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(127th General Assembly)
(Substitute Senate Bill Number 380)
AN ACT
To amend sections 3501.07, 3501.90, 3503.15, 3505.21,
3509.01, 3509.04, 3509.05, 3509.06,
3509.07,
3511.05, and
3511.11 of the Revised Code
to
require absent
voter's ballot identification
envelope statements
to be completed for absent
voter's ballots to be
counted, to require boards
of elections to notify
absent voters that their
ballots will be rejected
if they do not complete
the required statement,
to generally prohibit
same day
voter registration
and application for
absent
voter's ballots, to
permit election
observers to
be appointed to
serve
at the board
of elections
or at another
designated
site
during the time
absent voter's
ballots may be
cast in person, to revise the time period in which
voters may cast absent voter's
ballots in person,
to require
the
Secretary
of State to notify
boards of
elections
of
mismatches between voter
registration
information and motor vehicle
records, and to revise the process for appointing
members of a board of elections.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:
SECTION 1. That sections 3501.07, 3501.90, 3503.15, 3505.21,
3509.01,
3509.04, 3509.05, 3509.06,
3509.07, 3511.05,
and
3511.11 of the
Revised Code be amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 3501.07. At a meeting held not more than sixty nor
less
than fifteen days before the expiration date of the term of
office
of a member of the board of elections, or within fifteen
days
after a vacancy occurs in the board, the county executive
committee of the major political party entitled to the
appointment
may make and file a recommendation with the secretary
of state for
the appointment of a qualified elector. The
secretary of state
shall appoint such elector, unless he has reason to believe the
secretary of state finds that
the elector would is not be a
competent member of to serve on such
board as a result of either
the elector's adjudication of
incompetence by a court of
competent jurisdiction or the elector's
prior conviction of or
plea of guilty to a felony. In such cases
the secretary of state
shall
so state in writing to the chairman
chairperson of such
county
executive committee, with the reasons
therefor for the
secretary's refusal to appoint the individual,
and such committee
may, with respect to each refusal of the
secretary of state,
either
recommend another elector or may apply
for a writ of
mandamus to the supreme court to compel the
secretary of state to
appoint the elector so recommended. In all
such action actions,
the burden of
proof to show the
qualifications
prove the lack of
competence of the person so
recommended by clear
and convincing
evidence
shall be on the
committee making secretary
of state who
refused the
recommendation. Upon the dismissal of an
action in
mandamus filed
by such county executive committee, the
county
executive
committee shall have fifteen days to make and file
another
recommendation with the secretary of state for the
appointment of
a qualified elector. If no such
recommendation is
made within
fifteen days after either the secretary of state
refuses the
appointment of the county executive committee or the
dismissal of
an action in mandamus filed by such committee, the
secretary of
state shall make the
appointment. This process shall
be repeated, as needed, after each refusal of the secretary of
state, until the appointment is made.
If a vacancy on the board of elections is to be filled by a
minor or an intermediate political party, authorized officials of
that party may within fifteen days after the vacancy occurs
recommend a qualified person to the secretary of state for
appointment to such vacancy.
Sec. 3501.90. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Harassment in violation of the election law" means
either any of the following:
(a) Any of the following types of conduct in or about a
polling place or a place of registration or election: obstructing
access of an elector to a polling place; another improper practice
or attempt tending to obstruct, intimidate, or interfere with an
elector in registering or voting at a place of registration or
election; molesting or otherwise engaging in violence against
observers in the performance of their duties at a place of
registration or election; or participating in a riot, violence,
tumult, or disorder in and about a place of registration or
election;
(b) A violation of division (A)(1), (2), (3), or (5) or
division (B) of section 3501.35 of the Revised Code;
(c) A violation of division (G)(2)(a) of section 3505.21 of
the
Revised Code.
(2) "Person" has the same meaning as in division (C) of
section 1.59 of the Revised Code and also includes any
organization that is not otherwise covered by that division.
(3) "Trier of fact" means the jury or, in a nonjury action,
the court.
(B) An elector who has experienced harassment in violation of
the election law has a cause of action against each person that
committed the harassment in violation of the election law. In any
civil action based on this cause of action, the elector may seek a
declaratory judgment, an injunction, or other appropriate
equitable relief. The civil action may be commenced by an elector
who has experienced harassment in violation of the election law
either alone or as a party to a class action under Civil Rule 23.
