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H. B. No. 318 As IntroducedAs Introduced
129th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2011-2012 |
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Representatives Blessing, O'Brien
A BILL
To amend sections 511.27, 1545.21, 3501.01, 3513.12,
and 3513.262 of the Revised Code to eliminate
March primary elections in presidential election
years by requiring all primary elections to be
conducted on the first Tuesday after the first
Monday in May, and to declare an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 511.27, 1545.21, 3501.01, 3513.12,
and 3513.262 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 511.27. (A) To defray the expenses of the township park
district and for purchasing, appropriating, operating,
maintaining, and improving lands for parks or recreational
purposes, the board of park commissioners may levy a sufficient
tax within the ten-mill limitation, not to exceed one mill on each
dollar of valuation on all real and personal property within the
township, and on all real and personal property within any
municipal corporation that is within the township, that was within
the township at the time that the park district was established,
or the boundaries of which are coterminous with or include the
township. The levy shall be over and above all other taxes and
limitations on such property authorized by law.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (C) of this
section, the board of park commissioners, not less than ninety
days before the day of the election, may declare by resolution
that the amount of taxes that may be raised within the ten-mill
limitation will be insufficient to provide an adequate amount for
the necessary requirements of the district and that it is
necessary to levy a tax in excess of that limitation for the use
of the district. The resolution shall specify the purpose for
which the taxes shall be used, the annual rate proposed, and the
number of consecutive years the levy will be in effect. Upon the
adoption of the resolution, the question of levying the taxes
shall be submitted to the electors of the township and the
electors of any municipal corporation that is within the township,
that was within the township at the time that the park district
was established, or the boundaries of which are coterminous with
or include the township, at a special election to be held on
whichever of the following occurs first:
(1) The day of the next ensuing general election;
(2) The first Tuesday after the first Monday in May of any
calendar year, except that, if a presidential day of the next
ensuing primary election is held in that calendar year, then the
day of that election.
The rate submitted to the electors at any one election shall
not exceed two mills annually upon each dollar of valuation. If a
majority of the electors voting upon the question of the levy vote
in favor of the levy, the tax shall be levied on all real and
personal property within the township and on all real and personal
property within any municipal corporation that is within the
township, that was within the township at the time that the park
district was established, or the boundaries of which are
coterminous with or include the township, and the levy shall be
over and above all other taxes and limitations on such property
authorized by law.
(C) In any township park district that contains only
unincorporated territory, if the township board of park
commissioners is appointed by the board of township trustees,
before a tax can be levied and certified to the county auditor
pursuant to section 5705.34 of the Revised Code or before a
resolution for a tax levy can be certified to the board of
elections pursuant to section 511.28 of the Revised Code, the
board of park commissioners shall receive approval for its levy
request from the board of township trustees. The board of park
commissioners shall adopt a resolution requesting the board of
township trustees to approve the levy request, stating the annual
rate of the proposed levy and the reason for the levy request. On
receiving this request, the board of township trustees shall vote
on whether to approve the request and, if a majority votes to
approve it, shall issue a resolution approving the levy at the
requested rate.
Sec. 1545.21. The board of park commissioners, by
resolution, may submit to the electors of the park district the
question of levying taxes for the use of the district. The
resolution shall declare the necessity of levying such taxes,
shall specify the purpose for which such taxes shall be used, the
annual rate proposed, and the number of consecutive years the rate
shall be levied. Such resolution shall be forthwith certified to
the board of elections in each county in which any part of such
district is located, not later than the ninetieth day before the
day of the election, and the question of the levy of taxes as
provided in such resolution shall be submitted to the electors of
the district at a special election to be held on whichever of the
following occurs first:
(A) The day of the next general election;
(B) The first Tuesday after the first Monday in May in any
calendar year, except that if a presidential day of the next
primary election is held in that calendar year, then the day of
that election. The
The ballot shall set forth the purpose for which the taxes
shall be levied, the annual rate of levy, and the number of years
of such levy. If the tax is to be placed on the current tax list,
the form of the ballot shall state that the tax will be levied in
the current tax year and shall indicate the first calendar year
the tax will be due. If the resolution of the board of park
commissioners provides that an existing levy will be canceled upon
the passage of the new levy, the ballot may include a statement
that: "an existing levy of ... mills (stating the original levy
millage), having ... years remaining, will be canceled and
replaced upon the passage of this levy." In such case, the ballot
may refer to the new levy as a "replacement levy" if the new
millage does not exceed the original millage of the levy being
canceled or as a "replacement and additional levy" if the new
millage exceeds the original millage of the levy being canceled.
