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Sub. H. B. No. 377 As Reported by the House Elections and Ethics CommitteeAs Reported by the House Elections and Ethics Committee
128th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2009-2010 |
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Cosponsors:
Representatives Okey, Murray, Harris, Domenick, Williams, B., Phillips, Pryor, Goyal, Luckie, Newcomb, Pillich, Slesnick, Dyer, Book, Fende, Yuko, Brown, Chandler, Yates, Winburn, Bolon, Stewart
A BILL
To amend sections 2961.01, 2967.16, 3501.38, 3519.01,
3519.05, and 3519.21 and to enact sections
3519.011, 3519.012, and 3519.013 of the Revised
Code to prohibit persons who have been convicted
of or pleaded guilty to an offense involving
identity theft, forgery, or fraud from witnessing
or circulating election petitions, to require
entities that provide compensation to circulators
of initiative or referendum petitions to be
licensed, to require such an entity's license to
be revoked if it authorizes or knowingly permits
violations of the law governing election
petitions, to require circulators of initiative or
referendum petitions to register with the
secretary of state, to provide for public input in
the determination of ballot titles, and to require
the title of an initiative or referendum petition
to be submitted to the Attorney General for
review.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 2961.01, 2967.16, 3501.38, 3519.01,
3519.05, and 3519.21 be amended and sections 3519.011, 3519.012,
and 3519.013 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 2961.01. (A)(1) A person who pleads guilty to a felony
under the laws of this or any other state or the United States and
whose plea is accepted by the court or a person against whom a
verdict or finding of guilt for committing a felony under any law
of that type is returned, unless the plea, verdict, or finding is
reversed or annulled, is incompetent to be an elector or juror or
to hold an office of honor, trust, or profit.
(2) When any person who under division (A)(1) of this section
is incompetent to be an elector or juror or to hold an office of
honor, trust, or profit is granted parole, judicial release, or a
conditional pardon or is released under a non-jail community
control sanction or a post-release control sanction, the person is
competent to be an elector during the period of
community
control, parole, post-release control, or release or until the
conditions of the pardon have been performed or have transpired
and is competent to be an elector thereafter following final
discharge. The full pardon of a person who under division (A)(1)
of this section is incompetent to be an elector or juror or to
hold an office of honor, trust, or profit restores the rights and
privileges so forfeited under division (A)(1) of this section,
but a pardon shall not release the person from the costs of a
conviction in this state, unless so specified.
(B)(1) A person who pleads guilty to a felony under laws of
this state or any other state or the United States and whose plea
is accepted by the court or a person against whom a verdict or
finding of guilt for committing a felony under any law of that
type is returned is incompetent to circulate or serve as a witness
for the signing of any declaration of candidacy and petition,
voter registration application, or nominating, initiative,
referendum, or recall petition.
(2) A person who pleads guilty to an offense involving
identity theft, fraud, or forgery under the laws of this state or
any other state or the United States and whose plea is accepted by
the court, or a person against whom a verdict or finding of guilt
for committing an offense involving identity theft, fraud, or
forgery under any laws of this state or any other state or the
United States is returned, is incompetent to circulate or serve as
a witness for the signing of any declaration of candidacy and
petition or nominating, initiative, referendum, or recall
petition.
(C) As used in this section:
(1) "Community control sanction" has the same meaning as in
section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Non-jail community control sanction" means a community
control sanction that is neither a term in a community-based
correctional facility nor a term in a jail.
(3) "Post-release control" and "post-release control
sanction" have the same meanings as in section 2967.01 of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 2967.16. (A) Except as provided in division (D) of this
section, when a paroled prisoner has faithfully performed the
conditions and obligations of the paroled prisoner's parole and
has obeyed the rules and regulations adopted by the adult parole
authority that apply to the paroled prisoner, the authority upon
the recommendation of the superintendent of parole supervision may
enter upon its minutes a final release and thereupon shall issue
to the paroled prisoner a certificate of final release, but the
authority shall not grant a final release earlier than one year
after the paroled prisoner is released from the institution on
parole, and, in the case of a paroled prisoner whose minimum
sentence is life imprisonment, the authority shall not grant a
final release earlier than five years after the paroled prisoner
is released from the institution on parole.
