To amend sections 3501.01, 3513.04, 3513.10, 3513.12, 3513.13, 3513.14, 3513.15, and 3513.30 and to repeal sections 3513.121 and 3513.151 of the Revised Code to allow a political party to select delegates to its national presidential nominating convention according to the party's constitution and bylaws and to eliminate the requirement that such delegates be directly elected at the presidential primary election.

Section 1. That sections 3501.01, 3513.04, 3513.10, 3513.12, 3513.13, 3513.14, 3513.15, and 3513.30 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 3501.01.  As used in the sections of the Revised Code relating to elections and political communications:

(A) "General election" means the election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in each November.

(B) "Regular municipal election" means the election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in each odd-numbered year.

(C) "Regular state election" means the election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in each even-numbered year.

(D) "Special election" means any election other than those elections defined in other divisions of this section. A special election may be held only on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in February, May, August, or November, or on the day authorized by a particular municipal or county charter for the holding of a primary election, except that in any year in which a presidential primary election is held, no special election shall be held in February or May, except as authorized by a municipal or county charter, but may be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March.

(E)(1) "Primary" or "primary election" means an election held for the purpose of nominating persons as candidates of political parties for election to offices, and for the purpose of electing persons as members of the controlling committees of political parties and as delegates and alternates to the conventions of political parties. Primary elections shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May of each year except in years in which a presidential primary election is held.

(2) "Presidential primary election" means a primary election as defined by division (E)(1) of this section at which an election is held for the purpose of choosing the candidates who will be selected by the Ohio delegates and alternates to the national conventions of the major political parties as the first choice for nomination as the candidate of the political party for the presidency of the United States pursuant to section 3513.12 of the Revised Code. Unless otherwise specified, presidential primary elections are included in references to primary elections. In years in which a presidential primary election is held, all primary elections shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March except as otherwise authorized by a municipal or county charter.

(F) "Political party" means any group of voters meeting the requirements set forth in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code for the formation and existence of a political party.

(1) "Major political party" means any political party organized under the laws of this state whose candidate for governor or nominees for presidential electors received no less than twenty per cent of the total vote cast for such office at the most recent regular state election.

(2) "Intermediate political party" means any political party organized under the laws of this state whose candidate for governor or nominees for presidential electors received less than twenty per cent but not less than ten per cent of the total vote cast for such office at the most recent regular state election.

(3) "Minor political party" means any political party organized under the laws of this state whose candidate for governor or nominees for presidential electors received less than ten per cent but not less than five per cent of the total vote cast for such office at the most recent regular state election or which has filed with the secretary of state, subsequent to any election in which it received less than five per cent of such vote, a petition signed by qualified electors equal in number to at least one per cent of the total vote cast for such office in the last preceding regular state election, except that a newly formed political party shall be known as a minor political party until the time of the first election for governor or president which occurs not less than twelve months subsequent to the formation of such party, after which election the status of such party shall be determined by the vote for the office of governor or president.

(G) "Dominant party in a precinct" or "dominant political party in a precinct" means that political party whose candidate for election to the office of governor at the most recent regular state election at which a governor was elected received more votes than any other person received for election to that office in such precinct at such election.

(H) "Candidate" means any qualified person certified in accordance with the provisions of the Revised Code for placement on the official ballot of a primary, general, or special election to be held in this state, or any qualified person who claims to be a write-in candidate, or who knowingly assents to being represented as a write-in candidate by another at either a primary, general, or special election to be held in this state.

(I) "Independent candidate" means any candidate who claims not to be affiliated with a political party, and whose name has been certified on the office-type ballot at a general or special election through the filing of a statement of candidacy and nominating petition, as prescribed in section 3513.257 of the Revised Code.

(J) "Nonpartisan candidate" means any candidate whose name is required, pursuant to section 3505.04 of the Revised Code, to be listed on the nonpartisan ballot, including all candidates for judicial office, for member of any board of education, for municipal or township offices in which primary elections are not held for nominating candidates by political parties, and for offices of municipal corporations having charters that provide for separate ballots for elections for these offices.

