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Am. Sub. H. B. No. 224 As Passed by the SenateAs Passed by the Senate
129th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2011-2012 |
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Representatives Dovilla, Stinziano
Cosponsors:
Representatives Mecklenborg, Adams, J., Rosenberger, Pillich, Thompson, Wachtmann, Grossman, Combs, Murray, Butler, Maag, Uecker, Buchy, Celeste, Gardner, Huffman, Letson, Lundy, Patmon, Sprague, Adams, R., Amstutz, Anielski, Antonio, Ashford, Baker, Balderson, Barnes, Beck, Blair, Blessing, Boose, Boyd, Brenner, Bubp, Budish, Carney, Clyde, Conditt, Damschroder, DeGeeter, Derickson, Driehaus, Duffey, Garland, Gentile, Gerberry, Goyal, Hackett, Hagan, C., Hagan, R., Hall, Hayes, Heard, Henne, Hottinger, Johnson, Kozlowski, Landis, Mallory, Martin, McClain, McGregor, McKenney, Milkovich, Newbold, O'Brien, Peterson, Phillips, Ramos, Reece, Roegner, Ruhl, Schuring, Sears, Slaby, Stautberg, Stebelton, Sykes, Szollosi, Weddington, Winburn, Young, Yuko Speaker Batchelder
Senators Grendell, Turner, Brown, Jordan, Bacon, Coley, Daniels, Faber, Hite, Hughes, LaRose, Lehner, Manning, Niehaus, Oelslager, Patton, Sawyer, Schaffer, Wagoner, Widener, Wilson
A BILL
To amend sections 3501.13, 3503.02, 3503.14, 3503.19,
3503.191, 3503.28, 3505.18, 3505.181, 3505.183,
3509.021, 3509.03, 3509.04, 3509.05, 3509.07,
3511.01, 3511.02, 3511.021, 3511.04, 3511.05,
3511.09, 3511.10, 3511.11, and 3511.14, to amend,
for the purpose of adopting a new section number
as indicated in parentheses, section 3511.01
(3511.011), to enact new section 3511.01 and
sections 3509.10, 3511.15, and 3511.16, and to
repeal sections 3503.20 and 3509.031 of the
Revised Code to revise the law governing uniformed
services and overseas voters, to specify that
voters who provide a Social Security Number for
election purposes only are required to provide the
last four digits of that number, to revise the
process for casting provisional ballots for voters
without identification, to eliminate online voter
registration, to require absent voter's ballot
statements to include the voter's printed name, to
make technical corrections to the laws governing
elections, and to declare an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 3501.13, 3503.02, 3503.14, 3503.19,
3503.191, 3503.28, 3505.18, 3505.181, 3505.183, 3509.021, 3509.03,
3509.04, 3509.05, 3509.07, 3511.01, 3511.02, 3511.021, 3511.04,
3511.05, 3511.09, 3511.10, 3511.11, and 3511.14 be amended,
section 3511.01 (3511.011) be amended for the purpose of adopting
a new section number as indicated in parentheses, and that new
section 3511.01 and sections 3509.10, 3511.15, and 3511.16 of the
Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 3501.13. (A) The director of the board of elections
shall keep a full and true record of the proceedings of the board
and of all moneys received and expended; file and preserve in the
board's office all orders and records pertaining to the
administration of registrations, primaries, and elections; receive
and have the custody of all books, papers, and property belonging
to the board; and perform other duties in connection with the
office of director and the proper conduct of elections as the
board determines.
(B) Before entering upon the duties of the office, the
director shall subscribe to an oath that the director will support
the Constitution of the United States and the Ohio Constitution,
perform all the duties of the office to the best of the director's
ability, enforce the election laws, and preserve all records,
documents, and other property pertaining to the conduct of
elections placed in the director's custody.
(C) The director may administer oaths to persons required by
law to file certificates or other papers with the board, to
precinct election officials, to witnesses who are called to
testify before the board, and to voters filling out blanks at the
board's offices. Except as otherwise provided by state or federal
law, the records of the board and papers and books filed in its
office are public records and open to inspection under such
reasonable regulations as shall be established by the board. The
social security number or any part thereof of any elector or of
any applicant for voter registration is not a public record. The
board shall redact any such number from any record that it makes
open to public inspection or copying under this section.
The following notice shall be posted in a prominent place at
each board office:
"Except as otherwise provided by state or federal law,
records filed in this office of the board of elections are open to
public inspection during normal office hours, pursuant to the
following reasonable regulations: (the board shall here list its
regulations). Whoever prohibits any person from inspecting the
public records of this board is subject to the penalties of
section 3599.161 of the Revised Code."
(D) Upon receipt of a written declaration of intent to retire
as provided for in section 145.38 of the Revised Code, the
director shall provide a copy to each member of the board of
elections.
Sec. 3503.02. All registrars and judges of elections, in
determining the residence of a person offering to register or
vote, shall be governed by the following rules:
(A) That place shall be considered the residence of a person
in which the person's habitation is fixed and to which, whenever
the person is absent, the person has the intention of returning.
(B) A person shall not be considered to have lost the
person's residence who leaves the person's home and goes into
another state or county of this state, for temporary purposes
only, with the intention of returning.
(C) A person shall not be considered to have gained a
residence in any county of this state into which the person comes
for temporary purposes only, without the intention of making such
county the permanent place of abode.
(D) The place where the family of a married person resides
shall be considered to be the person's place of residence; except
that when the spouses have separated and live apart, the place
where such a spouse resides the length of time required to entitle
a person to vote shall be considered to be the spouse's place of
residence.
(E) If a person removes to another state with the intention
of making such state the person's residence, the person shall be
considered to have lost the person's residence in this state.
(F) Except as otherwise provided in division (G) of this
section, if a person removes from this state and continuously
resides outside this state for a period of four years or more, the
person shall be considered to have lost the person's residence in
this state, notwithstanding the fact that the person may entertain
an intention to return at some future period.
(G)(1) If a person removes from this state to engage in the
services of the United States government, the person shall not be
considered to have lost the person's residence in this state
during the period of such service, and likewise should the person
enter the employment of the state, the place where such person
resided at the time of the person's removal shall be considered to
be the person's place of residence.
(2) If a person removes from this state to a location outside
of the United States and the person does not become a resident of
another state, the person shall not be considered to have lost the
person's residence in this state. The place where the person
resided at the time of the person's removal shall be considered to
be the person's place of residence.
(3) If a person is eligible to vote in this state under
division (D)(2) of section 3511.011 of the Revised Code, the place
where the person's parent or legal guardian resided in this state
prior to that parent or legal guardian's removal to a location
outside of the United States shall be considered to be the
person's place of residence.
(4) If an address that is considered to be a person's place
of residence under division (G) of this section ceases to be a
recognized residential address, the board of elections shall
assign an address to the applicable person for voting purposes.
(H) If a person goes into another state and while there
exercises the right of a citizen by voting, the person shall be
considered to have lost the person's residence in this state.
(I) If a person does not have a fixed place of habitation,
but has a shelter or other location at which the person has been a
consistent or regular inhabitant and to which the person has the
intention of returning, that shelter or other location shall be
deemed the person's residence for the purpose of registering to
vote.
Sec. 3503.14. (A) The secretary of state shall prescribe the
form and content of the registration, change of residence, and
change of name forms used in this state. The forms shall meet the
requirements of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and
shall include spaces for all of the following:
(4) The voter's date of birth;
(5) The voter to provide one or more of the following:
(a) The voter's driver's license number or state
identification card number, if any;
(b) The last four digits of the voter's social security
number, if any;
(c) A copy of a current and valid photo identification, a
copy of a military identification, a copy of a United States
passport, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement,
government check, paycheck, or other government document, other
than a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections
under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the voter's
name and address.
(6) The voter's signature.
The registration form shall include a space on which the
person registering an applicant shall sign the person's name and
provide the person's address and a space on which the person
registering an applicant shall name the employer who is employing
that person to register the applicant.
