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Am. S. B. No. 286 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:
Senators Fedor, Roberts
A BILL
To amend section 3506.21; to amend, for the purpose
of adopting
a new section number as indicated in
parentheses,
section 3505.25 (3599.07); and to
enact new
section 3505.25 of the Revised
Code to
clarify that an optical
scan ballot
with more
than the proper number
of selections
for a
particular office, issue, or
question is
invalidated only for that office,
issue, or
question; to permit midday collection
and
delivery to the board of elections of optical
scan ballots that will be counted at a central
location for the March 4, 2008, primary election;
to generally prohibit the central counting of
optical scan ballots; to terminate the provisions
of this act authorizing the midday collection and
delivery of optical scan ballots on May 1, 2008,
by repealing section 3505.25 of the Revised Code
on that date; and to declare an
emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 3506.21 be amended, section 3505.25
(3599.07) be amended for
the purpose of adopting a new section
number as indicated in
parentheses, and new section 3505.25 of
the
Revised Code be
enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 3505.25. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Designated agents" means a team of two persons who are
members of different political parties, including law enforcement
officers or
employees or agents of a county board of elections
who have taken an
oath to uphold the laws and Constitution of
Ohio,
including an
oath that they will directly, promptly, and
securely
collect the voted ballots from the polling places and
deliver
them to the board of elections.
(2) "Midday" means the period beginning at noon and ending at
three p.m. on the day of an election.
(3) "Optical scan ballot" has the same meaning as in section
3506.21 of the Revised Code.
(B) Notwithstanding division (D) of section 3506.21 of the
Revised Code or any other provision of the Revised Code to the
contrary, a board of elections that voted, prior to February 1,
2008, to tabulate the unofficial
results of
optical scan ballots
voted in a precinct polling place at the March 4, 2008, primary
election at a
central location may do both of the following:
(1) Tabulate the unofficial results of optical scan ballots
voted on election day at a central location;
(2) Arrange to have
voted ballots
collected and
delivered
to the office of the board
of elections
at any time
during
midday. Voted ballots that have
been properly
sealed in locked
containers shall be collected
and delivered to
the
board by
members of the board or by their
designated agents.
(C) If a board of elections chooses to conduct a midday
ballot
collection under this section, the presiding judge of each
precinct shall, by proclamation, announce that a midday collection
of the ballots for delivery to the board of elections shall be
conducted.
Two judges of elections, who shall be members of different
political parties, shall do all of the following in the presence
of any observers before the designated agents who have been
assigned
by the board of elections to collect and deliver the
voted ballots
collect those ballots from the polling location for
midday
delivery to the board of elections:
(1) Count the number of electors who have voted, as shown in
the pollbook or poll list;
(2) Insert the number determined under division (C)(1) of
this section on the report forms in the pollbook or poll list;
(3) Count the number of voted ballots. If the number of voted
ballots exceeds the number determined under division (C)(1) of
this section, the presiding judge shall enter in the pollbook or
poll list an explanation of that discrepancy. If the remaining
judges agree with the explanation, they shall subscribe their
signatures in the pollbook or poll list along with the
explanation. Any judge with a different explanation shall enter
that explanation in the pollbook or poll list and subscribe the
judge's signature with that explanation.
(4) Separately retain spoiled ballots for reconciliation
following the close of the polls.
Once the judges have determined the number of electors who
have voted under division (C)(1) of this section and the number of
ballots that have been voted under division (C)(3) of this
section, the judges shall certify that information to the board of
elections as of the time the presiding judge has proclaimed for
the midday collection and delivery of ballots. The certification
shall be made by a summary statement prepared by the judges in
duplicate, on forms provided by the board of elections and
prescribed by the secretary of state.
(D) From the time the voted ballots are removed from the
ballot box for the purpose of determining the number of voted
ballots under division (C)(3) of this section until the number of
those ballots is determined and the certification required under
division (C) of this section has been completed, signed, and
tendered to the designated agents along with the voted ballots for
midday collection, no judge in the precinct shall separate or
leave the polling place, except from unavoidable necessity. An
"unavoidable necessity," under this division includes illness,
death of a family member, or other incapacitation that would
prevent the judge from observing or assisting in the midday ballot
reconciliation and collection of the voted ballots. At no time
shall more than one half of the judges of elections conducting a
midday ballot reconciliation under division (C) of this section be
members of the same political party.
(E) After the judges have completed the midday reconciliation
of the voted ballots and signed the certification required under
division (C) of this section, the judges shall, in the presence of
the designated agents, place all voted ballots to be collected by
the designated agents and delivered to the board of elections in a
sealed container that cannot be opened without breaking the seal.
The container and its seal shall each bear a number that
corresponds to a recorded key or list of such numbers that the
board of elections maintains. The number on the container and its
seal shall be verified and recorded on the key or list when the
voted ballots are delivered midday to the board of elections.