(K) "Party candidate" means any candidate who claims to be a member of a political party, whose name has been certified on the office-type ballot at a general or special election through the filing of a declaration of candidacy and petition of candidate, and who has won the primary election of the candidate's party for the public office the candidate seeks or is selected by party committee in accordance with section 3513.31 of the Revised Code.

(L) "Officer of a political party" includes, but is not limited to, any member, elected or appointed, of a controlling committee, whether representing the territory of the state, a district therein, a county, township, a city, a ward, a precinct, or other territory, of a major, intermediate, or minor political party.

(M) "Question or issue" means any question or issue certified in accordance with the Revised Code for placement on an official ballot at a general or special election to be held in this state.

(N) "Elector" or "qualified elector" means a person having the qualifications provided by law to be entitled to vote.

(O) "Voter" means an elector who votes at an election.

(P) "Voting residence" means that place of residence of an elector which shall determine the precinct in which the elector may vote.

(Q) "Precinct" means a district within a county established by the board of elections of such county within which all qualified electors having a voting residence therein may vote at the same polling place.

(R) "Polling place" means that place provided for each precinct at which the electors having a voting residence in such precinct may vote.

(S) "Board" or "board of elections" means the board of elections appointed in a county pursuant to section 3501.06 of the Revised Code.

(T) "Political subdivision" means a county, township, city, village, or school district.

(U) "Election officer" or "election official" means any of the following:

(1) Secretary of state;

(2) Employees of the secretary of state serving the division of elections in the capacity of attorney, administrative officer, administrative assistant, elections administrator, office manager, or clerical supervisor;

(3) Director of a board of elections;

(4) Deputy director of a board of elections;

(5) Member of a board of elections;

(6) Employees of a board of elections;

(7) Precinct polling place judges;

(8) Employees appointed by the boards of elections on a temporary or part-time basis.

(V) "Acknowledgment notice" means a notice sent by a board of elections, on a form prescribed by the secretary of state, informing a voter registration applicant or an applicant who wishes to change the applicant's residence or name of the status of the application; the information necessary to complete or update the application, if any; and if the application is complete, the precinct in which the applicant is to vote.

(W) "Confirmation notice" means a notice sent by a board of elections, on a form prescribed by the secretary of state, to a registered elector to confirm the registered elector's current address.

(X) "Designated agency" means an office or agency in the state that provides public assistance or that provides state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons with disabilities and that is required by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to implement a program designed and administered by the secretary of state for registering voters, or any other public or government office or agency that implements a program designed and administered by the secretary of state for registering voters, including the department of job and family services, the program administered under section 3701.132 of the Revised Code by the department of health, the department of mental health, the department of mental retardation and developmental disabilities, the rehabilitation services commission, and any other agency the secretary of state designates. "Designated agency" does not include public high schools and vocational schools, public libraries, or the office of a county treasurer.

(Y) "National Voter Registration Act of 1993" means the "National Voter Registration Act of 1993," 107 Stat. 77, 42 U.S.C.A. 1973gg.

(Z) "Voting Rights Act of 1965" means the "Voting Rights Act of 1965," 79 Stat. 437, 42 U.S.C.A. 1973, as amended.

(AA) "Photo identification" means a document that meets each of the following requirements:

(1) It shows the name of the individual to whom it was issued, which shall conform to the name in the poll list or signature pollbook.

(2) It shows the current address of the individual to whom it was issued, which shall conform to the address in the poll list or signature pollbook, except for a driver's license or a state identification card issued under section 4507.50 of the Revised Code, which may show either the current or former address of the individual to whom it was issued, regardless of whether that address conforms to the address in the poll list or signature pollbook.

(3) It shows a photograph of the individual to whom it was issued.