(C)(1) In addition to the equitable relief authorized by
division (B) of this section, an elector who has experienced
harassment in violation of the election law may be entitled to
relief under division (C)(2) or (3) of this section.
(2) If the harassment in violation of the election law
involved intentional or reckless threatening or causing of bodily
harm to the elector while the elector was attempting to register
to vote, to obtain an absent voter's ballot, or to vote, the
elector may seek, in a civil action based on the cause of action
created by division (B) of this section, monetary damages as
prescribed in this division. The civil action may be commenced by
the elector who has experienced harassment in violation of the
election law either alone or as a party to a class action under
Civil Rule 23. Upon proof by a preponderance of the evidence in
the civil action that the harassment in violation of the election
law involved intentional or reckless threatening or causing of
bodily harm to the elector, the trier of fact shall award the
elector the greater of three times of the amount of the elector's
actual damages or one thousand dollars. The court also shall award
a prevailing elector reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.
(3) Whether a civil action on the cause of action created by
division (B) of this section is commenced by an elector who has
experienced harassment in violation of the election law alone or
as a party to a class action under Civil Rule 23, if the defendant
in the action is an organization that has previously been
determined in a court of this state to have engaged in harassment
in violation of the election law, the elector may seek an order of
the court granting any of the following forms of relief upon proof
by a preponderance of the evidence:
(a) Divestiture of the organization's interest in any
enterprise or in any real property;
(b) Reasonable restrictions upon the future activities or
investments of the organization, including, but not limited to,
prohibiting the organization from engaging in any harassment in
violation of the election law;
(c) The dissolution or reorganization of the organization;
(d) The suspension or revocation of any license, permit, or
prior approval granted to the organization by any state agency;
(e) The revocation of the organization's authorization to do
business in this state if the organization is a foreign
corporation or other form of foreign entity.
(D) It shall not be a defense in a civil action based on the
cause of action created by division (B) of this section, whether
commenced by an elector who has experienced harassment in
violation of the election law alone or as a party to a class
action under Civil Rule 23, that no criminal prosecution was
commenced or conviction obtained in connection with the conduct
alleged to be the basis of the civil action.
(E) In a civil action based on the cause of action created by
division (B) of this section, whether commenced by an elector who
has experienced harassment in violation of the election law alone
or as a party to a class action under Civil Rule 23, the elector
may name as defendants each individual who engaged in conduct
constituting harassment in violation of the election law as well
as any person that employs, sponsors, or uses as an agent any such
individual or that has organized a common scheme to cause
harassment in violation of the election law.
Sec. 3503.15. (A) The secretary of state shall establish and
maintain a statewide voter registration database that shall be
continuously available to each board of elections and to other
agencies as authorized by law.
(B) The statewide voter registration database established
under this section shall be the official list of registered voters
for all elections conducted in this state.
(C) The statewide voter registration database established
under this section shall, at a minimum, include all of the
following:
(1) An electronic network that connects all board of
elections offices with the office of the secretary of state and
with the offices of all other boards of elections;
(2) A computer program that harmonizes the records contained
in the database with records maintained by each board of
elections;
(3) An interactive computer program that allows access to the
records contained in the database by each board of elections and
by any persons authorized by the secretary of state to add,
delete, modify, or print database records, and to conduct updates
of the database;
(4) A search program capable of verifying registered voters
and their registration information by name, driver's license
number, birth date, social security number, or current address;
(5) Safeguards and components to ensure that the integrity,
security, and confidentiality of the voter registration
information is maintained.
(D) The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code doing all of the following:
(1) Specifying the manner in which existing voter
registration records maintained by boards of elections shall be
converted to electronic files for inclusion in the statewide voter
registration database;
(2) Establishing a uniform method for entering voter
registration records into the statewide voter registration
database on an expedited basis, but not less than once per day, if
new registration information is received;
(3) Establishing a uniform method for purging canceled voter
registration records from the statewide voter registration
database in accordance with section 3503.21 of the Revised Code;
(4) Specifying the persons authorized to add, delete, modify,
or print records contained in the statewide voter registration
database and to make updates of that database;
(5) Establishing a process for annually auditing the
information contained in the statewide voter registration
database.
(E) A board of elections promptly shall purge a voter's name
and voter registration information from the statewide voter
registration database in accordance with the rules adopted by the
secretary of state under division (D)(3) of this section after the
cancellation of a voter's registration under section 3503.21 of
the Revised Code.