If a majority of the electors voting upon the question of such
levy vote in favor thereof, such taxes shall be levied and shall
be in addition to the taxes authorized by section 1545.20 of the
Revised Code, and all other taxes authorized by law. The rate
submitted to the electors at any one time shall not exceed two
mills annually upon each dollar of valuation. When a tax levy has
been authorized as provided in this section or in section 1545.041
of the Revised Code, the board of park commissioners may issue
bonds pursuant to section 133.24 of the Revised Code in
anticipation of the collection of such levy, provided that such
bonds shall be issued only for the purpose of acquiring and
improving lands. Such levy, when collected, shall be applied in
payment of the bonds so issued and the interest thereon. The
amount of bonds so issued and outstanding at any time shall not
exceed one per cent of the total tax valuation in such district.
Such bonds shall bear interest at a rate not to exceed the rate
determined as provided in section 9.95 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3501.01. As used in the sections of the Revised Code
relating to elections and political communications:
(A) "General election" means the election held on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in each November.
(B) "Regular municipal election" means the election held on
the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in each
odd-numbered year.
(C) "Regular state election" means the election held on the
first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in each
even-numbered year.
(D) "Special election" means any election other than those
elections defined in other divisions of this section. A special
election may be held only on the first Tuesday after the first
Monday in February, May, August, or November, or on the day
authorized by a particular municipal or county charter for the
holding of a primary election, except that in any year in which a
presidential primary election is held, no special election shall
be held in February or May, except as authorized by a municipal or
county charter, but may be held on the first Tuesday after the
first Monday in March.
(E)(1) "Primary" or "primary election" means an election held
for the purpose of nominating persons as candidates of political
parties for election to offices, and for the purpose of electing
persons as members of the controlling committees of political
parties and as delegates and alternates to the conventions of
political parties. Primary elections shall be held on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in May of each year except in years
in which a presidential primary election is held.
(2) "Presidential primary election" means a primary election
as defined by division (E)(1) of this section at which an election
is held for the purpose of choosing delegates and alternates to
the national conventions of the major political parties pursuant
to section 3513.12 of the Revised Code. Unless otherwise
specified, presidential primary elections are included in
references to primary elections. In years in which a presidential
primary election is held, all primary elections shall be held on
the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March except as
otherwise authorized by a municipal or county charter.
(F) "Political party" means any group of voters meeting the
requirements set forth in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code for
the formation and existence of a political party.
(1) "Major political party" means any political party
organized under the laws of this state whose candidate for
governor or nominees for presidential electors received no less
than twenty per cent of the total vote cast for such office at the
most recent regular state election.
(2) "Intermediate political party" means any political party
organized under the laws of this state whose candidate for
governor or nominees for presidential electors received less than
twenty per cent but not less than ten per cent of the total vote
cast for such office at the most recent regular state election.
(3) "Minor political party" means any political party
organized under the laws of this state whose candidate for
governor or nominees for presidential electors received less than
ten per cent but not less than five per cent of the total vote
cast for such office at the most recent regular state election or
which has filed with the secretary of state, subsequent to any
election in which it received less than five per cent of such
vote, a petition signed by qualified electors equal in number to
at least one per cent of the total vote cast for such office in
the last preceding regular state election, except that a newly
formed political party shall be known as a minor political party
until the time of the first election for governor or president
which occurs not less than twelve months subsequent to the
formation of such party, after which election the status of such
party shall be determined by the vote for the office of governor
or president.
(G) "Dominant party in a precinct" or "dominant political
party in a precinct" means that political party whose candidate
for election to the office of governor at the most recent regular
state election at which a governor was elected received more votes
than any other person received for election to that office in such
precinct at such election.