(4) It includes an expiration date that has not passed.

(5) It was issued by the government of the United States or this state.

Sec. 3513.04.  Candidates for party nominations to state, district, county, and municipal offices or positions, for which party nominations are provided by law, and for election as members of party controlling committees shall have their names printed on the official primary ballot by filing a declaration of candidacy and paying the fees specified for the office under divisions (A) and (B) of section 3513.10 of the Revised Code, except that the joint candidates for party nomination to the offices of governor and lieutenant governor shall, for the two of them, file one declaration of candidacy. The joint candidates also shall pay the fees specified for the joint candidates under divisions (A) and (B) of section 3513.10 of the Revised Code.

The secretary of state shall not accept for filing the declaration of candidacy of a candidate for party nomination to the office of governor unless the declaration of candidacy also shows a joint candidate for the same party's nomination to the office of lieutenant governor, shall not accept for filing the declaration of candidacy of a candidate for party nomination to the office of lieutenant governor unless the declaration of candidacy also shows a joint candidate for the same party's nomination to the office of governor, and shall not accept for filing a declaration of candidacy that shows a candidate for party nomination to the office of governor or lieutenant governor who, for the same election, has already filed a declaration of candidacy or a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate, or has become a candidate by the filling of a vacancy under section 3513.30 of the Revised Code for any other state office or any federal or county office.

No person who seeks party nomination for an office or position at a primary election by declaration of candidacy or by declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate and no person who is a first choice for president of candidates seeking election as delegates and alternates to the national conventions of the different major political parties who are chosen by direct vote of the electors seeks nomination as the first choice as the candidate of a major political party for the presidency of the United States as provided in this chapter shall be permitted to become a candidate by nominating petition or by declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate at the following general election for any office other than the office of member of the state board of education, office of member of a city, local, or exempted village board of education, office of member of a governing board of an educational service center, or office of township trustee.

Sec. 3513.10.  (A) At the time of filing a declaration of candidacy for nomination for any office, or a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate, each candidate, except joint candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, shall pay a fee as follows:

At the time of filing a declaration of candidacy or a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor, the joint candidates shall jointly pay to the secretary of state a fee of one hundred dollars.

(B)(1) At the same time the fee required under division (A) of this section is paid, each candidate shall pay an additional fee as follows:

(2) Whoever seeks to propose a ballot question or issue to be submitted to the electors shall pay the following fee at the time the petition proposing the question or issue is filed:

(a) If the question or issue is to be submitted to the electors throughout the entire state, twenty-five dollars;

(b) If the question or issue is to be submitted to the electors of a county or of a district that consists of all or part of two or more counties but less than the entire state, fifteen dollars;

(c) If the question or issue is to be submitted to the electors of a city, twelve dollars and fifty cents;

(d) If the question or issue is to be submitted to the electors of a village, a township, a local, city, county, or exempted village school district, a precinct, or another district consisting of less than an entire county, ten dollars.

(C) No fee shall be required of candidates filing for nomination as the first choice as the candidate of a major political party for the presidency of the United States or for the office of delegate or alternate to the national convention of political parties, member of the state central committee of a political party, or member of the county central committee of a political party.

(D) All fees required under division (A) of this section immediately shall be paid by the officer receiving them into the state treasury to the credit of the general revenue fund, in the case of fees received by the secretary of state, and into the county treasury to the credit of the county general fund, in the case of fees received by a board of elections.

(E) The officer who receives a fee required under division (B) of this section immediately shall pay the fee to the credit of the Ohio elections commission fund created by division (I) of section 3517.152 of the Revised Code.

(F)(1) In no case shall a fee paid under this section be returned to a candidate.

(2) Whenever a section of law refers to a filing fee to be paid by a candidate or by a committee proposing a ballot question or issue to be submitted to the electors, that fee includes the fees required under divisions (A) and (B) of this section.