(F) The secretary of state shall provide training in the
operation of the statewide voter registration database to each
board of elections and to any persons authorized by the secretary
of state to add, delete, modify, or print database records, and to
conduct updates of the database.
(G)(1) The statewide voter registration database established
under this section shall be made available on a web site of the
office of the secretary of state as follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (G)(1)(b) of
this section, only the following information from the statewide
voter registration database regarding a registered voter shall be
made available on the web site:
(i) The voter's name;
(ii) The voter's address;
(iii) The voter's precinct number;
(iv) The voter's voting history.
(b) During the thirty days before the day of a primary or
general election, the web site interface of the statewide voter
registration database shall permit a voter to search for the
polling location at which that voter may cast a ballot.
(2) The secretary of state shall establish, by rule adopted
under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, a process for boards of
elections to notify the secretary of state of changes in the
locations of precinct polling places for the purpose of updating
the information made available on the secretary of state's web
site under division (G)(1)(b) of this section. Those rules shall
require a board of elections, during the thirty days before the
day of a primary or general election, to notify the secretary of
state within one business day of any change to the location of a
precinct polling place within the county.
(3) During the thirty days before the day of a primary or
general election, not later than one business day after receiving
a notification from a county pursuant to division (G)(2) of this
section that the location of a precinct polling place has changed,
the secretary of state shall update that information on the
secretary of state's web site for the purpose of division
(G)(1)(b) of this section.
(H)(1) The secretary of state and the registrar of motor
vehicles shall enter into an agreement to match information in the
statewide voter registration database with motor vehicle records
for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of the information in
the statewide voter registration database and the information
provided on voter registration applications, as required under 42
U.S.C. 15483.
(2) The secretary of state shall notify the applicable board
of elections of any mismatches between voter registration
information and motor vehicle records that the secretary of state
receives under division (H)(1) of this section regarding persons
registered to vote in the applicable county.
(3)(a) Upon notification of mismatches by the secretary of
state under division (H)(2) of this section, the board of
elections shall notify each affected voter of the mismatch
regarding the voter's information. The board shall provide the
voter with the opportunity to verify and correct the mismatched
information.
(b) The secretary of state shall establish, by rule adopted
under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, procedures for boards of
elections to notify affected voters of mismatches and to provide
those voters with the opportunity to verify and correct the
mismatched information under division (H)(3)(a) of this section.
Rules adopted under this division shall conform to the voluntary
guidelines for implementing statewide voter registration lists
adopted by the United States election assistance commission.
(4) Notwithstanding any provision of the Revised Code to the
contrary, a mismatch shall not be the sole reason for the removal
of a voter from the statewide voter registration database.
(5) As used in division (H) of this section, "mismatch" means
any of the following data fields that are not identical to one
another with respect to a particular individual when information
in the statewide voter registration database is compared to motor
vehicle records:
(a) Driver's license number;
(b) Social security number;
(c) Date of birth.
Sec. 3505.21. (A) As used in this section, "during the
casting of the ballots" includes any time during which a board of
elections permits an elector to vote an absent voter's ballot in
person at the office of the board or at another site designated by
the board under division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised
Code and any time ballots may be cast in a precinct polling place
on the day of an election.
(B) At any primary, special, or general
election, any
political party supporting candidates to be voted
upon at such
election and any group of five or more candidates
may appoint to
the board of elections or to any of the precincts in the county or
city
one person, a qualified elector, who shall serve as observer
for such party or such candidates during the casting of the
ballots and during the counting of the ballots; provided that
separate observers may be appointed to serve during the casting
and during the counting of the ballots. No candidate, no uniformed
peace officer as defined by
section 2935.01 of the Revised Code,
no uniformed state highway
patrol trooper, no uniformed member of
any fire department, no
uniformed member of the armed services, no
uniformed member of
the organized militia, no person wearing any
other uniform, and no
person carrying a firearm or other deadly
weapon shall serve as an observer, nor shall any candidate be
represented by
more than one observer at any one precinct or other
voting location
except that a candidate who is a member of a party
controlling
committee, as defined in section 3517.03 of the
Revised Code, may
serve as an observer. Any
(C) Any political party or group
of candidates appointing
observers shall notify
the board of elections of the names and
addresses of its
appointees and the precincts each precinct or
other location at which they shall serve.