(B)(1) When a prisoner who has been released under a period
of post-release control pursuant to section 2967.28 of the Revised
Code has faithfully performed the conditions and obligations of
the released prisoner's post-release control sanctions and has
obeyed the rules and regulations adopted by the adult parole
authority that apply to the released prisoner or has the period of
post-release control terminated by a court pursuant to section
2929.141 of the Revised Code, the authority, upon the
recommendation of the superintendent of parole supervision, may
enter upon its minutes a final release and, upon the entry of the
final release, shall issue to the released prisoner a certificate
of final release. In the case of a prisoner who has been released
under a period of post-release control pursuant to division (B) of
section 2967.28 of the Revised Code, the authority shall not grant
a final release earlier than one year after the released prisoner
is released from the institution under a period of post-release
control. The authority shall classify the termination of
post-release control as favorable or unfavorable depending on the
offender's conduct and compliance with the conditions of
supervision. In the case of a released prisoner whose sentence is
life imprisonment, the authority shall not grant a final release
earlier than five years after the released prisoner is released
from the institution under a period of post-release control.
(2) The department of rehabilitation and correction, no later
than six months after July 8, 2002, shall adopt a rule in
accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code that establishes
the criteria for the classification of a post-release control
termination as "favorable" or "unfavorable."
(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this section,
the following prisoners or person shall be restored to the rights
and privileges forfeited by a conviction:
(a) A prisoner who has served the entire prison term that
comprises or is part of the prisoner's sentence and has not been
placed under any post-release control sanctions;
(b) A prisoner who has been granted a final release by the
adult parole authority pursuant to division (A) or (B) of this
section;
(c) A person who has completed the period of a community
control sanction or combination of community control sanctions, as
defined in section 2929.01 of the Revised Code, that was imposed
by the sentencing court.
(2)(a) As used in division (C)(2)(c) of this section:
(i) "Position of honor, trust, or profit" has the same
meaning as in section 2929.192 of the Revised Code.
(ii) "Public office" means any elected federal, state, or
local government office in this state.
(b) For purposes of division (C)(2)(c) of this section, a
violation of section 2923.32 of the Revised Code or any other
violation or offense that includes as an element a course of
conduct or the occurrence of multiple acts is "committed on or
after the effective date of this amendment May 13, 2008," if the
course of conduct continues, one or more of the multiple acts
occurs, or the subject person's accountability for the course of
conduct or for one or more of the multiple acts continues, on or
after the effective date of this amendment May 13, 2008.
(c) Division (C)(1) of this section does not restore a
prisoner or person to the privilege of holding a position of
honor, trust, or profit if the prisoner or person was convicted of
or pleaded guilty to committing on or after the effective date of
this amendment May 13, 2008, any of the following offenses that is
a felony:
(i) A violation of section 2921.02, 2921.03, 2921.05,
2921.41, 2921.42, or 2923.32 of the Revised Code;
(ii) A violation of section 2913.42, 2921.04, 2921.11,
2921.12, 2921.31, or 2921.32 of the Revised Code, when the person
committed the violation while the person was serving in a public
office and the conduct constituting the violation was related to
the duties of the person's public office or to the person's
actions as a public official holding that public office;
(iii) A violation of an existing or former municipal
ordinance or law of this or any other state or the United States
that is substantially equivalent to any violation listed in
division (C)(2)(c)(i) of this section;
(iv) A violation of an existing or former municipal ordinance
or law of this or any other state or the United States that is
substantially equivalent to any violation listed in division
(C)(2)(c)(ii) of this section, when the person committed the
violation while the person was serving in a public office and the
conduct constituting the violation was related to the duties of
the person's public office or to the person's actions as a public
official holding that public office;
(v) A conspiracy to commit, attempt to commit, or complicity
in committing any offense listed in division (C)(2)(c)(i) or
described in division (C)(2)(c)(iii) of this section;
(vi) A conspiracy to commit, attempt to commit, or complicity
in committing any offense listed in division (C)(2)(c)(ii) or
described in division (C)(2)(c)(iv) of this section, if the person
committed the violation while the person was serving in a public
office and the conduct constituting the offense that was the
subject of the conspiracy, that would have constituted the offense
attempted, or constituting the offense in which the person was
complicit was or would have been related to the duties of the
person's public office or to the person's actions as a public
official holding that public office.
(d) Division (C)(1) of this section does not restore a
prisoner or person to the privilege of circulating or serving as a
witness for the signing of any declaration of candidacy and
petition or nominating, initiative, referendum, or recall petition
if the prisoner or person was convicted of or pleaded guilty to
committing an offense involving identity theft, fraud, or forgery.
(D) Division (A) of this section does not apply to a prisoner
in the shock incarceration program established pursuant to section
5120.031 of the Revised Code.