Except for forms prescribed by the secretary of state under
section 3503.11 of the Revised Code, the secretary of state shall
permit boards of elections to produce forms that have subdivided
spaces for each individual alphanumeric character of the
information provided by the voter so as to accommodate the
electronic reading and conversion of the voter's information to
data and the subsequent electronic transfer of that data to the
statewide voter registration database established under section
3503.15 of the Revised Code.
(B) None of the following persons who are registering an
applicant in the course of that official's or employee's normal
duties shall sign the person's name, provide the person's address,
or name the employer who is employing the person to register an
applicant on a form prepared under this section:
(1) An election official;
(3) A deputy registrar of motor vehicles;
(4) An employee of a designated agency;
(5) An employee of a public high school;
(6) An employee of a public vocational school;
(7) An employee of a public library;
(8) An employee of the office of a county treasurer;
(9) An employee of the bureau of motor vehicles;
(10) An employee of a deputy registrar of motor vehicles;
(11) An employee of an election official.
(C) Except as provided in section 3501.382 of the Revised
Code, any applicant who is unable to sign the applicant's own name
shall make an "X," if possible, which shall be certified by the
signing of the name of the applicant by the person filling out the
form, who shall add the person's own signature. If an applicant is
unable to make an "X," the applicant shall indicate in some manner
that the applicant desires to register to vote or to change the
applicant's name or residence. The person registering the
applicant shall sign the form and attest that the applicant
indicated that the applicant desired to register to vote or to
change the applicant's name or residence.
(D) No registration, change of residence, or change of name
form shall be rejected solely on the basis that a person
registering an applicant failed to sign the person's name or
failed to name the employer who is employing that person to
register the applicant as required under division (A) of this
section.
(E) A voter registration application submitted online through
the internet pursuant to section 3503.20 of the Revised Code is
not required to contain a signature to be considered valid. The
signature obtained under division (B) of that section shall be
considered the applicant's signature for all election and
signature-matching purposes.
(F) As used in this section, "registering an applicant"
includes any effort, for compensation, to provide voter
registration forms or to assist persons in completing or returning
those forms.
Sec. 3503.19. (A) Persons qualified to register or to change
their registration because of a change of address or change of
name may register or change their registration in person or
through another person at any state or local office of a
designated agency, at the office of the registrar or any deputy
registrar of motor vehicles, at a public high school or vocational
school, at a public library, at the office of a county treasurer,
or at a branch office established by the board of elections, or in
person, through another person, or by mail at the office of the
secretary of state or at the office of a board of elections. A
registered elector may also change the elector's registration on
election day at any polling place where the elector is eligible to
vote, in the manner provided under section 3503.16 of the Revised
Code.
Any state or local office of a designated agency, the office
of the registrar or any deputy registrar of motor vehicles, a
public high school or vocational school, a public library, or the
office of a county treasurer shall transmit any voter registration
application or change of registration form that it receives to the
board of elections of the county in which the state or local
office is located, within five business days after receiving the
voter registration application or change of registration form.
An otherwise valid voter registration application that is
returned to the appropriate office other than by mail must be
received by a state or local office of a designated agency, the
office of the registrar or any deputy registrar of motor vehicles,
a public high school or vocational school, a public library, the
office of a county treasurer, the office of the secretary of
state, or the office of a board of elections no later than the
thirtieth day preceding a primary, special, or general election
for the person to qualify as an elector eligible to vote at that
election. An otherwise valid registration application received
after that day entitles the elector to vote at all subsequent
elections.
Any state or local office of a designated agency, the office
of the registrar or any deputy registrar of motor vehicles, a
public high school or vocational school, a public library, or the
office of a county treasurer shall date stamp a registration
application or change of name or change of address form it
receives using a date stamp that does not disclose the identity of
the state or local office that receives the registration.
Voter registration applications, if otherwise valid, that are
returned by mail to the office of the secretary of state or to the
office of a board of elections must be postmarked no later than
the thirtieth day preceding a primary, special, or general
election in order for the person to qualify as an elector eligible
to vote at that election. If an otherwise valid voter registration
application that is returned by mail does not bear a postmark or a
legible postmark, the registration shall be valid for that
election if received by the office of the secretary of state or
the office of a board of elections no later than twenty-five days
preceding any special, primary, or general election.
(B)(1) Any person may apply in person, by telephone, by mail,
or through another person for voter registration forms to the
office of the secretary of state or the office of a board of
elections. An individual who is eligible to vote as a uniformed
services voter or an overseas voter in accordance with 42 U.S.C.
1973ff-6 also may apply for voter registration forms by electronic
means to the office of the secretary of state or to the board of
elections of the county in which the person's voting residence is
located pursuant to section 3503.191 of the Revised Code.
(2)(a) An applicant may return the applicant's completed
registration form in person or through another person to any state
or local office of a designated agency, to a public high school or
vocational school, to a public library, to the office of a county
treasurer, to the office of the secretary of state, or to the
office of a board of elections. An applicant who is eligible to
vote as a uniformed services voter or an overseas voter in
accordance with 42 U.S.C. 1973ff-6 also may return the applicant's
completed voter registration form electronically to the office of
the secretary of state or to the board of elections of the county
in which the person's voting residence is located pursuant to
section 3503.191 of the Revised Code.
(b) Subject to division (B)(2)(c) of this section, an
applicant may return the applicant's completed registration form
by mail or through another person to any board of elections or the
office of the secretary of state.
(c) A person who receives compensation for registering a
voter shall return any registration form entrusted to that person
by an applicant to any board of elections or to the office of the
secretary of state.
(d) If a board of elections or the office of the secretary of
state receives a registration form under division (B)(2)(b) or (c)
of this section before the thirtieth day before an election, the
board or the office of the secretary of state, as applicable,
shall forward the registration to the board of elections of the
county in which the applicant is seeking to register to vote
within ten days after receiving the application. If a board of
elections or the office of the secretary of state receives a
registration form under division (B)(2)(b) or (c) of this section
on or after the thirtieth day before an election, the board or the
office of the secretary of state, as applicable, shall forward the
registration to the board of elections of the county in which the
applicant is seeking to register to vote within thirty days after
that election.
(C)(1) A board of elections that receives a voter
registration application and is satisfied as to the truth of the
statements made in the registration form shall register the
applicant not later than twenty business days after receiving the
application, unless that application is received during the thirty
days immediately preceding the day of an election. The board shall
promptly notify the applicant in writing of each of the following:
(a) The applicant's registration;
(b) The precinct in which the applicant is to vote;
(c) In bold type as follows:
"Voters must bring identification to the polls in order to
verify identity. Identification may include a current and valid
photo identification, a military identification, a United States
passport, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement,
government check, paycheck, or other government document, other
than this notification, that shows the voter's name and current
address. Voters who do not provide one of these documents will
still be able to vote by providing the voter's social security
number and by casting a provisional ballot."
The notification shall be by nonforwardable mail. If the mail
is returned to the board, it shall investigate and cause the
notification to be delivered to the correct address.
(2) If, after investigating as required under division (C)(1)
of this section, the board is unable to verify the voter's correct
address, it shall cause the voter's name in the official
registration list and in the poll list or signature pollbook to be
marked to indicate that the voter's notification was returned to
the board.
At the first election at which a voter whose name has been so
marked appears to vote, the voter shall be required to provide
identification to the election officials and to vote by
provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code. If
the provisional ballot is counted pursuant to division (B)(3) of
section 3505.183 of the Revised Code, the board shall correct that
voter's registration, if needed, and shall remove the indication
that the voter's notification was returned from that voter's name
on the official registration list and on the poll list or
signature pollbook. If the provisional ballot is not counted
pursuant to division (B)(4)(a)(i) or (v) of section 3505.183 of
the Revised Code, the voter's registration shall be canceled. The
board shall notify the voter by United States mail of the
cancellation.