(G) As used in divisions (A) and (B) of this section, "statewide office" means the office of secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, attorney general, justice and chief justice of the supreme court, and member of the United States senate.

Sec. 3513.12. (A) The procedures for the electors of a political party to choose the candidate who will be selected by the Ohio delegates to the political party's national convention as the first choice for nomination as the candidate of the political party for the presidency of the United States under divisions (B)(1) and (2) of this section are alternative procedures. If the procedures of division (B)(1) of this section are followed, then the procedures of division (B)(2) of this section need not be followed, and if the procedures of division (B)(2) of this section are followed, then the procedures of division (B)(1) of this section need not be followed.

(B) At a presidential primary election, which shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March in the year 2000, and similarly in every fourth year thereafter, delegates and alternates to the national conventions of the different major political parties shall be chosen by direct vote of the electors as provided in this chapter the electors of a political party shall choose a candidate who shall be selected by the Ohio delegates to the political party's national convention as the first choice for nomination as the candidate of the political party for the presidency of the United States. Candidates for delegate and alternate shall be qualified and the election shall be conducted in the manner prescribed in this chapter for the nomination of candidates for state and district offices, except as provided in section 3513.151 of the Revised Code and except that whenever any group of candidates for delegate at large or alternate at large, or any group of candidates for delegates or alternates from districts, file with the secretary of state statements as provided by this section, designating the same persons as their first and second choices for president of the United States, such a group of candidates may submit a group petition containing a declaration of candidacy for each of such candidates. The group petition need be signed only by the number of electors required for the petition of a single candidate. No group petition shall be submitted except by a group of candidates equal in number to the whole number of delegates at large or alternates at large to be elected or equal in number to the whole number of delegates or alternates from a district to be elected.

Each person seeking to be elected as delegate or alternate to the national convention of the person's political party shall file with the person's declaration of candidacy and certificate a statement in writing signed by the person in which the person shall state the person's first and second choices for nomination as the candidate of the person's party for the presidency of the United States. The secretary of state shall not permit any declaration of candidacy and certificate of a candidate for election as such delegate or alternate to be filed unless accompanied by such statement in writing. The.

(1) A candidate for the presidency of the United States whose candidacy is to be submitted to the electors of a major political party throughout the entire state shall file, or shall designate a qualified elector to file on the candidate's behalf, a declaration of candidacy and petition under section 3513.05 of the Revised Code. In filing a declaration of candidacy and petition under this division, the name of a candidate for the presidency shall not be so used without the candidate's written consent.

A person who is a first choice for president of candidates seeking election as delegates and alternates shall file with the secretary of state, prior to the day of the election, a list indicating the order in which certificates of election are to be issued to delegate or alternate candidates to whose candidacy the person has consented, if fewer than all of such candidates are entitled under party rules to be certified as elected. Each candidate for election as such delegate or alternate may also file along with the candidate's declaration of candidacy and certificate a statement in writing signed by the candidate in the following form:

I hereby declare to the voters of my political party in the State of Ohio that, if elected as ............ (delegate) (alternate) to their national party convention, I shall, to the best of my judgment and ability, support that candidate for President of the United States who shall have been selected at this primary by the voters of my party in the manner provided in Chapter 3513. of the Ohio Revised Code, as their candidate for such office.

The procedures for the selection of candidates for delegate and alternate to the national convention of a political party set forth in this section and in section 3513.121 of the Revised Code are alternative procedures, and if the procedures of this section are followed, the procedures of section 3513.121 of the Revised Code need not be followed.

The declaration of candidacy and petition shall be filed in the same manner as a declaration of candidacy and petition is filed under section 3513.05 of the Revised Code for a candidacy that is to be submitted to electors throughout the entire state. The petition shall be signed by at least one thousand qualified electors who are members of the same political party as the candidate.