(E) The adult parole authority shall record the final release
of a parolee or prisoner in the official minutes of the authority.
Sec. 3501.38. All declarations of candidacy, nominating
petitions, or other petitions presented to or filed with the
secretary of state or a board of elections or with any other
public office for the purpose of becoming a candidate for any
nomination or office or for the holding of an election on any
issue shall, in addition to meeting the other specific
requirements prescribed in the sections of the Revised Code
relating to them, be governed by the following rules:
(A) Only electors qualified to vote on the candidacy or issue
which is the subject of the petition shall sign a petition. Each
signer shall be a registered elector pursuant to section 3503.11
of the Revised Code. The facts of qualification shall be
determined as of the date when the petition is filed.
(B) Signatures shall be affixed in ink. Each signer may also
print the signer's name, so as to clearly identify the signer's
signature.
(C) Each signer shall place on the petition after the
signer's name the date of signing and the location of the signer's
voting residence, including the street and number if in a
municipal corporation or the rural route number, post office
address, or township if outside a municipal corporation. The
voting address given on the petition shall be the address
appearing in the registration records at the board of elections.
(D) Except as otherwise provided in section 3501.382 of the
Revised Code, no person shall write any name other than the
person's own on any petition. Except as otherwise provided in
section 3501.382 of the Revised Code, no person may authorize
another to sign for the person. If a petition contains the
signature of an elector two or more times, only the first
signature shall be counted.
(E)(1) On each petition paper, the circulator shall indicate
the number of signatures contained on it, and shall sign a
statement made under penalty of election falsification that the
circulator witnessed the affixing of every signature, that all
signers were to the best of the circulator's knowledge and belief
qualified to sign, and that every signature is to the best of the
circulator's knowledge and belief the signature of the person
whose signature it purports to be or of an attorney in fact acting
pursuant to section 3501.382 of the Revised Code. On the
circulator's statement for a declaration of candidacy or
nominating petition for a person seeking to become a statewide
candidate or for a statewide initiative or a statewide referendum
petition, the circulator shall identify the circulator's name, the
address of the circulator's permanent residence, and the name and
address of the person employing the circulator to circulate the
petition, if any. On a petition for a statewide initiative or
referendum, the circulator also shall affirm that the circulator
has read and understands the laws pertaining to petition
circulation.
(2) As used in division (E) of this section, "statewide
candidate" means the joint candidates for the offices of governor
and lieutenant governor or a candidate for the office of secretary
of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, or attorney
general.
(F) Except as otherwise provided in section 3501.382 of the
Revised Code, if a circulator knowingly permits an unqualified
person to sign a petition paper or permits a person to write a
name other than the person's own on a petition paper, that
petition paper is invalid; otherwise, the signature of a person
not qualified to sign shall be rejected but shall not invalidate
the other valid signatures on the paper.
(G) The circulator of a petition may, before filing it in a
public office, strike from it any signature the circulator does
not wish to present as a part of the petition.
(H) Any signer of a petition or an attorney in fact acting
pursuant to section 3501.382 of the Revised Code on behalf of a
signer may remove the signer's signature from that petition at any
time before the petition is filed in a public office by striking
the signer's name from the petition; no signature may be removed
after the petition is filed in any public office.
(I)(1) No alterations, corrections, or additions may be made
to a petition after it is filed in a public office.
(2)(a) No declaration of candidacy, nominating petition, or
other petition for the purpose of becoming a candidate may be
withdrawn after it is filed in a public office. Nothing in this
division prohibits a person from withdrawing as a candidate as
otherwise provided by law.
(b) No petition presented to or filed with the secretary of
state, a board of elections, or any other public office for the
purpose of the holding of an election on any question or issue may
be resubmitted after it is withdrawn from a public office. Nothing
in this division prevents a question or issue petition from being
withdrawn by the filing of a written notice of the withdrawal by a
majority of the members of the petitioning committee with the same
public office with which the petition was filed prior to the
sixtieth day before the election at which the question or issue is
scheduled to appear on the ballot.
(J) All declarations of candidacy, nominating petitions, or
other petitions under this section shall be accompanied by the
following statement in boldface capital letters: WHOEVER COMMITS
ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS GUILTY OF A FELONY OF THE FIFTH DEGREE.
(K) All separate petition papers shall be filed at the same
time, as one instrument.
(L) If a board of elections distributes for use a petition
form for a declaration of candidacy, nominating petition, or any
type of question or issue petition that does not satisfy the
requirements of law as of the date of that distribution, the board
shall not invalidate the petition on the basis that the petition
form does not satisfy the requirements of law, if the petition
otherwise is valid. Division (L) of this section applies only if
the candidate received the petition from the board within ninety
days of when the petition is required to be filed.