(3) If a notice of the disposition of an otherwise valid
registration application is sent by nonforwardable mail and is
returned undelivered, the person shall be registered as provided
in division (C)(2) of this section and sent a confirmation notice
by forwardable mail. If the person fails to respond to the
confirmation notice, update the person's registration, or vote by
provisional ballot as provided in division (C)(2) of this section
in any election during the period of two federal elections
subsequent to the mailing of the confirmation notice, the person's
registration shall be canceled.
Sec. 3503.191. (A) The secretary of state shall establish
procedures that allow any person who is eligible to vote as a
uniformed services voter or an overseas voter in accordance with
42 U.S.C. 1973ff-6 Chapter 3511. of the Revised Code to request
voter registration forms electronically from the office of the
secretary of state or the board of elections of the county in
which the person's voting residence is located.
(B) The procedures shall allow such a person to express a
preference for the manner in which the person will receive the
requested voter registration forms, whether by mail,
electronically, or in person. The registration forms shall be
transmitted by the preferred method. If the requestor does not
express a preferred method, the registration forms shall be
delivered via standard mail.
(C) The secretary of state shall, by rule, establish and
maintain reasonable procedures necessary to protect the security,
confidentiality, and integrity of personal information that is
confidential under state or federal law that is collected, stored,
or otherwise used in the electronic voter registration form
request process established under this section. To the extent
practicable, the procedures shall protect the security and
integrity of the electronic voter registration form request
process and protect the privacy of the identity and personal data
of the person when such forms are requested, processed, and sent.
(D) In establishing procedures under this section, the
secretary of state shall designate at least one means of
electronic communication for use by such persons to request voter
registration forms, for use by the state to send voter
registration forms to those who have requested electronic
delivery, and for providing public election and voting
information. Such designated means of electronic communication
shall be identified on all information and instructional materials
that accompany balloting materials.
Sec. 3503.28. (A) The secretary of state shall develop an
information brochure regarding voter registration. The brochure
shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following
information:
(1) The applicable deadlines for registering to vote or for
returning an applicant's completed registration form;
(2) The applicable deadline for returning an applicant's
completed registration form if the person returning the form is
being compensated for registering voters;
(3) The locations to which a person may return an applicant's
completed registration form;
(4) The location to which a person who is compensated for
registering voters may return an applicant's completed
registration form;
(5) A notice, which shall be written in bold type, stating as
follows:
"Voters must bring identification to the polls in order to
verify identity. Identification may include a current and valid
photo identification, a military identification, a United States
passport, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement,
government check, paycheck, or other government document, other
than a voter registration notification sent by a board of
elections, that shows the voter's name and current address. Voters
who do not provide one of these documents will still be able to
vote by providing the voter's social security number and by
casting a provisional ballot."
(B)(1) The secretary of state shall provide the information
required to be included in the brochure developed under division
(A) of this section to any person who prints a voter registration
form that is made available on a web site of the office of the
secretary of state.
(2) If a board of elections operates and maintains a web
site, the board shall provide the information required to be
included in the brochure developed under division (A) of this
section to any person who prints a voter registration form that is
made available on that web site.
(C) As used in this section, "registering voters" includes
any effort, for compensation, to provide voter registration forms
or to assist persons in completing or returning those forms.
Sec. 3505.18. (A)(1) When an elector appears in a polling
place to vote, the elector shall announce to the precinct election
officials the elector's full name and current address and provide
proof of the elector's identity in the form of a current and valid
photo identification, a military identification, a United States
passport, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement,
government check, paycheck, or other government document, other
than a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections
under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the name and
current address of the elector.
(2) If an elector does not have or is unable to provide to
the precinct election officials any of the forms of identification
required under division (A)(1) of this section, the elector may
cast a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised
Code and do either of the following:
(a) Appear at the office of the board of elections not later
than the close of the polls on the day of the election and provide
the identification required under division (A)(1) of this section;
or
(b) Write the elector's social security number on the
provisional ballot envelope, which number shall be verified by the
board of elections with the bureau of motor vehicles.
(B) After the elector has announced the elector's full name
and current address and provided any of the forms of
identification required under division (A)(1) of this section, the
elector shall write the elector's signature at the proper place in
the poll list or signature pollbook provided for the purpose,
except that if, for any reason, an elector is unable to write the
elector's signature in the poll list or signature pollbook, the
elector may make the elector's mark at the place intended for the
elector's signature, and a precinct election official shall write
the name of the elector at the proper place on the poll list or
signature pollbook following the elector's mark. The making of
such a mark shall be attested by the precinct election official,
who shall evidence the same by signing the precinct election
official's name on the poll list or signature pollbook as a
witness to the mark. Alternatively, if applicable, an attorney in
fact acting pursuant to section 3501.382 of the Revised Code may
sign the elector's signature in the poll list or signature
pollbook in accordance with that section.
The elector's signature in the poll list or signature
pollbook then shall be compared with the elector's signature on
the elector's registration form or a digitized signature list as
provided for in section 3503.13 of the Revised Code, and if, in
the opinion of a majority of the precinct election officials, the
signatures are the signatures of the same person, the election
officials shall enter the date of the election on the registration
form or shall record the date by other means prescribed by the
secretary of state. The validity of an attorney in fact's
signature on behalf of an elector shall be determined in
accordance with section 3501.382 of the Revised Code.
If the right of the elector to vote is not then challenged,
or, if being challenged, the elector establishes the elector's
right to vote, the elector shall be allowed to proceed to use the
voting machine. If voting machines are not being used in that
precinct, the judge in charge of ballots shall then detach the
next ballots to be issued to the elector from Stub B attached to
each ballot, leaving Stub A attached to each ballot, hand the
ballots to the elector, and call the elector's name and the stub
number on each of the ballots. The judge shall enter the stub
numbers opposite the signature of the elector in the pollbook. The
elector shall then retire to one of the voting compartments to
mark the elector's ballots. No mark shall be made on any ballot
which would in any way enable any person to identify the person
who voted the ballot.
Sec. 3505.181. (A) All of the following individuals shall be
permitted to cast a provisional ballot at an election:
(1) An individual who declares that the individual is a
registered voter in the jurisdiction in which the individual
desires to vote and that the individual is eligible to vote in an
election, but the name of the individual does not appear on the
official list of eligible voters for the polling place or an
election official asserts that the individual is not eligible to
vote;
(2) An individual who does not have or is unable to provide
to the election officials any of the forms of identification
required under division (A)(1) of section 3505.18 of the Revised
Code;
(3) An individual whose name in the poll list or signature
pollbook has been marked under section 3509.09 or 3511.13 of the
Revised Code as having requested an absent voter's ballot or a
uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballot for that
election and who appears to vote at the polling place;
(4) An individual whose notification of registration has been
returned undelivered to the board of elections and whose name in
the official registration list and in the poll list or signature
pollbook has been marked under division (C)(2) of section 3503.19
of the Revised Code;
(5) An individual who is challenged under section 3505.20 of
the Revised Code and the election officials determine that the
person is ineligible to vote or are unable to determine the
person's eligibility to vote;
(6) An individual who moves from one precinct to another
within a county, moves from one precinct to another and changes
the individual's name, moves from one county to another within the
state, or moves from one county to another and changes the
individual's name and completes and signs the required forms and
statements under division (B) or (C) of section 3503.16 of the
Revised Code;
(7) An individual whose signature, in the opinion of the
precinct officers under section 3505.22 of the Revised Code, is
not that of the person who signed that name in the registration
forms;
(8) An individual who is challenged under section 3513.20 of
the Revised Code who refuses to make the statement required under
that section, or who a majority of the precinct officials find
lacks any of the qualifications to make the individual a qualified
elector, or who a majority of the precinct officials find is not
affiliated with or a member of the political party whose ballot
the individual desires to vote;
(9) An individual who is casting a ballot after the time for
the closing of the polls under section 3501.32 of the Revised Code
pursuant to a court order extending the time for the closing of
the polls.