(H) "Candidate" means any qualified person certified in
accordance with the provisions of the Revised Code for placement
on the official ballot of a primary, general, or special election
to be held in this state, or any qualified person who claims to be
a write-in candidate, or who knowingly assents to being
represented as a write-in candidate by another at either a
primary, general, or special election to be held in this state.
(I) "Independent candidate" means any candidate who claims
not to be affiliated with a political party, and whose name has
been certified on the office-type ballot at a general or special
election through the filing of a statement of candidacy and
nominating petition, as prescribed in section 3513.257 of the
Revised Code.
(J) "Nonpartisan candidate" means any candidate whose name is
required, pursuant to section 3505.04 of the Revised Code, to be
listed on the nonpartisan ballot, including all candidates for
judicial office, for member of any board of education, for
municipal or township offices in which primary elections are not
held for nominating candidates by political parties, and for
offices of municipal corporations having charters that provide for
separate ballots for elections for these offices.
(K) "Party candidate" means any candidate who claims to be a
member of a political party, whose name has been certified on the
office-type ballot at a general or special election through the
filing of a declaration of candidacy and petition of candidate,
and who has won the primary election of the candidate's party for
the public office the candidate seeks or is selected by party
committee in accordance with section 3513.31 of the Revised Code.
(L) "Officer of a political party" includes, but is not
limited to, any member, elected or appointed, of a controlling
committee, whether representing the territory of the state, a
district therein, a county, township, a city, a ward, a precinct,
or other territory, of a major, intermediate, or minor political
party.
(M) "Question or issue" means any question or issue certified
in accordance with the Revised Code for placement on an official
ballot at a general or special election to be held in this state.
(N) "Elector" or "qualified elector" means a person having
the qualifications provided by law to be entitled to vote.
(O) "Voter" means an elector who votes at an election.
(P) "Voting residence" means that place of residence of an
elector which shall determine the precinct in which the elector
may vote.
(Q) "Precinct" means a district within a county established
by the board of elections of such county within which all
qualified electors having a voting residence therein may vote at
the same polling place.
(R) "Polling place" means that place provided for each
precinct at which the electors having a voting residence in such
precinct may vote.
(S) "Board" or "board of elections" means the board of
elections appointed in a county pursuant to section 3501.06 of the
Revised Code.
(T) "Political subdivision" means a county, township, city,
village, or school district.
(U) "Election officer" or "election official" means any of
the following:
(2) Employees of the secretary of state serving the division
of elections in the capacity of attorney, administrative officer,
administrative assistant, elections administrator, office manager,
or clerical supervisor;
(3) Director of a board of elections;
(4) Deputy director of a board of elections;
(5) Member of a board of elections;
(6) Employees of a board of elections;
(7) Precinct polling place judges;
(8) Employees appointed by the boards of elections on a
temporary or part-time basis.
(V) "Acknowledgment notice" means a notice sent by a board of
elections, on a form prescribed by the secretary of state,
informing a voter registration applicant or an applicant who
wishes to change the applicant's residence or name of the status
of the application; the information necessary to complete or
update the application, if any; and if the application is
complete, the precinct in which the applicant is to vote.
(W) "Confirmation notice" means a notice sent by a board of
elections, on a form prescribed by the secretary of state, to a
registered elector to confirm the registered elector's current
address.
(X) "Designated agency" means an office or agency in the
state that provides public assistance or that provides
state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to
persons with disabilities and that is required by the National
Voter Registration Act of 1993 to implement a program designed and
administered by the secretary of state for registering voters, or
any other public or government office or agency that implements a
program designed and administered by the secretary of state for
registering voters, including the department of job and family
services, the program administered under section 3701.132 of the
Revised Code by the department of health, the department of mental
health, the department of developmental disabilities, the
rehabilitation services commission, and any other agency the
secretary of state designates. "Designated agency" does not
include public high schools and vocational schools, public
libraries, or the office of a county treasurer.
(Y) "National Voter Registration Act of 1993" means the
"National Voter Registration Act of 1993," 107 Stat. 77, 42
U.S.C.A. 1973gg.
(Z) "Voting Rights Act of 1965" means the "Voting Rights Act
of 1965," 79 Stat. 437, 42 U.S.C.A. 1973, as amended.
(AA) "Photo identification" means a document that meets each
of the following requirements:
(1) It shows the name of the individual to whom it was
issued, which shall conform to the name in the poll list or
signature pollbook.
