compensation in an amount, consistent with
section 3501.28 of the
Revised Code, determined by the board of elections.
The board shall issue to each precinct election official a
certificate of
appointment, which the official shall present to
the presiding judge at the
time the polls are opened.
(B) If the board of elections determines that not enough
qualified electors in a precinct are available to serve as
precinct officers,
it may appoint persons to serve as precinct
officers at a primary, special, or
general election who are at
least seventeen years of age and are registered to
vote in
accordance with section 3503.07 of the Revised Code.
(C)(1) A board of elections, in conjunction with the board
of education of a city, local, or exempted village school
district, the governing authority of a community school
established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code, or the chief
administrator of a nonpublic school may establish a program
permitting certain high school students to apply and, if appointed
by the board of elections, to serve as precinct officers at a
primary, special, or general election.
In addition to the requirements established by division
(C)(2) of this section, a board of education, governing
authority, or chief administrator that establishes a program under
this division in conjunction with a board of elections may
establish additional criteria that students shall meet to be
eligible to participate in that program.
(2)(a) To be eligible to participate in a program established
under division (C)(1) of this section, a student shall be a
United States citizen, a resident of the county, at least
seventeen years of age, and enrolled in the senior year of high
school.
(b) Any student applying to participate in a program
established under division (C)(1) of this section, as part of
the
student's application process, shall declare the student's
political party affiliation with the board of elections.
(3) No student appointed as a precinct officer pursuant to a
program established under division (C)(1) of this section shall
be designated as a presiding judge.
(4) Any student participating in a program established under
division (C)(1) of this section shall be excused for that
student's absence from school on the day of an election at which
the student is serving as a precinct officer.
(D) In any precinct with six or more precinct officers,
up
to two students participating in a program
established under
division (C)(1) of this section who are under
eighteen years of
age may serve as precinct officers. Not more
than one precinct
officer in any given precinct with fewer than
six precinct
officers shall be under eighteen years of age.
Sec. 3503.01. (A) Every citizen of the United States who is
of
the age of eighteen years or over and who has been a resident
of
the state thirty days immediately preceding the election at
which the citizen offers to vote, is a resident of the county
and
precinct in which
the citizen offers to vote, and has been
registered to vote
for thirty
days, has the qualifications of an
elector and may vote at all
elections in the precinct in which the
citizen resides.
(B) When only a portion of a precinct is included within the
boundaries of a school an election district, the board of
elections may
assign the electors residing in such portion of a
precinct to the
nearest precinct or portion of a precinct within
the boundaries
of such school election district for the purpose of
voting at any special
school election held in such school
district. In any election in
which only a part of the electors in
a precinct is qualified to
vote, the board may assign voters in
such part to an adjoining
precinct. Such 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 if the
number of voters assigned to vote in a precinct in another county
is two hundred or less.
The board shall notify all such electors so assigned, at
least ten days prior to the holding of any such election, of the
location of the polling place where they are entitled to vote at
such election.
As used in division (B) of this section, "election district"
means a school district, municipal corporation, township, or other
political subdivision that includes territory in more than one
precinct or any other district or authority that includes
territory in more than one precinct and that is authorized by law
to place an issue on the ballot at a special election.
Sec. 3505.31. When the results of the voting in a polling
place on the day of an election have been determined and entered
upon the proper forms and the certifications
of those
results
have
been
signed by the precinct officials,
those
officials,
before
leaving
the polling place, shall place all
ballots
that
they have
counted in containers provided for
that purpose by the
board of
elections, and shall seal each
container in
a manner
that
it
cannot be opened without
breaking the seal or the material
of
which the container is made.
They shall also seal the
pollbook,
poll list or signature
pollbook, and tally
sheet in
a manner that
the data contained
in
these items cannot
be seen without breaking
the seals. On the
outside of these items shall
be a plain
indication that they are
to be filed with
the board. The
presiding
judge and an
employee or appointee of the board of elections who
has
taken an oath
to uphold the laws and constitution of this
state,
including an
oath that the person will promptly and
securely
perform the duties
required under this section and who
is a
member of a different
political party than the presiding
judge,
shall
then deliver to
the board
the containers
of
ballots
and the
sealed pollbook, poll
list, and tally
sheet,
together
with
all
other election reports,
materials, and
supplies
required to be
delivered to
the board.
The board shall carefully preserve all ballots prepared and
provided by it for use in an election, whether used or unused,
for
sixty days after the day of
the election, except that, if an
election includes the nomination or election of candidates for any
of the offices of president, vice-president, presidential elector,
member of the senate of the congress of the United States, or
member of the house of representatives of the congress of the
United States, the board shall carefully preserve all ballots
prepared and provided by it for use in that election, whether used
or unused, for twenty-two months after the day of the election.
If
an election is held within
that sixty-day period, the board
shall
have authority to transfer
those ballots to other
containers to
preserve
them until the sixty-day period
has
expired.