(B) An individual who is eligible to cast a provisional
ballot under division (A) of this section shall be permitted to
cast a provisional ballot as follows:
(1) An election official at the polling place shall notify
the individual that the individual may cast a provisional ballot
in that election.
(2) The individual shall be permitted to cast a provisional
ballot at that polling place upon the execution of a written
affirmation by the individual before an election official at the
polling place stating that the individual is both of the
following:
(a) A registered voter in the jurisdiction in which the
individual desires to vote;
(b) Eligible to vote in that election.
If the individual declines to execute the affirmation, the
election official shall not record any of the information required
to be provided by the individual on the affirmation. The election
official shall explain to the individual that the provisional
ballot will not be counted.
(3) An election official at the polling place shall transmit
the ballot cast by the individual and the voter information
contained in the written affirmation executed by the individual
under division (B)(2) of this section to an appropriate local
election official for verification.
(4)(a) At the time that an individual casts a provisional
ballot, the appropriate local election official shall give the
individual written information that states that any individual who
casts a provisional ballot will be able to ascertain under the
system established under division (B)(4)(b) of this section
whether the vote was counted, and, if the vote was not counted,
the reason that the vote was not counted.
(b) The appropriate state or local election official shall
establish a free access system, in the form of a toll-free
telephone number, that any individual who casts a provisional
ballot may access to discover whether the vote of that individual
was counted, and, if the vote was not counted, the reason that the
vote was not counted. The free access system established under
this division also shall provide to an individual whose
provisional ballot was not counted information explaining how that
individual may contact the board of elections to register to vote
or to resolve problems with the individual's voter registration.
The appropriate state or local election official shall
establish and maintain reasonable procedures necessary to protect
the security, confidentiality, and integrity of personal
information collected, stored, or otherwise used by the free
access system established under this division. Access to
information about an individual ballot shall be restricted to the
individual who cast the ballot.
(C)(1) If an individual declares that the individual is
eligible to vote in a jurisdiction other than the jurisdiction in
which the individual desires to vote, or if, upon review of the
precinct voting location guide using the residential street
address provided by the individual, an election official at the
polling place at which the individual desires to vote determines
that the individual is not eligible to vote in that jurisdiction,
the election official may direct the individual to the polling
place for the jurisdiction in which the individual appears to be
eligible to vote, explain that the individual may cast a
provisional ballot at the current location but the ballot will not
be counted if it is cast in the wrong precinct, and provide the
telephone number of the board of elections in case the individual
has additional questions. It is the duty of the individual casting
the ballot to ensure that the individual is casting that ballot in
the correct precinct.
(2) The individual may travel to the polling place for the
correct jurisdiction or to the office of the board of elections to
cast a ballot, or the individual shall be permitted to vote a
provisional ballot at that jurisdiction in accordance with
division (B) of this section.
(3) If an election official attempts to direct an individual
to the correct precinct under division (C)(1) of this section, and
the individual subsequently casts a ballot in the wrong precinct,
both of the following apply:
(a) That ballot shall not be counted.
(b) The ballot being cast in the wrong precinct shall not be
considered to be caused by an error on the part of the election
official.
(D) The appropriate local election official shall cause
voting information to be publicly posted at each polling place on
the day of each election.
(E) As used in this section and sections 3505.182 and
3505.183 of the Revised Code:
(1) "Jurisdiction" means the precinct in which a person is a
legally qualified elector.
(2) "Precinct voting location guide" means either of the
following:
(a) An electronic or paper record that lists the correct
jurisdiction and polling place for either each specific
residential street address in the county or the range of
residential street addresses located in each neighborhood block in
the county;
(b) Any other method that a board of elections creates that
allows a precinct election official or any elector who is at a
polling place in that county to determine the correct jurisdiction
and polling place of any qualified elector who resides in the
county.
(3) "Voting information" means all of the following:
(a) A sample version of the ballot that will be used for that
election;
(b) Information regarding the date of the election and the
hours during which polling places will be open;
(c) Instructions on how to vote, including how to cast a vote
and how to cast a provisional ballot;
(d) Instructions for mail-in registrants and first-time
voters under applicable federal and state laws;
(e) General information on voting rights under applicable
federal and state laws, including information on the right of an
individual to cast a provisional ballot and instructions on how to
contact the appropriate officials if these rights are alleged to
have been violated;
(f) General information on federal and state laws regarding
prohibitions against acts of fraud and misrepresentation.
(F) Nothing in this section or section 3505.183 of the
Revised Code is in derogation of section 3505.24 of the Revised
Code, which permits a blind, disabled, or illiterate elector to
receive assistance in the marking of the elector's ballot by two
precinct election officials of different political parties. A
blind, disabled, or illiterate elector may receive assistance in
marking that elector's provisional ballot and in completing the
required affirmation in the same manner as an elector may receive
assistance on the day of an election under that section.
Sec. 3505.183. (A) When the ballot boxes are delivered to
the board of elections from the precincts, the board shall
separate the provisional ballot envelopes from the rest of the
ballots. Teams of employees of the board consisting of one member
of each major political party shall place the sealed provisional
ballot envelopes in a secure location within the office of the
board. The sealed provisional ballot envelopes shall remain in
that secure location until the validity of those ballots is
determined under division (B) of this section.
(B)(1) To determine whether a provisional ballot is valid and
entitled to be counted, the board shall examine the affirmation
executed by the provisional voter, the statewide voter
registration database, and other records maintained by the board
of elections and determine whether the individual who cast the
provisional ballot is registered and eligible to vote in the
applicable election. The board shall examine the information
contained in the written affirmation executed by the individual
who cast the provisional ballot under division (B)(2) of section
3505.181 of the Revised Code. If the provisional voter provided
identification at the board of elections prior to the close of the
polls under division (A)(2)(a) of section 3505.18 of the Revised
Code, the board of elections shall match that voter's provisional
ballot envelope with the corresponding voter's identification and
consider that provisional voter to have provided the required
identification at the polling place at the time the ballot was
cast when determining the validity of the provisional ballot. If
the provisional voter provided the individual's social security
number on the provisional ballot envelope under division (A)(2)(b)
of that section, the board of elections shall verify that voter's
social security number with records maintained by the bureau of
motor vehicles. If those records correspond, the board of
elections shall consider that provisional voter to have provided
the required identification at the polling place at the time the
ballot was cast.
The following information shall be included by the
provisional voter in the written affirmation in order for the
provisional ballot to be eligible to be counted:
(a) The individual's printed name;
(b) The individual's signature;
(c) The individual's date of birth;
(d) One of the following:
(i) The last four digits of the individual's social security
number;
(ii) The individual's driver's license number;
(iii) The individual's state identification card number;
(iv) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(1) of this
section, an An affirmative notation that the individual provided
the required identification under division (A)(1) of section
3505.18 of the Revised Code;
(e) The individual's residence address;
(f) A statement that the individual is a registered voter in
the jurisdiction in which the provisional ballot is being voted;
(g) A statement that the individual is eligible to vote in
the election in which the provisional ballot is being voted.
(2) If, in examining a provisional ballot affirmation and
comparing the information required under division (B)(1) of this
section with the elector's information in the statewide voter
registration database, the board determines that all of the
following apply, the provisional ballot envelope shall be opened,
and the ballot shall be placed in a ballot box to be counted:
(a) The individual named on the affirmation is properly
registered to vote.
(b) The individual named on the affirmation is eligible to
cast a ballot in the precinct and for the election in which the
individual cast the provisional ballot.
(c) The individual provided all of the information required
under division (B)(1) of this section in the affirmation that the
individual executed at the time the individual cast the
provisional ballot, or the individual provided all of the
information required under division (B)(1) of this section with
the exception of the required identification, which identification
was provided at the board of elections prior to the close of the
polls or verified by matching the social security number provided
on the voter's provisional ballot envelope records maintained by
the bureau of motor vehicles.