Notification of
observers appointed to serve on the day of an election shall take
place not less than eleven days before
the day of the election on
forms prescribed by the secretary of state and
may be amended by
filing an amendment with the board of elections
at any time until
four p.m. of the day before the election. Notification of
observers appointed to serve at the office of the board or at
another location during the time absent voter's ballots may be
cast in person shall take place not less than eleven days before
absent voter's ballots are required to be ready for use pursuant
to section 3509.01 of the Revised Code on forms prescribed by the
secretary of state and may be amended by filing an amendment with
the board of elections at any time until four p.m. of the day
before the observer is appointed to serve. The
observer serving on
behalf of a political party
shall be appointed in writing by the
chairperson and
secretary of
the respective controlling party
committee. Observers serving for any five or more candidates shall
have
their certificates signed by those candidates. Observers
appointed to a precinct may file their certificates of appointment
with the presiding judge of the precinct at the meeting on the
evening prior to the election, or with the presiding judge of the
precinct on the day of the election. Upon Observers appointed to
the office of the board or another designated site to observe the
casting of absent voter's ballots in person prior to the day of
the election may file their certificates with the director of the
board of elections the day before or on the day that the observers
are scheduled to serve at the office of the board or other
designated site.
Upon the filing of a
certificate, the person named as
observer in the certificate shall be
permitted to be in and about
the applicable polling place for the precinct during the casting
of the ballots and shall be permitted to watch every proceeding
of
the judges of elections from the time of the
opening until the
closing of the polls. The observer also may inspect the counting
of all ballots in the polling place or board of elections
from the
time of the closing of the polls until the counting is
completed
and the final returns are certified and signed. Observers
appointed to serve at the board of elections on the day of an
election under this section may observe at the board of elections
and may observe at any precinct in the county. The
judges of
elections shall protect such observers
in all of the rights and
privileges granted to them by Title XXXV
of the Revised Code.
(D) No persons other than the judges of elections,
the
observers, a police officer, other persons who are detailed
to any
precinct on request of the board of elections, or the
secretary of
state or the secretary of state's legal
representative shall be
admitted
to the polling place, or any room in which a board of
elections is counting ballots, after the closing of the polls
until the
counting, certifying, and signing of the final returns
of each
election have been completed.
(E) Not later than four p.m. of the twentieth day prior to an
election at which
questions are to be submitted to a vote of the
people, any
committee that in good faith advocates or opposes a
measure may
file a petition with the board of any county asking
that the
petitioners be recognized as the committee entitled to
appoint
observers to the count at the election. If more than one
committee alleging themselves to advocate or oppose the same
measure file such a petition, the board shall decide and announce
by registered mail to each committee not less than twelve days
immediately preceding the election which committee is recognized
as being entitled to
appoint observers. The decision shall not be
final, but
any aggrieved party may institute mandamus proceedings
in the
court of common pleas of the county in which the board has
jurisdiction to compel the judges of elections to accept the
appointees of such aggrieved party. Any such recognized
committee
may appoint an observer to the count in
each precinct. Committees
appointing observers
shall notify the board of elections of the
names and addresses of
its appointees and the precincts at which
they shall serve.
Notification shall take place not less than
eleven days before
the election on forms prescribed by the
secretary of state and
may be amended by filing an amendment with
the board of elections
at any time until four p.m. on the day
before the election. A
person so appointed shall file the person's
certificate of
appointment
with the presiding judge in the
precinct in which the person
has been
appointed to serve.
Observers shall file their certificates
before the polls are
closed. In no case shall more than six observers be appointed for
any one election
in any one precinct. If more than three questions
are to be
voted on, the committees which have appointed observers
may agree upon not to exceed six observers, and the judges of
elections shall appoint such
observers. If such committees fail to
agree, the
judges of elections shall appoint six observers from
the appointees so certified, in such manner that
each side of the
several questions shall be represented.
(F) No person shall serve as an observer at any
precinct or
other voting location unless the board of elections of the county
in
which such observer is to serve has first been
notified of the
name, address, and precinct or other location at which such
observer is to serve. Notification to the board of
elections shall
be given by the political party, group of
candidates, or committee
appointing such observer as
prescribed in this section. No such
observers
shall receive any compensation from the county,
municipal
corporation, or township, and they shall take the
following oath,
to be administered by one of the judges of
elections:
"You do solemnly swear that you will faithfully and
impartially discharge the duties as an official observer, assigned
by law; that you will not cause any delay to
persons offering to
vote; and
that you will not disclose or communicate to any person
how any
elector has voted at such election."