After that
sixty-day period, the
ballots shall be
disposed of by
the board
in
a manner
that the board orders, or
where voting
machines have been
used the counters may be turned
back to zero;
provided that the
secretary of state, within
that
sixty-day period,
may order
the
board to
preserve
the ballots
or
any part
of the ballots for a
longer period of time, in which
event
the board
shall
preserve
those ballots for
that longer
period of time.
In counties where voting machines are used, if an election
is
to be held within the sixty days immediately following a
primary,
general, or special election or within any period of
time within
which the ballots have been ordered preserved by the
secretary of
state or a court of competent jurisdiction, the
board, after
giving notice to all interested parties and
affording them an
opportunity to have a representative present,
shall open the
compartments of the machines and, without
unlocking the
machines,
shall recanvass the vote cast
in them as
if a
recount were being
held. The results shall be certified by
the
board, and this
certification shall be filed in the board's
office
and retained
for the remainder of the period for which
ballots
must be kept.
After preparation of the certificate, the
counters
may be turned
back to zero, and the machines may be used
for the
election.
The board shall carefully preserve the pollbook,
poll list or
signature pollbook, and tally
sheet delivered to
it from each
polling place until it has completed the
official canvass of the
election returns from all precincts in
which electors were
entitled to vote at
an election, and has
prepared and
certified
the abstracts
of election returns, as required
by law.
The board
shall not break, or permit anyone
to break, the
seals upon the
pollbook, poll
list or
signature pollbook, and
tally sheet,
or
make, or permit any
one to make, any changes or
notations
in
these
items, while
they
are in
its custody, except as provided by
section 3505.32 of the
Revised
Code.
Pollbooks and poll lists or signature pollbooks of a party
primary election delivered to the board from polling places shall
be carefully preserved by it for two years after the day of
election in which they were used, and shall
then be
disposed
of
by
the board
in
a manner
that the board
orders.
Pollbooks, poll lists or signature pollbooks, tally sheets,
summary statements, and other records and returns of an election
delivered to it from polling places shall be carefully preserved
by the board for two years after the day of the election in which
they were used, and shall
then be disposed of by
the board
in
a
manner
that the board
orders.
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 four
members, who shall be appointed as follows:
(1) Two members appointed by the secretary of state.
(2) One member appointed by either the speaker of the house
of representatives or the minority leader of the house of
representatives, whichever is a member of the opposite political
party from the one to which the secretary of state belongs.
(3) One member appointed by either the president of the
senate or the minority leader of the senate, whichever is a member
of the opposite political party from the one to which the
secretary of state belongs.
Members of the board shall serve during the secretary of
state's term. Any vacancy on the board
shall be filled in the
same
manner as the original appointment.
The secretary of state
shall
provide staffing assistance to the
board, at the board's
request.
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.
(4)(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (H)(4)(c) of
this section, any voting machine, marking device, or automatic
tabulating equipment initially certified or acquired on or after
December 1, 2008, shall be required to meet, at
a minimum, the
most current voting system standards adopted by the
election
assistance commission.
(b) Any voting machine, marking device, or automatic
tabulating equipment certified for use in this state on the
effective date of this amendment shall meet, as a condition of
continued certification
and use, the voting system standards
adopted by the federal
election commission in 2002.
(c) A county that acquires additional voting machines,
marking devices, or automatic tabulating equipment on or after
December 1, 2008, shall not be considered to have
acquired those
machines, devices, or equipment on or after December
1, 2008, for
the purpose of division
(H)(4)(a) of this
section if all of the
following apply:
(i) The voting machines, marking devices, or automatic
tabulating equipment acquired are the same as the machines,
devices, or equipment currently used in that county.
(ii) The acquisition of the voting machines, marking devices,
or automatic tabulating equipment does not replace or change the
primary voting system used in that county.
(iii) The acquisition of the voting machines, marking
devices, or automatic tabulating equipment is for the purpose of
replacing inoperable machines, devices, or equipment or for the
purpose providing additional machines, devices, or equipment
required to meet the allocation requirements established pursuant
to division (I) of section 3501.11 of the Revised Code.
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)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(B)(2) 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)(2) 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.
(C)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(2) of
this section, any return envelope that is postmarked within the
United
States prior to the day of the election shall be delivered
to the
director prior to the eleventh day after the election.
Ballots
delivered in envelopes postmarked prior to the day of the
election 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 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.
(2) Division (C)(1) of this section shall not apply to any
mail that is postmarked using a postage evidencing system,
including a postage meter, as defined in 39 C.F.R. 501.1.
Sec. 3511.06. The identification envelope provided for in
section 3511.05 of the Revised Code shall be a No. 10, 24-lb.
white official envelope, four and one-eighth inches by nine and
one-half inches in size. The return envelope provided for in
such
section 3511.05 of the Revised Code shall be a No. 11, 24-lb.
white official envelope,
four and one-half inches by ten and
three-eighths inches in size of such size that the identification
envelope can be conveniently placed within it for returning the
identification envelope to the director.