(d) The last four digits of the elector's social security
number or the elector's driver's license number or state
identification number are not different from the last four digits
of the elector's social security number or the elector's driver's
license number or state identification number contained in the
statewide voter registration database.
(3)(a) If, in examining a provisional ballot affirmation and
comparing the information required under division (B)(1) of this
section with the elector's information in the statewide voter
registration database, the board determines that any of the
following applies, the provisional ballot envelope shall not be
opened, and the ballot shall not be counted:
(i) The individual named on the affirmation is not qualified
or is not properly registered to vote.
(ii) The individual named on the affirmation is not eligible
to cast a ballot in the precinct or for the election in which the
individual cast the provisional ballot.
(iii) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(1) of this
section, the The individual did not provide all of the information
required under division (B)(1) of this section in the affirmation
that the individual executed at the time the individual cast the
provisional ballot.
(iv) The individual has already cast a ballot for the
election in which the individual cast the provisional ballot.
(v) The elector cast a provisional ballot under division
(A)(2) of section 3505.181 of the Revised Code and failed to
provide the required identification under division (A)(2)(a) of
section 3505.18 of the Revised Code, failed to provide the
elector's social security number under division (A)(2)(b) of that
section, or could not be positively identified because the
elector's social security number did not match the records
maintained by the bureau of motor vehicles under that division
last four digits of the elector's social security number or the
elector's driver's license number or state identification number
are different from the last four digits of the elector's social
security number or the elector's driver's license number or state
identification number contained in the statewide voter
registration database.
(b) If, in examining a provisional ballot affirmation and
comparing the information required under division (B)(1) of this
section with the elector's information in the statewide voter
registration database, the board is unable to determine either of
the following, the provisional ballot envelope shall not be
opened, and the ballot shall not be counted:
(i) Whether the individual named on the affirmation is
qualified or properly registered to vote;
(ii) Whether the individual named on the affirmation is
eligible to cast a ballot in the precinct or for the election in
which the individual cast the provisional ballot.
(C)(1) For each provisional ballot rejected under division
(B)(3) of this section, the board shall record the name of the
provisional voter who cast the ballot, the identification number
of the provisional ballot envelope, the names of the election
officials who determined the validity of that ballot, the date and
time that the determination was made, and the reason that the
ballot was not counted.
(2) Provisional ballots that are rejected under division
(B)(3) of this section shall not be counted but shall be preserved
in their provisional ballot 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.
(D) Provisional ballots that the board determines are
eligible to be counted under division (B)(2) of this section shall
be counted in the same manner as provided for other ballots under
section 3505.27 of the Revised Code. No provisional ballots shall
be counted in a particular county until the board determines the
eligibility to be counted of all provisional ballots cast in that
county under division (B) of this section for that election.
Observers, as provided in section 3505.21 of the Revised Code, may
be present at all times that the board is determining the
eligibility of provisional ballots to be counted and counting
those provisional ballots determined to be eligible. No person
shall recklessly disclose the count or any portion of the count of
provisional ballots in such a manner as to jeopardize the secrecy
of any individual ballot.
(E) Nothing in this section shall prevent a board of
elections from examining provisional ballot affirmations to
determine the eligibility of provisional ballots to be counted
during the ten days after the day of an election.
Sec. 3509.021. Except as provided in section 3509.031 of the
Revised Code all All identification envelopes containing absent
voter's ballots for former resident voters who are entitled to
vote for presidential and vice-presidential electors only, shall
have printed or stamped thereon the words, "Presidential Ballot."
Sec. 3509.03. Except as provided in section 3509.031 or
division (B) of section 3509.08 of the Revised Code, any qualified
elector desiring to vote absent voter's ballots at an election
shall make written application for those ballots to the board of
elections of the county in which the elector's voting residence is
located. The application need not be in any particular form but
shall contain all of the following:
(B) The elector's signature;
(C) The address at which the elector is registered to vote;
(D) The elector's date of birth;
(E) One of the following:
(1) The elector's driver's license number or state
identification card number;
(2) The last four digits of the elector's social security
number;
(3) A copy of the elector's current and valid photo
identification, a copy of a military identification, a copy of a
United States passport, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank
statement, government check, paycheck, or other government
document, other than 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.
(F) A statement identifying the election for which absent
voter's ballots are requested;
(G) A statement that the person requesting the ballots is a
qualified elector;
(H) If the request is for primary election ballots, the
elector's party affiliation;
(I) If the elector desires ballots to be mailed to the
elector, the address to which those ballots shall be mailed.
Each application for absent voter's ballots shall be
delivered to the board not earlier than the first day of January
of the year of the elections for which the absent voter's ballots
are requested or not earlier than ninety days before the day of
the election at which the ballots are to be voted, whichever is
earlier, and not later than twelve noon of the third day before
the day of the election at which the ballots are to be voted, or
not later than the close of regular business hours six p.m. on the
day last Friday before the day of the election at which the
ballots are to be voted if the application is delivered in person
to the office of the board.
A board of elections shall not mail any unsolicited
applications for absent voter's ballots. A board shall only mail
an absent voter's ballot application to an elector who has
requested such an application from the board. A board of elections
that mails an absent voter's ballot application to an elector
under this section shall not prepay the return postage for that
application.
Sec. 3509.04. (A) If a board of elections receives an
application for absent voter's ballots that does not contain all
of the required information, the board 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 board of elections of an application
for absent voter's ballots that contains all of the required
information, as provided by sections section 3509.03 and 3509.031
and division (G) of section 3503.16 of the Revised Code, the
board, if the board 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 board
shall deliver or mail with the ballots an unsealed identification
envelope upon the face of which shall be printed a 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).
My state identification card number is ............... (Ohio
identification card number).
My The last four digits of my Social Security Number is are
............... (Last four digits of Social Security Number).
...... In lieu of providing a driver's license number, state
identification card 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, a United States passport, or a current utility
bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other
government document, other than 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 board of elections 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 board. 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. 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 board.
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 it are visible, and placed and sealed within the
identification envelope received from the board 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, state identification card 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, a copy of a United States passport,
or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government
check, paycheck, or other government document, other than 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
board of elections from which it was received in the return
envelope, postage prepaid, or the elector may personally deliver
it to the office of the board, 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 board. The return envelope shall be transmitted
to the board in no other manner, except as provided in section
3509.08 of the Revised Code.
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 board.
Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section,
all other envelopes containing marked absent voter's ballots shall
be delivered to the board not later than the close of the polls on
the day of an election. Absent voter's ballots delivered to the
board 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 board, 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 is postmarked prior to the
day of the election shall be delivered to the board 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 board 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 (B)(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.
(C) Upon receipt of any return envelope prior to the eleventh
day after the day of any election, 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 board finds
ballots in it that are not enclosed in and properly sealed in the
identification envelope, the board 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 board finds that ballots are enclosed in
the identification envelope but that it is not properly sealed,
the board shall not look at the markings upon the ballots and
shall promptly seal the identification envelope.
Sec. 3509.07. If election officials find that the statement
accompanying an absent voter's ballot or absent voter's
presidential ballot is insufficient, that the signatures do not
correspond with the person's registration signature, that the
elector has not included the elector's birth date or printed name
on the identification envelope statement of voter, 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 not included in the envelope with 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. 3509.10. If a board of elections receives an
application for absent voter's ballots under this chapter and it
is apparent to the board that the absent voter is a uniformed
services voter or overseas voter, as defined in section 3511.01 of
the Revised Code, the board shall consider that applicant to have
applied for uniformed services or overseas ballots under Chapter
3511. of the Revised Code and shall provide those ballots to that
voter in accordance with the timelines and procedures applicable
to uniformed services and overseas absent voters.
Sec. 3511.01. As used in this chapter:
(A) "Dependent" means a person who is recognized as a
dependent by one of the uniformed services.