Sec. 3519.01. (A) Only one proposal of law or constitutional
amendment to be proposed by initiative petition shall be contained
in an initiative petition to enable the voters to vote on that
proposal separately. A petition shall include the text of any
existing statute or constitutional provision that would be amended
or repealed if the proposed law or constitutional amendment is
adopted.
Whoever seeks to propose a law or constitutional amendment by
initiative petition shall, by a written petition signed by one
thousand qualified electors, submit the proposed law or
constitutional amendment and a summary and title of it to the
attorney general for examination. Within ten days after the
receipt of the written petition and the, summary of it, and title,
the attorney general shall conduct an examination of the summary
and title. If, in the opinion of the attorney general, the summary
is a and title are fair and truthful statement statements of the
proposed law or constitutional amendment, the attorney general
shall so certify and then forward the submitted petition to the
Ohio ballot board for its approval under division (A) of section
3505.062 of the Revised Code. If the Ohio ballot board returns the
submitted petition to the attorney general with its certification
as described in that division, the attorney general shall then
file with the secretary of state a verified copy of the proposed
law or constitutional amendment together with its summary and
title and the attorney general's certification.
Whenever the Ohio ballot board divides an initiative petition
into individual petitions containing only proposed law or
constitutional amendment under division (A) of section 3505.062 of
the Revised Code resulting in the need for the petitioners to
resubmit to the attorney general appropriate summaries and titles
for each of the individual petitions arising from the board's
division of the initiative petition, the attorney general shall
review the resubmitted summaries and titles, within ten days after
their receipt, to determine if they are a fair and truthful
statement statements of the respective proposed laws or
constitutional amendments and, if so, certify them. These
resubmissions shall contain no new explanations or arguments.
Then, the attorney general shall file with the secretary of state
a verified copy of each of the proposed laws or constitutional
amendments together with their respective summaries and titles and
the attorney general's certification of each.
(B)(1) Whoever seeks to file a referendum petition against
any law, section, or item in any law shall, by a written petition
signed by one thousand qualified electors, submit the measure to
be referred and a summary and title of it to the secretary of
state and, on the same day or within one business day before or
after that day, submit a copy of the petition, measure, and
summary, and title to the attorney general.
(2) Not later than ten business days after receiving the
petition, measure, and summary, and title, the secretary of state
shall do both of the following:
(a) Have the validity of the signatures on the petition
verified;
(b) After comparing the text of the measure to be referred
with the copy of the enrolled act on file in the secretary of
state's office containing the law, section, or item of law,
determine whether the text is correct and, if it is, so certify.
(3) Not later than ten business days after receiving a copy
of the petition, measure, and summary, and title, the attorney
general shall examine the summary and title and, if in the
attorney general's opinion, the summary is a and title are fair
and truthful statement statements of the measure to be referred,
so certify.
(C) Any person who is aggrieved by a certification decision
under division (A) or (B) of this section may challenge the
certification or failure to certify of the attorney general in the
supreme court, which shall have exclusive, original jurisdiction
in all challenges of those certification decisions.
Sec. 3519.011. The secretary of state shall develop training
programs for paid and volunteer circulators of initiative and
referendum petitions. The training programs shall be conducted in
the broadest, most cost-effective manner available to the
secretary of state, and by electronic and remote access. The
petitioners or the representatives of a petition entity, as
defined in section 3519.012 of the Revised Code, shall inform paid
and volunteer circulators and any person who directly supervises
paid and volunteer circulators on behalf of the petitioners or the
representatives of the petition entity of the availability of
these training programs. A circulator who participates in a
training program developed under this section shall be deemed to
have complied with the requirement set forth in the circulator's
statement that the circulator has read and understands the laws
pertaining to petition circulation.
Sec. 3519.012. (A) As used in this section, "petition
entity" means any person or committee that provides compensation
to a circulator to circulate an initiative or referendum petition.
A person or committee does not provide compensation to a
circulator under this section if the person or entity provides
food or beverage valued at ten dollars or less to the circulator.
(B)(1)(a) No petition entity shall provide compensation to a
circulator to circulate an initiative or referendum petition
unless the petition entity first obtains a license from the
secretary of state. The secretary of state, by rule, shall
establish a process for a petition entity to apply for a license
under division (B) of this section.