(2)(a) Any candidate for the presidency of the United States who is eligible to receive payments under the "Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account Act," 88 Stat. 1297 (1974), 26 U.S.C. 9031, et seq., as amended, may file, or may designate a qualified elector to file on the candidate's behalf, with the secretary of state a declaration of candidacy and petition not later than four p.m. of the sixtieth day before the presidential primary election held in the same year the candidate is eligible to receive such payments. In filing a declaration of candidacy and petition under this division, the name of a candidate for the presidency shall not be used without the candidate's written consent.

The declaration of candidacy and petition shall be filed in the same manner as a declaration of candidacy and petition is filed under section 3513.05 of the Revised Code for a candidacy that is to be submitted to the electors of a congressional district. The candidate shall indicate on the declaration of candidacy the congressional districts in this state where the candidate's candidacy is to be submitted to the electors. A separate petition paper shall be filed for each such congressional district. Each petition shall be signed by at least fifty qualified electors residing in the district who are members of the same political party as the candidate.

(b) The form used for a declaration of candidacy filed pursuant to division (B)(2)(a) of this section shall be substantially the same as the form prescribed in section 3513.07 of the Revised Code except that the secretary of state shall modify that form to include spaces for a presidential candidate to indicate in which congressional districts the candidate wishes the candidate's candidacy to be submitted to the electors and shall modify it in any other ways necessary to adapt it to use by presidential candidates. A candidate who files a declaration of candidacy pursuant to division (B)(2)(a) of this section shall not file the petition prescribed in section 3513.07 of the Revised Code.

(C) A vote cast for a candidate in a presidential primary election shall be considered to be a vote for the selection of the applicable number of delegates, as determined by the constitution and bylaws of the political party for which the candidate is seeking nomination, to vote for that candidate as the first choice for nomination as the candidate of the political party for the presidency of the United States at the political party's national convention.

(D)(1) The state central committee of each major political party, through its chairperson, not later than the fifteenth day prior to the date of the presidential primary election, shall file with the secretary of state the rules of its political party adopted by the state central committee at a meeting open to all members of the committee's party, which affect the selection of delegates and alternates to its party nominating convention.

(2) The secretary of state shall issue a certificate of nomination to the state central committee of each major political party, through its chairperson, indicating the candidate selected at the presidential primary election as the first choice for nomination as the candidate of the political party for the presidency of the United States.

(3) The political party shall select delegates and alternates to its national convention in accordance with the party's constitution and bylaws. At the political party's national convention, those delegates shall select, as their first choice for nomination as the candidate of the political party for the presidency of the United States, the candidate who is identified, on the certificate of nomination issued under division (D)(2) of this section, as having received the highest number of votes throughout the state in that party's presidential primary election.

Sec. 3513.13.  Separate primary election ballots shall be provided by the board of elections for each political party having candidates for nomination or election in a primary election. Section 3505.08 of the Revised Code governing the kind of paper, the kind of ink, and the size and style of type to be used in the printing of ballots for general elections shall apply in the printing of ballots for primary elections.

Primary election ballots shall have printed on the back thereof "Official ............ (name of party) .......... primary ballot," the date of the election, and the facsimile signatures of the members of the board.

Such ballots shall have stubs attached at the top thereof as required on ballots for general elections.

On the back of every ballot used there shall be a solid black line printed opposite the blank rectangular space that is used to mark the choice of the voter. This line shall be printed wide enough so that the mark in the blank rectangular space will not be visible from the back side of the ballot.

Such ballots shall have printed at the top thereof and below the stubs "Official .......... (name of party) ........... primary ballot" and instructions to the voter to the effect that to vote for a candidate the voter shall record the vote in the manner provided on the ballot next to the name of such candidate, except as provided in section 3513.151 of the Revised Code, and that if he a voter who tears, soils, defaces, or erroneously marks the ballot he may return it to the precinct election officers and obtain another ballot.