(B) "Overseas voter" means any of the following:
(1) A person who is outside of the United States and who,
before leaving the United States, was last eligible to vote in
this state, who may be considered a state resident using the
standards for residency established in sections 3503.02 and
3511.011 of the Revised Code, and who otherwise satisfies the
requirements to vote in this state;
(2) A person who is outside of the United States and who,
before leaving the United States, would have been eligible to vote
in this state had the person then been eighteen years of age or
older, who may be considered a state resident using the standards
for residency established in sections 3503.02 and 3511.011 of the
Revised Code, and who otherwise satisfies the requirements to vote
in this state;
(3) A person who was born outside of the United States, who
may be considered a state resident using the standards for
residency established in sections 3503.02 and 3511.011 of the
Revised Code, and who otherwise satisfies the requirements to vote
in this state, if both of the following apply:
(a) The last place where the person's parent or legal
guardian was, or would have been, eligible to vote before leaving
the United States is within this state; and
(b) The person has not previously registered to vote in any
other state.
(C) "Uniformed services" means:
(1) Active and reserve components of the army, navy, air
force, marine corps, or coast guard of the United States;
(2) The merchant marine, the commissioned corps of the public
health service, or the commissioned corps of the national oceanic
and atmospheric administration of the United States;
(3) The national guard and the organized militia.
(D) "Uniformed services voter" means an individual who is
qualified to vote in this state and who is:
(1) A member of one of the uniformed services described in
division (C)(1) or (2) of this section;
(2) A member of one of the uniformed services described in
division (C)(3) of this section who is on activated status.
(3) A spouse or dependent of a uniformed services voter.
Sec. 3511.01 3511.011. Any section of the Revised Code to
the contrary notwithstanding, any person who qualifies as a
uniformed services voter or an overseas voter, as defined in 42
U.S.C. 1973ff-6, who will be eighteen years of age or more on the
day of a general or special election and who is a citizen of the
United States, may vote uniformed services or overseas absent
voter's ballots in such general or special election as follows:
(A) If an absent uniformed services member is the voter, the
service member may vote only in the precinct in which the service
member has a voting residence in the state, and that voting
residence shall be that place in the precinct in which the service
member resided immediately preceding the commencement of such
service, provided that the time during which the service member
continuously resided in the state immediately preceding the
commencement of such service plus the time subsequent to such
commencement and prior to the day of such general, special, or
primary election is equal to or exceeds thirty days.
(B) If the spouse or dependent of an absent uniformed
services member is the voter, the spouse or dependent may vote
only in the precinct in which the spouse or dependent has a voting
residence in the state, and that voting residence shall be that
place in the precinct in which the spouse or dependent resided
immediately preceding the time of leaving the state for the
purpose of being with or near the service member, provided that
the time during which the spouse or dependent continuously resided
in the state immediately preceding the time of leaving the state
for the purpose of being with or near the service member plus the
time subsequent to such leaving and prior to the day of such
general, special, or primary election is equal to or exceeds
thirty days.
(C) If an absent uniformed services member or the service
member's spouse or dependent establishes a permanent residence in
a precinct other than the precinct in which the person resided
immediately preceding the commencement of the service member's
service, the voting residence of both the service member and the
service member's spouse or dependent shall be the precinct of such
permanent residence, provided that the time during which the
service member continuously resided in the state immediately
preceding the commencement of such service plus the time
subsequent to such commencement and prior to the day of such
general, special, or primary election is equal to or exceeds
thirty days.
(D) If (1) Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(2) of
this section, if an overseas voter who is not an absent uniformed
services voter or the spouse or dependent of an absent uniformed
services voter is the voter, the overseas voter may vote only in
the precinct in which the overseas voter has a voting residence in
the state, and that voting residence shall be that place in the
precinct in which the overseas voter resided immediately before
leaving the United States, provided that the time during which the
overseas voter continuously resided in the state immediately
preceding such departure and prior to the day of such general,
special, or primary election is equal to or exceeds thirty days.
(2) A person who was born outside of the United States and
who meets the definition of "overseas voter" under division (B)(3)
of section 3511.01 of the Revised Code shall be deemed to have a
voting residence in this state at that place in the precinct in
which the person's parent or guardian last resided immediately
before leaving the United States, provided that the time during
which the person's parent or guardian continuously resided in the
state immediately preceding such departure and prior to the day of
the general, special, or primary election is equal to or exceeds
thirty days.
Sec. 3511.02. Notwithstanding any section of the Revised
Code to the contrary, whenever any person applies for registration
as a voter on a form adopted in accordance with federal
regulations relating to the "Uniformed and Overseas Citizens
Absentee Voting Act," 100 Stat. 924, 42 U.S.C.A. 1973ff (1986),
this application shall be sufficient for voter registration and as
a request for an absent voter's ballot. Uniformed services or
overseas absent voter's ballots may be obtained by any person
meeting the requirements of section 3511.01 3511.011 of the
Revised Code by applying electronically to the secretary of state
or to the board of elections of the county in which the person's
voting residence is located in accordance with section 3511.021 of
the Revised Code or by applying to the board of elections of the
county in which the person's voting residence is located, in one
of the following ways:
(A) That person may make written application for those
ballots. The person may personally deliver the application to the
board or may mail it, send it by facsimile machine, send it by
electronic mail, send it through internet delivery if such
delivery is offered by the board of elections or the secretary of
state, or otherwise send it to the board. The application need not
be in any particular form but shall contain all of the following
information:
(2) The elector's signature;
(3) The address at which the elector is registered to vote;
(4) The elector's date of birth;
(5) One of the following:
(a) The elector's driver's license number or state
identification card number;
(b) The last four digits of the elector's social security
number;
(c) A copy of the elector's current and valid photo
identification, a copy of a military identification, a copy of a
United States passport, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank
statement, government check, paycheck, or other government
document, other than 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.
(6) A statement identifying the election for which absent
voter's ballots are requested;
(7) A statement that the person requesting the ballots is a
qualified elector;
(8) A statement that the elector is an absent uniformed
services voter or overseas voter as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1973ff-6;
(9) A statement of the elector's length of residence in the
state immediately preceding the commencement of service,
immediately preceding the date of leaving to be with or near the
service member, or immediately preceding leaving the United
States, or a statement that the elector's parent or legal guardian
resided in this state long enough to establish residency for
voting purposes immediately preceding leaving the United States,
whichever is applicable;
(10) If the request is for primary election ballots, the
elector's party affiliation;
(11) If the elector desires ballots to be mailed to the
elector, the address to which those ballots shall be mailed;
(12) If the elector desires ballots to be sent to the elector
by facsimile machine, the telephone number to which they shall be
so sent;
(13) If the elector desires ballots to be sent to the elector
by electronic mail or, if offered by the board of elections or the
secretary of state, through internet delivery, the elector's
electronic mail address or other internet contact information.
(B) A voter or any relative of a voter listed in division (C)
of this section may use a single federal post card application to
apply for uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballots
for use at the primary and general elections in a given year and
any special election to be held on the day in that year 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. A single
federal postcard application shall be processed by the board of
elections pursuant to section 3511.04 of the Revised Code the same
as if the voter had applied separately for uniformed services or
overseas absent voter's ballots for each election.
(C) Application to have uniformed services or overseas absent
voter's ballots mailed or sent by facsimile machine to such a
person may be made by the spouse, father, mother, father-in-law,
mother-in-law, grandfather, grandmother, brother or sister of the
whole blood or half blood, son, daughter, adopting parent, adopted
child, stepparent, stepchild, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, uncle,
aunt, nephew, or niece of such a person. The application shall be
in writing upon a blank form furnished only by the board of
elections or on a single federal post card as provided in division
(B) of this section. The form of the application shall be
prescribed by the secretary of state. The board shall furnish that
blank form to any of the relatives specified in this division
desiring to make the application, only upon the request of such a
relative made in person at the office of the board or upon the
written request of such a relative mailed to the office of the
board. The application, subscribed and sworn to by the applicant,
shall contain all of the following:
(1) The full name of the elector for whom ballots are
requested;
(2) A statement that the elector is an absent uniformed
services voter or overseas voter as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1973ff-6;
(3) The address at which the elector is registered to vote;
(4) A statement identifying the elector's length of residence
in the state immediately preceding the commencement of service,
immediately preceding the date of leaving to be with or near a
service member, or immediately preceding leaving the United
States, or a statement that the elector's parent or legal guardian
resided in this state long enough to establish residency for
voting purposes immediately preceding leaving the United States,
as the case may be;
(5) The elector's date of birth;
(6) One of the following:
(a) The elector's driver's license number or state
identification card number;
(b) The last four digits of the elector's social security
number;
(c) A copy of the elector's current and valid photo
identification, a copy of a military identification, a copy of a
United States passport, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank
statement, government check, paycheck, or other government
document, other than 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.