(b) The secretary of state may deny a petition entity a
license if the secretary of state finds that the petition entity
or any of the petition entity's principals have been found, in a
judicial or administrative proceeding, to have violated the
petition laws of this state or any other state and that the
violation involves authorizing or knowingly permitting any of the
acts set forth in division (B)(3) of this section.
The secretary of state shall deny a petition entity a license
if any person who directly supervises petition circulators on
behalf of the petition entity has not completed the training
program established by the secretary of state under section
3519.011 of the Revised Code.
(2) The secretary of state may at any time request a petition
entity to provide documentation that demonstrates that the
petition entity meets the requirements of section 3519.011 of the
Revised Code.
(3) The secretary of state shall revoke a petition entity's
license if, at any time after receiving a license, a petition
entity is determined to no longer be in compliance with the
requirements of division (B) of this section or if the petition
entity authorized or knew or should have known any of the
following regarding a statewide initiative or referendum petition:
(a) Forgery of a registered elector's signature;
(b) Circulation of a petition or part petition by anyone
other than the circulator who signs the circulator's statement
attached to that petition or part petition;
(c) Use of a false circulator name or address in the
circulator's statement;
(d) Payment of money or any thing of value to a person for
the purpose of inducing the person to sign or withdraw the
person's name from a petition; or
(e) Circulation of a petition or part petition by anyone who
is not registered as a petition circulator as required under
section 3519.013 of the Revised Code.
(C)(1) Any registered elector may file a complaint with the
secretary of state of alleging a violation of this section. Upon
receipt of such a complaint, the secretary of state shall conduct
an adjudication under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
(a) If the secretary of state determines that a petition
entity has provided compensation to a circulator to circulate an
initiative or referendum petition without first obtaining a
license under this section, the secretary of state shall fine the
petition entity an amount not to exceed one hundred dollars per
circulator for each day that the circulator or circulators
circulated petitions or part petitions on behalf of the unlicensed
petition entity.
(b) If the secretary of state determines that a petition
entity authorized or knowingly permitted any of the acts set forth
in division (B)(3) of this section, the secretary of state shall
revoke the petition entity's license for not less than ninety days
and not more than one hundred eighty days and invalidate any
signatures obtained in violation of that division. If the
secretary of state determines that a petition entity authorized or
knowingly permitted any of the acts set forth in division (B)(3)
of this section for a second or subsequent time, the secretary of
state shall revoke the petition entity's license for not less than
one hundred eighty days and not more than one year and invalidate
any signatures obtained in violation of that division.
The secretary shall consider all circumstances relating to
the authorization or permitting of the acts set forth in division
(B)(3) of this section when fixing the length of the license
revocations.
(2) A petition entity whose license has been revoked may
apply for reinstatement of that license, to be effective upon
expiration of the term of revocation.
(3) In determining whether to reinstate a license, the
secretary of state may consider both of the following:
(a) Whether the petition entity employs or contracts with any
person who served as a director, officer, owner, or principal of a
petition entity whose license was revoked, the role of that
individual in the facts underlying the prior license revocation,
and the role of that individual in a petition entity's
post-revocation activities;
(b) Any other facts the petition entity presents to the
secretary of state, including, but not limited to, remedial
actions, if any, that have been implemented to avoid future acts
that would violate this section.
(D) The secretary of state shall issue a decision on any
application for a new or reinstated license within ten business
days after a petition entity files an application. The application
shall be on a form prescribed by the secretary of state and shall
be accompanied by a nonrefundable license fee, the amount of which
the secretary of state shall establish by rule.
(E)(1) A petition entity that receives a license under this
section shall register with the secretary of state by providing
all of the following information:
(a) The subject matter of and, once finalized, a copy of, any
proposed law or constitutional amendment or any referred law or
item of law for which a petition will be circulated by circulators
coordinated or paid by the petition entity;
(b) The current name, address, telephone number, and
electronic mail address of the petition entity; and
(c) The name and signature of the designated agent of the
petition entity.
(2) A petition entity shall notify the secretary of state
within twenty days of any change in the information submitted
pursuant to division (E)(1) of this section.
Sec. 3519.013. Each person who intends to circulate an
initiative or referendum petition shall, prior to circulating that
petition, register as a petition circulator with the secretary of
state.
The secretary of state shall, by rule, develop and maintain a
registry of all circulators of initiative and referendum
petitions.