Except as provided in section 3513.151 of the Revised Code, primary Primary election ballots shall contain the names of all persons whose declarations of candidacy and petitions have been determined to be valid. The name of each candidate for nomination for, or election to, an office or position shall be printed in an enclosed rectangular space at the left of which an enclosed blank rectangular space shall be provided. The names of candidates shall be printed on the ballot immediately below the title of the office or position for nomination or election to which the candidate seeks nomination or election. The order in which offices and positions shall be listed on the ballot shall be prescribed by and shall be certified to each board by the secretary of state, and shall be the same, to the extent the secretary of state deems practicable, as is provided for the listing of offices on general election ballots.

Sec. 3513.14.  Except in elections for which the board of elections has received no valid declarations of intent to be a write-in candidate under section 3513.041 of the Revised Code, immediately below the title of each office for which nominations are to be made and the names of candidates for such nomination printed thereunder, there shall be provided on each primary election ballot as many blank spaces as, but not more than, the number of nominations to be made for such office, in which the voter may write the names of persons for whose nomination he the voter desires to vote, provided that inasmuch as candidates for the office of delegate and alternate to the national and state conventions, member of the state central committee, and member of the county central committee are elected by direct vote of the members of a political party at the primary election no blank space shall be left on the ballot after the names of the candidates for such office, and no vote shall be counted for any person whose name has been written in on said ballot for any of such offices. If no person files and qualifies as a candidate for the office of member of the state central committee or member of the county central committee such office shall not appear on the ballot.

The face of the ballot below the stub shall be substantially in the following form:

(A) To vote for a candidate record your vote in the manner provided next to the name of such candidate.

(B) If you tear, soil, deface, or erroneously mark this ballot return it to the election officials and obtain another.

Sec. 3513.15.  The names of the candidates in each group of two or more candidates seeking the same nomination or election at a primary election, except delegates and alternates to the national convention of a political party, shall be rotated and printed as provided in section 3505.03 of the Revised Code, except that no indication of membership in or affiliation with a political party shall be printed after or under the candidate's name. When the names of the first choices for president of candidates for delegate and alternate are not grouped with the names of such candidates, the names of the first choices for president shall be rotated in the same manner as the names of candidates. The specific form and size of the ballot shall be prescribed by the secretary of state in compliance with this chapter.

It shall not be necessary to have the names of candidates for member of a county central committee printed on the ballots provided for absentee voters, and the board may cause the names of such candidates to be written on said ballots in the spaces provided therefor.

The secretary of state shall prescribe the procedure for rotating the names of candidates on the ballot and the form of the ballot for the election of delegates and alternates to the national convention of a political party in accordance with section 3513.151 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3513.30.  (A)(1) If only one valid declaration of candidacy is filed for nomination as a candidate of a political party for an office and that candidate dies prior to the tenth day before the primary election, both of the following may occur:

(a) The political party whose candidate died may fill the vacancy so created as provided in division (A)(2) of this section.

(b) Any major political party other than the one whose candidate died may select a candidate as provided in division (A)(2) of this section under either of the following circumstances:

(i) No person has filed a valid declaration of candidacy for nomination as that party's candidate at the primary election.

(ii) Only one person has filed a valid declaration of candidacy for nomination as that party's candidate at the primary election, that person has withdrawn, died, or been disqualified under section 3513.052 of the Revised Code, and the vacancy so created has not been filled.

(2) A vacancy may be filled under division (A)(1)(a) and a selection may be made under division (A)(1)(b) of this section by the appropriate committee of the political party in the same manner as provided in divisions (A) to (E) of section 3513.31 of the Revised Code for the filling of similar vacancies created by withdrawals or disqualifications under section 3513.052 of the Revised Code after the primary election, except that the certification required under that section may not be filed with the secretary of state, or with a board of the most populous county of a district, or with the board of a county in which the major portion of the population of a subdivision is located, later than four p.m. of the tenth day before the day of such primary election, or with any other board later than four p.m. of the fifth day before the day of such primary election.