(G)(1) An observer who serves during the casting of the
ballots shall only be permitted to do the following:
(a) Watch and listen to the activities conducted by the
precinct election officials and the interactions between precinct
election officials and voters, as long as the precinct election
officials are not delayed in performing the officials' prescribed
duties and voters are not delayed in casting their ballots;
(b) Make notes on the observer's observations other than by
means of a photographic, video, or audio recording.
(2)(a) No observer who serves during the casting of the
ballots
shall interact with any precinct election official or
with any
voter while the observer is inside the polling place,
within the
area between the polling place and the small flags of
the United
States placed on the thoroughfares and walkways
leading to the
polling place, or within ten feet of any elector
in line waiting
to vote, if the line of electors waiting to vote
extends beyond
those small flags.
(b) An observer does not violate division (G)(2)(a) of this
section as a result of an incidental interaction with a voter or a
precinct election official, such as an exchange of greetings.
Sec. 3509.01. (A) The board of elections of each county shall
provide absent voter's ballots for use at every primary and
general election, or special election to be held on the day
specified by division (E) of section 3501.01 of the Revised Code
for the holding of a primary election, designated by the general
assembly for the purpose of submitting constitutional amendments
proposed by the general assembly to the voters of the state.
Those
ballots shall be the same size, shall be printed on the same
kind
of paper, and
shall be in the same form as has been approved
for
use
at the election for which
those ballots are to be
voted;
except
that, in counties using marking devices, ballot
cards may
be used
for absent voter's ballots, and
those
absent voters shall
be
instructed to record the vote in the manner
provided on the
ballot cards.
In counties where punch card
ballots are used,
those
absent voters shall be instructed to
examine their
marked
ballot
cards and to remove any chads that
remain partially
attached to
them before returning them to
election officials.
(B) The rotation of names of candidates and questions and
issues
shall be substantially complied with
on absent voter's
ballots,
within the limitation of time
allotted.
Those ballots
shall
be
designated as "Absent Voter's
Ballots." and Except as
otherwise provided in division (D) of this section, those ballots
shall be printed and
ready for use as follows:
(1) For overseas voters and absent uniformed services voters
eligible to vote under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens
Absentee Voting Act, Pub. L. No. 99-410, 100 Stat. 924, 42 U.S.C.
1973ff, et seq., as amended, ballots shall be printed and ready
for use on the
thirty-fifth day before the day of the any election
other than a presidential primary
election, except that
those;
(2) For all voters, other than overseas voters and absent
uniformed services voters, who are applying to vote absent voter's
ballots other than in person, ballots shall be printed and ready
for use on the twenty-eighth day before the day of any election
other than a presidential primary election;
(3) For all voters, other than overseas voters and absent
uniformed services voters, who are applying to vote absent voter's
ballots in person, ballots shall be printed and ready for use
beginning on the twentieth day before the day of the election and
shall continue to be available for use through five p.m. on the
day before the day of the election;
(4) For all voters who are applying to vote absent voter's
ballots other than in person, ballots shall be printed and
ready
for use on the twenty-fifth
day before the day of a
presidential
primary election.
(C) Absent voter's ballots provided for use at a general or
primary election, or special election to be held on the day
specified by division (E) of section 3501.01 of the Revised Code
for the holding of a primary election, designated by the general
assembly for the purpose of submitting constitutional amendments
proposed by the general assembly to the voters of the state,
shall
include only
those questions, issues, and candidacies
that
have
been lawfully ordered submitted to the electors voting at
that
election.
Absent (D) If the laws governing the holding of a special
election on a day other than the day on which a primary or general
election is held make it impossible for absent voter's ballots to
be printed and ready for use by the deadlines established in
division (B) of this section, absent voter's ballots for those
special elections held on days
other than the day on which general
or primary elections are
held
shall be ready for use as many days
before the day of the
election
as reasonably possible under the
laws governing the
holding of
that special election.
(E) A copy of the absent voter's ballots shall be forwarded
by
the director of the board in each county to the secretary of
state
at least twenty-five days before the election.
(F) As used in this section, "chad" and "punch card ballot"
have
the same meanings as in section 3506.16 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3509.04. (A) If a director of a board of elections
receives an application for absent voter's ballots that does not
contain all of the required information, the director promptly
shall notify the applicant of the additional information required
to be provided by the applicant to complete that application.