The envelope in which the
two envelopes and the armed service
absent voter's ballots are
mailed to the elector shall be a No.
12, 24-lb. white official
envelope, four and three-quarter inches
by eleven inches in size,
and it shall have two parallel lines,
each one quarter of an inch
in width, printed across its face,
paralleling the top, with an
intervening space of one-quarter of
an inch between such lines.
The top line shall be one and
one-quarter inches from the top of
the envelope. Between the
parallel lines shall be printed:
"official armed service absent
voter's balloting material--via air
mail." The appropriate
return address of the director of the board
of elections shall be
printed in the upper left corner on the face
of such envelope.
Several blank lines shall be printed on the face
of such envelope
in the lower right portion, below the bottom
parallel line, for
writing in the name and address of the elector
to whom such
envelope is mailed. All printing on such envelope
shall be in
red ink.
Sec. 3511.11.
(A) Upon receipt of any
return envelope
bearing the
designation "Official Election Armed Service Absent
Voter's
Ballot" prior to the twenty-first day after the day of a
presidential primary election or prior to the eleventh day after
the day of any other election, the director of the board of
elections shall open it but shall not open the identification
envelope
contained
in it. If, upon so opening
the return
envelope,
the director finds ballots
in
it that are not
enclosed
in
and
properly sealed in the
identification envelope,
the
director shall
not
look at the markings upon
the ballots and
shall promptly
place
them
in the identification envelope and
promptly seal
it. If, upon
so opening
the return envelope, the
director finds
that
ballots
are
enclosed in the
identification
envelope but that
it is not
properly sealed,
the director shall
not look at the
markings upon
the ballots and
shall promptly seal
the identification envelope.
(B) Armed service absent voter's ballots delivered to the
director not later than the close of the polls on election day
shall be counted in the manner provided in section 3509.06 of the
Revised Code.
(C) A return envelope that indicates that the voter will be
outside of the United States on the day of an election is not
required to be postmarked in order for an armed service absent
voter's ballot contained in it to be valid. Except as otherwise
provided in this division, whether or not the return envelope
containing the ballot is postmarked or contains an illegible
postmark, an armed service absent voter's
ballot that
is
received
after the close of the polls on election day through
the
tenth day
after the election day or, if the
election was a
presidential
primary election, through the
twentieth day
after
the election
day, and that
is
delivered in a return envelope that
indicates
that the voter
will
be outside the United States on the
day of the
election
shall be
counted on the eleventh day
after the
election
day or, if the
election was a
presidential primary
election, on
the twenty-first
day
after the election day, at the
office of the
board of
elections in the manner provided in
divisions (C) and (D)
of
section 3509.06 of the Revised Code.
However, if a
return
envelope containing an armed service absent
voter's ballot
is so
received and so indicates, but it is
postmarked, or
the
identification envelope in it is signed, after
the close of the
polls
on election day,
the armed service absent
voter's
ballot
shall not be counted.
(D) Armed (1) Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(2)
of this section, any return envelope containing an armed service
absent voter's ballot that is postmarked within the United States
prior to the day of the election shall be delivered to the
director prior to the eleventh day after the election. Armed
service absent voter's ballots delivered in envelopes postmarked
prior to the day of the election 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 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.
(2) Division (D)(1) of this section shall not apply to any
mail that is postmarked using a postage evidencing system,
including a postage meter, as defined in 39 C.F.R. 501.1.
(E) The following types of armed service absent voter's
ballots shall not be counted:
(1) Armed service absent voter's ballots
contained in return
envelopes that bear the designation "Official
Election Armed
Service Absent Voter's Ballots," that are received
by the director
after the close of the polls on the day of the
election, and that
do not indicate they are from voters who will
be outside the
United States on the day of the election,
armed service absent
voter's ballots contained in return
envelopes that
bear that
designation, that
indicate that the voter
will be outside the
United States on the
day of the election, and that
either
are
postmarked, or
contain an identification envelope that is signed,
on or
after the close
of the polls on the day
of election, and
armed day;
(2) Armed
service absent
voter's ballots contained in return
envelopes that
bear that
designation, that so do not indicate they
are from voters who will be outside the United States on the day
of the election, and that are received
after the
tenth day
following
the election or, if the election was
a
presidential
primary
election, after the twentieth day following
the election,
shall
not be
counted, but;
(3) Armed service absent voter's ballots contained in return
envelopes that bear that designation, that are received by the
director within ten days after the day of the election, and that
were postmarked before the day of the election using a postage
evidencing system, including a postage meter, as defined in 39
C.F.R. 501.1.
The uncounted ballots shall be
preserved in
their
identification
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.
Section 2. That existing sections 3501.05, 3501.22, 3503.01,
3505.31, 3506.05, 3509.05, 3511.06, and 3511.11 of the
Revised
Code
are hereby repealed.
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