(3) If only one valid declaration of candidacy is filed for nomination as a candidate of a political party for an office and that candidate dies on or after the tenth day before the day of the primary election, that candidate is considered to have received the nomination of that candidate's political party at that primary election, and, for purposes of filling the vacancy so created, that candidate's death shall be treated as if that candidate died on the day after the day of the primary election.

(B) Any person filing a declaration of candidacy may withdraw as such candidate at any time prior to the primary election, or, if the primary election is a presidential primary election, at any time prior to the fiftieth day before the presidential primary election. The withdrawal shall be effected and the statement of withdrawal shall be filed in accordance with the procedures prescribed in division (D) of this section for the withdrawal of persons nominated in a primary election or by nominating petition.

(C) A person who is seeking nomination as the first choice for president of the United States by a candidate for delegate or alternate delegates to a national convention of a political party may withdraw consent for the selection of the person as such first choice no candidate not later than four p.m. of the thirtieth day before the day of the presidential primary election. Withdrawal of consent shall be for the entire slate of candidates for delegates and alternates who named such person as their presidential first choice and shall constitute withdrawal from the primary election by such delegates and alternates. The withdrawal shall be made in writing and delivered to the secretary of state. If the withdrawal is delivered to the secretary of state on or before the sixtieth day before the day of the primary election, or, if the election is a presidential primary election, on or before the forty-fifth day before the day of the presidential primary election, the boards of elections shall remove both the name of the withdrawn first choice and the names of such withdrawn candidates candidate from the ballots according to the directions of the secretary of state. If the withdrawal is delivered to the secretary of state after the sixtieth day before the day of the primary election, or, if the election is a presidential primary election, after the forty-fifth day before the day of the presidential primary election, the board of elections shall not remove the name of the withdrawn first choice and the names of the withdrawn candidates candidate from the ballots. The board of elections shall post a notice at each polling location on the day of the primary election, and shall enclose with each absent voter's ballot given or mailed after the candidate withdraws, a notice that votes for the withdrawn first choice or the withdrawn candidates candidate will be void and will not be counted. If such names are the candidate's name is not removed from all ballots before the day of the election, the votes for the withdrawn first choice or the withdrawn candidates candidate are void and shall not be counted.

(D) Any person nominated in a primary election or by nominating petition as a candidate for election at the next general election may withdraw as such candidate at any time prior to the general election. Such withdrawal may be effected by the filing of a written statement by such candidate announcing the candidate's withdrawal and requesting that the candidate's name not be printed on the ballots. If such candidate's declaration of candidacy or nominating petition was filed with the secretary of state, the candidate's statement of withdrawal shall be addressed to and filed with the secretary of state. If such candidate's declaration of candidacy or nominating petition was filed with a board of elections, the candidate's statement of withdrawal shall be addressed to and filed with such board.

(E) When a person withdraws under division (B) or (D) of this section on or before the sixtieth day before the day of the primary election, or, if the election is a presidential primary election, on or before the forty-fifth day before the day of the presidential primary election, the board of elections shall remove the name of the withdrawn candidate from the ballots according to the directions of the secretary of state. When a person withdraws under division (B) or (D) of this section after the sixtieth day before the day of the primary election, or, if the election is a presidential primary election, after the forty-fifth day before the day of the presidential primary election, the board of elections shall not remove the name of the withdrawn candidate from the ballots. The board of elections shall post a notice at each polling place on the day of the primary election, and shall enclose with each absent voter's ballot given or mailed after the candidate withdraws, a notice that votes for the withdrawn candidate will be void and will not be counted. If the name is not removed from all ballots before the day of the election, the votes for the withdrawn candidate are void and shall not be counted.

Section 2. That existing sections 3501.01, 3513.04, 3513.10, 3513.12, 3513.13, 3513.14, 3513.15, and 3513.30 and sections 3513.121 and 3513.151 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.