(B) Upon receipt by the director of elections of
an
application for absent voter's ballots that contain all of the
required information, as provided by
sections
3509.03 and 3509.031
and division (G) of section 3503.16 of the
Revised Code, the
director,
if the director finds that the
applicant is a qualified
elector, shall deliver
to the applicant in person or mail
directly
to the applicant by
special delivery mail, air
mail, or regular
mail, postage prepaid,
proper absent voter's ballots. The director
shall
deliver or mail with the ballots an
unsealed identification
envelope upon the face of which shall be printed a the following
form
substantially as follows:
"Identification Envelope
Statement of Voter
I, ........................(Name of voter), declare under
penalty of election
falsification that the within ballot or
ballots contained no
voting marks of any kind when I received
them, and I caused the
ballot or ballots to be marked, enclosed in
the identification
envelope, and sealed in
that envelope.
My voting residence in Ohio is
...................................................................
(Street and Number, if any, or Rural Route and Number)
of ................................ (City, Village, or Township)
Ohio, which
is in Ward ............... Precinct ................
in
that city, village, or
township.
The primary election ballots, if any, within this envelope
are primary election ballots of the ............. Party.
Ballots contained within this envelope are to be voted at the
..........
(general, special, or primary) election to be held on
the
.......................... day of ......................, ....
My date of birth is ............... (Month and Day),
.......... (Year).
(Voter must provide one of the following:)
My driver's license number is ............... (Driver's
license number).
The last four digits of my Social Security Number are
............... (Last four digits of Social Security Number).
...... In lieu of providing a driver's license number or the
last four digits of my Social Security Number, I am enclosing a
copy of one of the following in the return envelope in which this
identification envelope will be mailed: a current and valid photo
identification, a military identification, or 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,
that shows my name
and address.
I hereby declare, under penalty of election falsification,
that the statements above are true, as I verily believe.
WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS
GUILTY OF A FELONY OF
THE FIFTH
DEGREE."
The director shall mail with the ballots and the unsealed
identification envelope an unsealed
return
envelope
upon the face
of which shall be printed the official
title and
post-office
address of the director. In the upper left
corner
on the face of
the return envelope, several blank lines shall be
printed
upon
which the voter may write the voter's name and return
address, and
beneath these lines there shall be printed a box
beside the words
"check if out-of-country." The voter shall check
this box if the
voter will be outside the United States on the day
of the
election. The
return envelope shall be of such size that
the
identification
envelope can be conveniently placed within it
for
returning
the identification envelope to the director.
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,
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 (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.
(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.
(D)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(2) of
this section, if a board of elections determines, prior to the
close of the polls on the day of the election, that the statement
of voter on a voter's absent voter's ballot identification
envelope is incomplete, the board shall notify the absent voter by
mail or by telephone that the voter's absent ballot will be
rejected unless the voter
completes the statement prior to the
close of the polls on the day
of the election.
(2) A board of elections shall not be required to notify
voters under division (D)(1) of this section for any absent
voter's ballots that the board receives after the eighth day
before the day of the election.
If a board of elections chooses to notify voters under
division (D)(1) of this section of incomplete absent voter's
ballot envelope statements for absent voter's ballots received
after the eighth day before the day of the election, the board
shall notify all voters whose absent voter's ballot envelope
statements are incomplete that their absent voter's ballot
envelopes will be rejected unless the voter completes the
statement prior to the close of the
polls on the day of the
election.
Sec. 3509.06. (A) The board of elections shall determine
whether absent voter's ballots shall be counted in each precinct,
at the office of the board, or at some other location designated
by the board, and shall proceed accordingly under division (B) or
(C) of this section.
(B) When the board of elections determines that absent
voter's ballots shall be counted in each precinct, the director
shall deliver to the presiding judge of each precinct on election
day identification envelopes purporting to contain absent voter's
ballots of electors whose voting residence appears from the
statement of voter on the outside of each of those envelopes, to
be located in such presiding judge's precinct, and which were
received by the director not later than the close of the polls on
election day. The director shall deliver to such presiding judge
a
list containing the name and voting residence of each person
whose
voting residence is in such precinct to whom absent voter's
ballots were mailed.
(C) When the board of elections determines that absent
voter's ballots shall be counted at the office of the board of
elections or at another location designated by the board, special
election judges shall be appointed by the board for that purpose
having the same authority as is exercised by precinct judges.