Sec. 3519.05. If the measure to be submitted proposes a
constitutional amendment, the heading of each part of the petition
shall be prepared in the following form, and printed in capital
letters in type of the approximate size set forth:
"INITIATIVE PETITION
Amendment to the Constitution
Proposed by Initiative Petition
To be submitted directly to the electors"
"Amendment" printed in fourteen-point boldface type shall
precede the title, which shall be briefly expressed and printed in
eight-point type. The summary shall then be set forth printed in
ten-point type, and then shall follow the certification of the
attorney general, under proper date, which shall also be printed
in ten-point type. The petition shall then set forth the names and
addresses of the committee of not less than three nor more than
five to represent the petitioners in all matters relating to the
petition or its circulation.
Immediately above the heading of the place for signatures on
each part of the petition shall be printed the title of the
petition, as set forth in the petition heading. Immediately below
that title, the following notice shall be printed in boldface
type:
"NOTICE
Whoever knowingly signs this petition more than once; except
as provided in section 3501.382 of the Revised Code, signs a name
other than one's own on this petition; or signs this petition when
not a qualified voter, is liable to prosecution."
The heading of the place for signatures shall be
substantially as follows:
"(Sign with ink. Your name, residence, and date of signing must be
given.)
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(Voters who do not live in a municipal corporation should fill in
the information called for by headings printed above.)
(Voters who reside in municipal corporations should fill in the
information called for by headings printed below.)
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The text of the proposed amendment shall be printed in full,
immediately following the place for signatures, and shall be
prefaced by "Be it resolved by the people of the State of Ohio."
Immediately following the text of the proposed amendment must
appear the following form:
"I, ........., declare under penalty of election
falsification that I am the circulator of the foregoing petition
paper containing the signatures of ......... electors, that the
signatures appended hereto were made and appended in my presence
on the date set opposite each respective name, and are the
signatures of the persons whose names they purport to be or of
attorneys in fact acting pursuant to section 3501.382 of the
Revised Code, and that the electors signing this petition did so
with knowledge of the contents of same. I further declare that I
have read and understand the laws pertaining to petition
circulation. I am employed to circulate this petition by
................................ (Name and address of employer).
(The preceding sentence shall be completed as required by section
3501.38 of the Revised Code if the circulator is being employed to
circulate the petition.)
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WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS GUILTY OF A FELONY
OF THE FIFTH DEGREE."
If the measure proposes a law, the heading of each part of
the petition shall be prepared as follows:
"INITIATIVE PETITION
Law proposed by initiative petition first to be submitted to
the General Assembly."
In all other respects, the form shall be as provided for the
submission of a constitutional amendment, except that the text of
the proposed law shall be prefaced by "Be it enacted by the people
of the state of Ohio."
The form for a supplementary initiative petition shall be the
same as that provided for an initiative petition, with the
exception that "supplementary" shall precede "initiative" in the
title thereof.
The general provisions set forth in this section relative to
the form and order of an initiative petition shall be, so far as
practical, applicable to a referendum petition, the heading of
which shall be as follows:
"REFERENDUM PETITION
To be submitted to the electors for their approval or
rejection"
The title, which follows the heading, shall contain a brief
legislative history of the law, section, or item of law to be
referred. The text of the law so referred shall be followed by the
certification of the secretary of state, in accordance with
division (B)(2)(b) of section 3519.01 of the Revised Code, that it
has been compared with the copy of the enrolled act, on file in
the secretary of state's office, containing such law, section, or
item of law, and found to be correct.
Sec. 3519.21. (A) The order in which all propositions,
issues, or questions, including proposed laws and constitutional
amendments, shall appear on the ballot and the ballot title of all
such propositions, issues, or questions shall be determined by the
secretary of state in case of propositions to be voted upon in a
district larger than a county, and by the board of elections in a
county in the case of a proposition to be voted upon in a county
or a political subdivision thereof. In preparing such a ballot
title the secretary of state or the board shall give do all of the
following:
(1) Give a true and impartial statement of the measures
measure in such language that the ballot title shall not be likely
to create prejudice for or against the measure. The;
(2) Provide for public input on the ballot title before
determining the language of the title; and
(3) Permit the person or committee promoting such measure may
to submit to the secretary of state or the board a suggested
ballot title, which shall be given full consideration by the
secretary of state or board in determining the ballot title.
(B) Except as otherwise provided by law, all propositions,
issues, or questions submitted to the electors and receiving an
affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast thereon are
approved.
Section 2. That existing sections 2961.01, 2967.16, 3501.38,
3519.01, 3519.05, and 3519.21 of the Revised Code are hereby
repealed.
Section 3. This act shall be known as "The Ballot Integrity
Act."
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