(7) A statement identifying the election for which absent
voter's ballots are requested;
(8) A statement that the person requesting the ballots is a
qualified elector;
(9) If the request is for primary election ballots, the
elector's party affiliation;
(10) A statement that the applicant bears a relationship to
the elector as specified in division (C) of this section;
(11) The address to which ballots shall be mailed or, the
telephone number to which ballots shall be sent by facsimile
machine, the electronic mail address to which ballots shall be
sent by electronic mail, or, if internet delivery is offered by
the board of elections or the secretary of state, the internet
contact information to which ballots shall be sent through
internet delivery;
(12) The signature and address of the person making the
application.
Each application for uniformed services or overseas absent
voter's ballots shall be delivered to the board not earlier than
the first day of January of the year of the elections for which
the uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballots are
requested or not earlier than ninety days before the day of the
election at which the ballots are to be voted, whichever is
earlier, and not later than twelve noon of the third day preceding
the day of the election, or not later than the close of regular
business hours six p.m. on the day last Friday before the day of
the election at which those ballots are to be voted if the
application is delivered in person to the office of the board.
(D) If the voter for whom the application is made is entitled
to vote for presidential and vice-presidential electors only, the
applicant shall submit to the board in addition to the
requirements of divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section, a
statement to the effect that the voter is qualified to vote for
presidential and vice-presidential electors and for no other
offices.
Sec. 3511.021. (A)(1) The secretary of state shall establish
procedures that allow any person who is eligible to vote as a
uniformed services voter or an overseas voter in accordance with
42 U.S.C. 1973ff-6 to apply by electronic means to the office of
the secretary of state or to the board of elections of the county
in which the person's voting residence is located for a uniformed
services or overseas absent voter's ballot.
(2) The procedures shall allow such a person who requests a
uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballot application
to express a preference for the manner in which the person will
receive the requested application, whether by mail or
electronically, facsimile transmission, electronic mail, or, if
offered by the board of elections or the secretary of state,
through internet delivery. If the person completes and timely
returns the application and the applicant is eligible to receive a
ballot, the procedures shall allow the applicant to express a
preference for the manner in which the person will receive the
requested blank, unvoted ballots, whether by mail or
electronically, facsimile transmission, electronic mail, or, if
offered by the board of elections or the secretary of state,
through internet delivery. The requested items shall be
transmitted by the board of elections of the county in which the
person's voting residence is located by the preferred method. If
the requestor does not express a preferred method, the requested
items shall be delivered via standard mail.
(3) To the extent practicable, the procedures shall protect
the security and integrity of the ballot request and delivery
process, and protect the privacy of the identity and personal data
of the person when such applications and ballots are requested,
processed, and sent.
(4) No person shall return by electronic means to the
secretary of state, a board of elections, or any other entity a
completed or voted uniformed services or overseas absent voter's
ballot. If a ballot is so returned, the ballot shall not be
accepted, processed, or counted.
(B)(1) The secretary of state, in coordination with the
boards of elections, shall establish a free access system by which
an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter may determine
the following:
(a) Whether that person's request for a uniformed services or
overseas absent voter's ballot was received and processed;
(b) If the person's request was received and processed, when
the uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballot was sent;
(c) Whether any uniformed services or overseas absent voter's
ballot returned by that person has been received by election
officials;
(d) Whether the board of elections found any error on the
identification envelope containing the person's returned uniformed
services or overseas absent voter's ballot and, if so, how the
person may correct any error within ten days after the day of an
election; and
(e) Whether the person's uniformed services or overseas
absent voter's ballot was counted.
(2) The appropriate state or local election official shall
establish and maintain reasonable procedures necessary to protect
the security, confidentiality, and integrity of personal
information that is confidential under state or federal law that
is collected, stored, or otherwise used by the free access system
established under division (B) of this section. Access to
information about the votes cast on an individual ballot shall be
restricted to the person who cast the ballot. To the extent
practicable, the procedures shall protect the security and
integrity of the process and protect the privacy of the identity
and personal data of the person.
Sec. 3511.04. (A) If a board of elections receives an
application for uniformed services or overseas absent voter's
ballots that does not contain all of the required information, the
board promptly shall notify the applicant of the additional
information required to be provided by the applicant to complete
that application.
(B) Not later than the forty-fifth day before the day of each
general or primary election, and at the earliest possible time
before the day of a special election held on a day other than the
day on which a general or primary election is held, the board of
elections shall mail, send by facsimile machine, send by
electronic mail, send through internet delivery if such delivery
is offered by the board of elections or the secretary of state, or
otherwise send uniformed services or overseas absent voter's
ballots then ready for use as provided for in section 3511.03 of
the Revised Code and for which the board has received valid
applications prior to that time. Thereafter, and until twelve noon
of the third day preceding the day of election, the board shall
promptly, upon receipt of valid applications for them, mail, send
by facsimile machine, send by electronic mail, send through
internet delivery if such delivery is offered by the board of
elections or the secretary of state, or otherwise send to the
proper persons all uniformed services or overseas absent voter's
ballots then ready for use.
If, after the seventieth day before the day of a general or
primary election, any other question, issue, or candidacy is
lawfully ordered submitted to the electors voting at the general
or primary election, the board shall promptly provide a separate
official issue, special election, or other election ballot for
submitting the question, issue, or candidacy to those electors and
promptly mail or, send by facsimile machine, send by electronic
mail, send through internet delivery if such delivery is offered
by the board of elections or the secretary of state, or otherwise
send each such separate ballot to each person to whom the board
has previously mailed or sent by facsimile machine other uniformed
services or overseas absent voter's ballots.
In mailing uniformed services or overseas absent voter's
ballots, the board shall use the fastest mail service available,
but the board shall not mail them by certified mail.
Sec. 3511.05. (A) The board of elections shall place
uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballots sent by mail
in an unsealed identification envelope, gummed ready for sealing.
The board shall include with uniformed services or overseas absent
voter's ballots sent electronically, including 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 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).
My state identification card number is ............... (Ohio
identification card number).
My The last four digits of my Social Security Number is are
............... (Last four digits of Social Security Number).
...... In lieu of providing a driver's license number, state
identification card 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, a United States passport, or a current utility
bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other
government document, other than 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 board 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 board. The board shall
send with the ballots and the instruction sheet for preparing a
gummed envelope sent electronically, including 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 board. 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 UNIFORMED SERVICES OR OVERSEAS 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 board to which 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:
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 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 electronically, including by facsimile
machine.
Sec. 3511.09. Upon receiving uniformed services or overseas
absent voter's ballots, the elector shall cause the questions on
the face of the identification envelope to be answered, and, by
writing the elector's usual signature in the proper place on the
identification envelope, the elector shall declare under penalty
of election falsification that the answers to those questions are
true and correct to the best of the elector's knowledge and
belief. Then, the elector shall note whether there are any voting
marks on the ballot. 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
separately so as to conceal the markings on it, deposited in the
identification envelope, and securely sealed in the identification
envelope. The elector then shall cause the identification envelope
to be placed within the return envelope, sealed in the return
envelope, and mailed to the board of elections to whom it is
addressed, postage prepaid. The ballot shall be submitted for
mailing not later than 12:01 a.m. at the place where the voter
completes the ballot, on the date of the election. If the elector
does not provide the elector's driver's license number, state
identification card 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, a copy of a United States passport, or a copy of a
current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck,
or other government document, other than 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. 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 and shall mail the return envelope to the
board prior to the close of the polls on election day.