The
votes so cast shall be added to the vote totals by the board,
and
the absent voter's ballots shall be preserved separately by the
board, in the same manner and for the same length of time as
provided by section 3505.31 of the Revised Code.
(D) Each of the identification envelopes purporting to
contain absent
voter's ballots delivered to the presiding judge of
the precinct
or the special judge appointed by the board of
elections shall be
handled as follows: The election officials
shall compare the signature of the
elector on the outside of the
identification envelope with
the signature of that elector on the
elector's registration
form and verify that the absent voter's
ballot is eligible to be counted under section 3509.07 of the
Revised Code. Any of the precinct officials may
challenge the
right of the elector named on the identification
envelope to vote
the absent voter's ballots upon the ground that
the signature on
the envelope is not the same as the signature
on the registration
form, that the identification envelope statement of voter has not
been completed, or upon any other of the grounds upon
which the
right of persons to vote may be lawfully challenged.
If no such
challenge is made, or if such a challenge is made and
not
sustained, the presiding judge shall open the envelope
without
defacing the statement of voter and without mutilating
the ballots
in it, and shall remove the ballots contained
in it and proceed to
count them.
The name of each person voting who is entitled to vote only
an absent voter's presidential ballot shall be entered in a
pollbook or poll list or signature pollbook followed by the words
"Absentee Presidential Ballot." The name of each person voting
an
absent voter's ballot, other than such persons entitled to
vote
only a presidential ballot, shall be entered in the pollbook
or
poll list or signature pollbook and the person's
registration card
marked to indicate that the person has
voted.
The date of such election shall also be entered on the
elector's registration form. If any such challenge is made and
sustained, the identification envelope of such elector shall not
be opened, shall be endorsed "Not Counted" with the reasons
the
ballots were not counted, and shall be delivered to the board.
(E) Special election judges, employees or members of the
board of elections, or observers shall not disclose the count or
any portion of
the count of absent voter's ballots prior to the
time of the
closing of the polling places. No person shall
recklessly disclose the count or any portion of the count of
absent voter's ballots in such a manner as to jeopardize the
secrecy of any individual ballot.
(F) Observers may be appointed under section 3505.21 of the
Revised Code to witness the examination and opening of
identification envelopes and the counting of absent voters'
ballots under this section.
Sec. 3509.07. If
election officials find
that
the statement
accompanying an absent
voter's ballot or absent
voter's
presidential ballot is incomplete or insufficient, that the
signatures
do not
correspond with
the person's registration
signature,
that the
applicant is not a qualified elector in the
precinct,
that the
ballot envelope
contains more than one ballot
of any one
kind, or
any voted ballot
that the
elector is not
entitled to vote,
that Stub A is detached from the absent
voter's
ballot or absent
voter's presidential ballot, or that the elector
has not included with the elector's ballot any identification
required under section 3509.05 or 3511.09 of the Revised Code, the
vote
shall not be accepted or
counted.
The vote of any
absent
voter may be challenged for cause
in the
same manner as
other
votes are challenged, and the
election
officials shall
determine
the
legality of
that ballot.
Every
ballot not
counted shall
be
endorsed on
its back
"Not
Counted"
with
the reasons
the ballot was
not counted, and shall
be
enclosed
and
returned to or retained by
the board of elections
along with the
contested
ballots.
Sec. 3511.05. (A) The director of the board of elections
shall
place armed service absent voter's ballots sent by mail in
an unsealed
identification envelope, gummed ready for
sealing.
The
director shall include with armed
service absent voter's
ballots
sent by facsimile machine an
instruction sheet for
preparing a
gummed envelope in which the
ballots shall be
returned. The
envelope for returning ballots
sent by either means
shall
have
printed or written on its face a the following form substantially
as follows:
"Identification Envelope
Statement of Voter
I, ........................(Name of voter), declare under
penalty of election
falsification that the within ballot or
ballots contained no
voting marks of any kind when I received
them, and I caused the
ballot or ballots to be marked, enclosed in
the identification
envelope, and sealed in
that envelope.
My voting residence in Ohio is
...................................................................
(Street and Number, if any, or Rural Route and Number)
of ................................ (City, Village, or Township)
Ohio, which
is in Ward ............... Precinct ................
in
that city, village, or
township.
The primary election ballots, if any, within this envelope
are primary election ballots of the ............. Party.