Before leaving the polling location, the designated agents
shall sign a receipt, which shall be maintained by the judges of
that precinct, acknowledging that the designated agents have
received the voted ballots, forms, certifications, and any other
materials prescribed the secretary of state for midday delivery to
the board of elections. A plain indication that the items are to
be delivered midday to the board of elections shall appear in a
prominent location on the outside of the items.
The designated agents shall deliver the voted ballots, forms,
certifications, and any other materials prescribed by the
secretary of state for midday delivery to the director and deputy
director of the board of elections, who shall record their
delivery as provided in this division and in the manner prescribed
by the secretary of state.
(F) The secretary of state, by directive, shall provide
requirements for all of the following regarding the midday
collection and delivery of voted ballots to a board of elections
under this section:
(1) Persons to serve as designated agents;
(2) The manner of handling ballots during collection and
delivery;
(3) Maintenance of ballot boxes for each precinct;
(4) Secure delivery of the voted ballots to the board of
elections;
(5) Ballot reconciliations with the pollbook or poll lists
that are transported to and from a polling location.
Sec. 3506.21. (A) As used in this section, "optical scan
ballot" means a ballot that is marked by using a specified writing
instrument to fill in a designated position to record a voter's
candidate, question, or issue choice and that can be scanned and
electronically read in order to tabulate the vote.
(B)(1) In addition to marks that can be scanned and
electronically read by automatic tabulating equipment, any of the
following marks, if a majority of those marks are made in a
consistent manner throughout an optical scan ballot,
shall be
counted as a valid vote:
(a) A candidate, question, or issue choice that has been
circled by the voter;
(b) An oval beside the candidate, question, or
issue choice
that has been circled by the voter;
(c) An oval beside the candidate, question, or
issue choice
that has been marked by the voter with an "x," a
check mark, or
other recognizable mark;
(d) A candidate, question, or issue choice that has been
marked
with a writing instrument that cannot be recognized by
automatic
tabulating equipment.
(2) Marks made on an optical scan ballot in accordance with
division (B)(1) of this section shall be counted as valid votes
only if that optical scan ballot contains no marks that can be
scanned and electronically read by automatic tabulating equipment.
(3) If automatic tabulating equipment detects that more marks
were made on an optical scan ballot for a particular office,
question, or issue than the number of selections that a voter
is
allowed by law to make for that office, question, or issue, the
voter's
ballot shall be invalidated for that office, question, or
issue.
The ballot shall not be invalidated for any other office,
question, or issue for which the automatic tabulating equipment
detects a vote to have been cast, in accordance with the law.
(C) The secretary of state may adopt rules under Chapter
119.
of the Revised Code to authorize additional types of optical
scan
ballots and to specify the types of marks on those ballots
that
shall be counted as a valid vote to ensure consistency in the
counting of ballots throughout the state.
(D)(1) A board of elections of a county that uses optical
scan ballots and automatic tabulating equipment as the primary
voting system for the county shall not tabulate the unofficial
results of optical scan ballots voted on election day at a central
location.
(2) A board of elections that provides for the tabulation
at
each precinct of voted ballots, and then, at a central location,
combines
those precinct ballot totals with ballot totals from
other
precincts, including optical scan ballots voted by absent
voters, shall not be considered to be tabulating the unofficial
results of optical scan ballots at a central location for the
purpose of division (D)(1) of this section.
Sec. 3505.25 3599.07. No judge of elections, observer, or
police officer
admitted into the polling rooms at the election, at
any time while the polls
are open, shall have in the individual's
possession,
distribute, or give out any ballot or
ticket to any
person on any pretense during the receiving, counting, or
certifying of the votes, or have any ballot or ticket in the
individual's possession or
control, except in the proper discharge
of the individual's official duty in
receiving, counting, or
canvassing the votes. This section does not prevent the lawful
exercise by a
judge of elections or observer of the
individual
right to
vote at such election.
Section 2. That existing sections 3505.25 and 3506.21 of the
Revised Code are hereby
repealed.
Section 3. Section 3505.25 of the Revised Code is hereby
repealed, effective May 1, 2008.
Section 4. (A) Notwithstanding division (D)(1) of section
3506.21 of the Revised Code, optical scan ballots required to be
provided for the March 4, 2008, primary election at each precinct
pursuant to Directive 2008-01, issued by the Secretary of State,
may be counted at a central location.
(B) As used in this section, "optical scan ballot" has the
same meaning as in section 3506.21 of the Revised Code.
Section 5. This act is hereby declared to be an emergency
measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public
peace, health, and safety. The reason for such necessity is to
ensure an orderly and timely election process for the March 4,
2008, primary. Therefore, this act
shall go into immediate
effect.
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