Every uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballot
identification envelope shall be accompanied by the following
statement in boldface capital letters: WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION
FALSIFICATION IS GUILTY OF A FELONY OF THE FIFTH DEGREE.
Sec. 3511.10. If, during the time that absent voter's
ballots may be cast in person before an election, a valid
application for uniformed services or overseas absent voter's
ballots is delivered to the office of the board of elections by a
person making the application on the person's own behalf, the
board shall forthwith deliver to the person all uniformed services
or overseas absent voter's ballots then ready for use, together
with an identification envelope. The person shall then immediately
retire to a voting booth in the office of the board, and mark the
ballots. The person shall then fold each ballot separately so as
to conceal the person's markings thereon, and deposit all of the
ballots in the identification envelope and securely seal it.
Thereupon the person shall fill in answers to the questions on the
face of the identification envelope, and by writing the person's
usual signature in the proper place thereon, the person shall
declare under penalty of election falsification that the answers
to those questions are true and correct to the best of that
person's knowledge and belief. The person shall then deliver the
identification envelope to the board. If thereafter, and before
the third day preceding such election, the board provides
additional separate official issue or special election ballots, as
provided for in section 3511.04 of the Revised Code, the board
shall promptly, and not later than twelve noon of the third day
preceding the day of election, mail such additional ballots to
such person at the address specified by that person for that
purpose.
In the event any person serving in the armed forces of the
United States is discharged after the closing date of
registration, and that person or that person's spouse, or both,
meets all the other qualifications set forth in section 3511.01
3511.011 of the Revised Code, the person or spouse shall be
permitted to vote prior to the date of the election in the office
of the board in the person's or spouse's county, as set forth in
this section.
Sec. 3511.11. (A) Upon receipt of any return envelope
bearing the designation "Official Election Uniformed Services or
Overseas Absent Voter's Ballot" prior to the eleventh day after
the day of any election, 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 board finds ballots in it
that are not enclosed in and properly sealed in the identification
envelope, the board 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 board finds that ballots are enclosed in the
identification envelope but that it is not properly sealed, the
board shall not look at the markings upon the ballots and shall
promptly seal the identification envelope.
(B) Uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballots
delivered to the board not later than the close of the polls on
election day shall be counted in the manner provided in section
3509.06 of the Revised Code.
(C) A return envelope that indicates that the voter will be
outside of the United States on the day of an election is not
required to be postmarked in order for a uniformed services or
overseas 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, contains a late
postmark, or contains an illegible postmark, a uniformed services
or overseas absent voter's ballot that is received after the close
of the polls on election day through the tenth 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 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, if the voter signed the identification envelope by
the time specified in section 3511.09 of the Revised Code.
However, if a return envelope containing a uniformed services or
overseas 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
uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballot shall not be
counted.
(D)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(2) of
this section, any return envelope containing a uniformed services
or overseas absent voter's ballot that is postmarked within the
United States prior to the day of the election shall be delivered
to the board prior to the eleventh day after the election.
Uniformed services or overseas 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 board later than the tenth day following the
election shall not be counted, but shall be kept by the board in
the sealed identification envelopes as provided in division (A) of
this section.
(2) Division (D)(1) of this section shall not apply to any
mail that is postmarked using a postage evidencing system,
including a postage meter, as defined in 39 C.F.R. 501.1.
(E) The following types of uniformed services or overseas
absent voter's ballots shall not be counted:
(1) Uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballots
contained in return envelopes that bear the designation "Official
Election Uniformed Services or Overseas Absent Voter's Ballots,"
that are received by the board 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
the time specified in section 3511.09 of the Revised Code;
(2) Uniformed services or overseas 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;
(3) Uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballots
contained in return envelopes that bear that designation, that are
received by the board 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.
Sec. 3511.14. (A) A board of elections shall accept and
process federal write-in absentee ballots for all elections for
federal, state, and or local
elections conducted office and for
all ballot questions and issues in any year as required 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.
(B) A uniformed services or overseas voter may use the
declaration accompanying a federal write-in absentee ballot to
apply to register to vote simultaneously with the submission of
the federal write-in absentee ballot, if the declaration is
received not later than thirty days before the day of the
election. If the declaration is received after that date, the
declaration shall be considered an application to register to vote
for all subsequent elections.
Sec. 3511.15. If an international, national, state, or local
emergency or other situation arises that makes substantial
compliance with the "Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee
Voting Act," 42 U.S.C. 1973ff, et seq., as amended, impossible or
impracticable, as confirmed by the existence of armed conflict
involving United States armed forces or the mobilization of those
forces, including Ohio national guard and reserve component
members of this state, or by the occurrence of a natural disaster
or the existence of a state of emergency, civil unrest, war, or
other exigency in a foreign country, or by an official declaration
by the governor that a state of emergency exists, the governor
directly, or by delegation to the secretary of state, may
prescribe, by emergency order or rule, a special procedure or
requirement as may be necessary to facilitate absent voting by
those absent uniformed services voters or overseas voters directly
affected who are eligible to vote in this state. The secretary of
state shall take reasonable steps to provide absent uniformed
services or overseas voters with timely notice of any special
procedure or requirement prescribed under this section.
Sec. 3511.16. (A) At least one hundred days before the day
of a regularly scheduled election and as soon as practicable
before an election that is not regularly scheduled, the board of
elections of each county shall prepare an election notice for each
precinct in which the election is to be conducted, to be used in
conjunction with a federal write-in absentee ballot. The election
notice shall contain a list of all of the ballot questions and
issues and all federal, state, and local offices that, as of that
date, the board expects to be on the ballot at that election. The
notice also shall contain specific instructions on how a uniformed
services or overseas voter is to indicate on the federal write-in
absentee ballot the voter's choice for each office to be filled
and for each ballot question and issue to be contested.
(B) A uniformed services or overseas voter may request a copy
of an election notice prepared under division (A) of this section.
The board of elections shall send the notice to the voter by
facsimile transmission, electronic mail, or regular mail, as the
voter requests.
(C) As soon as the form of the ballot is certified, and not
later than the date uniformed services and overseas ballots are
required to be transmitted to voters under section 3509.01 of the
Revised Code, the board shall update the notice with the certified
candidates for each office and ballot questions and issues and
make the updated notice publicly available.
(D) A board of elections that maintains an internet web site
shall make the election notice prepared under division (A) of this
section and updated versions of the election notice regularly
available on that web site.
Section 2. That existing sections 3501.13, 3503.02, 3503.14,
3503.19, 3503.191, 3503.28, 3505.18, 3505.181, 3505.183, 3509.021,
3509.03, 3509.04, 3509.05, 3509.07, 3511.01, 3511.02, 3511.021,
3511.04, 3511.05, 3511.09, 3511.10, 3511.11, and 3511.14 and
sections 3503.20 and 3509.031 of the Revised Code are hereby
repealed.
Section 3. Notwithstanding any provision of Am. Sub. H.B.
194 of the 129th General Assembly to the contrary, on and after
the effective date of that act all provisions of Title XXXV of the
Revised Code that refer to an elector providing the elector's
Social Security Number on any document under the Election Law
shall require only the last four digits of the elector's Social
Security Number to be provided.
Section 4. Sections 3 and 4 of this act are hereby declared
to be emergency measures necessary for the immediate preservation
of the public peace, health, and safety. The reason for such
necessity is to ensure that Ohio voters are not disenfranchised by
a temporary change to the number of digits of the elector's Social
Security Number to be included on election-related documents.
Therefore, Sections 3 and 4 of this act go into immediate effect.
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