Ballots contained within this envelope are to be voted at the
..........
(general, special, or primary) election to be held on
the
.......................... day of ......................, ....
My date of birth is ............... (Month and Day),
.......... (Year).
(Voter must provide one of the following:)
My driver's license number is ............... (Driver's
license number).
The last four digits of my Social Security Number are
............... (Last four digits of Social Security Number).
...... In lieu of providing a driver's license number or the
last four digits of my Social Security Number, I am enclosing a
copy of one of the following in the return envelope in which this
identification envelope will be mailed: a current and valid photo
identification, a military identification, or 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,
that shows my name
and address.
I hereby declare, under penalty of election falsification,
that the statements above are true, as I verily believe.
WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS
GUILTY OF A FELONY OF
THE FIFTH
DEGREE."
(B) The director shall also mail with the ballots and the
unsealed identification envelope sent by mail an unsealed return
envelope, gummed, ready for sealing, for use by the voter in
returning
the voter's marked ballots to the director. The
director
shall send with
the ballots and the instruction sheet for
preparing a gummed
envelope sent by facsimile machine an
instruction sheet for preparing a second
gummed envelope as
described in this division, for use by the voter in
returning that
voter's marked ballots to the
director. The return envelope 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 ELECTION
ARMED SERVICE ABSENT VOTER'S BALLOTS -- VIA AIR MAIL." Three
blank
lines shall be printed in the upper left corner on the face
of
the
envelope for the use by the voter in placing the voter's
complete
military, naval, or mailing address
on these
lines, and
beneath
these
lines there shall be printed a box beside
the words
"check
if
out-of-country." The voter shall check this
box if the
voter
will be outside the United States on the day of
the
election. The
official
title and the post-office address of
the
director to whom
the envelope shall
be returned shall be
printed
on the face of
such envelope in the lower right
portion
below the
bottom parallel
line.
(C) On the back of each identification envelope and
each
return
envelope shall be printed the following:
"Instructions to voter:
If the flap on this envelope is so firmly stuck to the
back
of the envelope when received by you as to require forcible
opening in order to use it, open the envelope in the manner
least
injurious to it, and, after marking your ballots and
enclosing
same in the envelope for mailing them to the director of
the board
of elections, reclose the envelope in the most
practicable way, by
sealing or otherwise, and sign the blank form
printed below.
The flap on this envelope was firmly stuck to the back
of the
envelope when received, and required forced opening
before sealing
and mailing.
(D) Division (C) of this section does not
apply when absent
voter's ballots are sent by facsimile machine.
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)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(2) of
this section, if a board of elections determines, prior to the
close of the polls on the day of the election, that the statement
of voter on an armed service absent voter's ballot identification
envelope is incomplete, the board shall notify the armed services
absent voter by mail or by telephone that the voter's armed
service absent voter's ballot will be rejected unless the voter
completes the statement prior to the close of the polls on the day
of the election.
(2) A board of elections shall not be required to notify
voters under division (B)(1) of this section for any armed service
absent voter's ballots that the board receives after the eighth
day before the day of the election.
If a board of elections chooses to notify voters under
division (B)(1) of this section of incomplete armed service absent
voter's ballot envelope statements for armed service absent
voter's ballots received after the eighth day before the day of
the election, the board shall notify all voters whose armed
service absent voter's ballot envelope statements are incomplete
that their armed service absent voter's ballot envelopes will be
rejected unless the voter completes the statement prior to the
close of the polls on the day of the election.
(C) 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)(D) 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)(E)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(E)(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)(E)(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)(F) 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
either
are
postmarked, or
contain an identification envelope that
is signed,
on or
after election day;
(2) Armed
service absent
voter's ballots contained in return
envelopes that
bear that
designation, that 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;
(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 3501.07, 3501.90, 3503.15,
3505.21, 3509.01, 3509.04, 3509.05,
3509.06, 3509.07,
3511.05,
and 3511.11
of the Revised Code are
hereby repealed.
SECTION 3. The General Assembly, applying the principle
stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that
amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of
simultaneous operation, finds that the following section,
presented in this act as the composite of the sections as amended
by
the acts indicated, is the resulting version of the section in
effect prior to the effective date of the section as presented in
this act:
Section 3509.05 of the Revised Code as amended by both Am.
Sub. H.B. 350 and Am. Sub. H.B. 562 of the
127th General
Assembly.
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