(2) It shows the current address of the individual to whom it
was issued, which shall conform to the address in the poll list or
signature pollbook, except for a driver's license or a state
identification card issued under section 4507.50 of the Revised
Code, which may show either the current or former address of the
individual to whom it was issued, regardless of whether that
address conforms to the address in the poll list or signature
pollbook.
(3) It shows a photograph of the individual to whom it was
issued.
(4) It includes an expiration date that has not passed.
(5) It was issued by the government of the United States or
this state.
Sec. 3513.12. At a presidential primary election, which
shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March
in the year 2000, and similarly in every fourth year thereafter,
delegates and alternates to the national conventions of the
different major political parties shall be chosen by direct vote
of the electors as provided in this chapter. Candidates for
delegate and alternate shall be qualified and the election shall
be conducted in the manner prescribed in this chapter for the
nomination of candidates for state and district offices, except as
provided in section 3513.151 of the Revised Code and except that
whenever any group of candidates for delegate at large or
alternate at large, or any group of candidates for delegates or
alternates from districts, file with the secretary of state
statements as provided by this section, designating the same
persons as their first and second choices for president of the
United States, such a group of candidates may submit a group
petition containing a declaration of candidacy for each of such
candidates. The group petition need be signed only by the number
of electors required for the petition of a single candidate. No
group petition shall be submitted except by a group of candidates
equal in number to the whole number of delegates at large or
alternates at large to be elected or equal in number to the whole
number of delegates or alternates from a district to be elected.
Each person seeking to be elected as delegate or alternate to
the national convention of the person's political party shall file
with the person's declaration of candidacy and certificate a
statement in writing signed by the person in which the person
shall state the person's first and second choices for nomination
as the candidate of the person's party for the presidency of the
United States. The secretary of state shall not permit any
declaration of candidacy and certificate of a candidate for
election as such delegate or alternate to be filed unless
accompanied by such statement in writing. The name of a candidate
for the presidency shall not be so used without the candidate's
written consent.
A person who is a first choice for president of candidates
seeking election as delegates and alternates shall file with the
secretary of state, prior to the day of the election, a list
indicating the order in which certificates of election are to be
issued to delegate or alternate candidates to whose candidacy the
person has consented, if fewer than all of such candidates are
entitled under party rules to be certified as elected. Each
candidate for election as such delegate or alternate may also file
along with the candidate's declaration of candidacy and
certificate a statement in writing signed by the candidate in the
following form:
"Statement of Candidate
For Election as ............ (Delegate) (Alternate) to the
............ (name of political party) National Convention
I hereby declare to the voters of my political party in the
State of Ohio that, if elected as ............ (delegate)
(alternate) to their national party convention, I shall, to the
best of my judgment and ability, support that candidate for
President of the United States who shall have been selected at
this primary by the voters of my party in the manner provided in
Chapter 3513. of the Ohio Revised Code, as their candidate for
such office.
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........................... (name,), |
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Candidate for ............. |
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(Delegate) (Alternate)" |
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The procedures for the selection of candidates for delegate
and alternate to the national convention of a political party set
forth in this section and in section 3513.121 of the Revised Code
are alternative procedures, and if the procedures of this section
are followed, the procedures of section 3513.121 of the Revised
Code need not be followed.
Sec. 3513.262. The nominating petitions of all candidates
required to be filed before four p.m. of the day before the day of
the primary election immediately preceding the general election
shall be processed as follows:
If such petition is filed with the secretary of state, he the
secretary of state shall, not later than the fifteenth day of June
following the filing of such petition, or if the primary election
was a presidential primary election, not later than the end of the
sixth week after the day of that election, transmit to each board
such separate petition papers as purport to contain signatures of
electors of the county of such board. If such petition is filed
with the board of the most populous county of a district or of a
county in which the major portion of the population of a
subdivision is located, such board shall, not later than the
fifteenth day of June, or if the primary election was a
presidential primary election, not later than the end of the sixth
week after the day of that election, transmit to each board within
such district such separate petition papers of the petition as
purport to contain signatures of electors of the county of such
board.
All petition papers so transmitted to a board and all
nominating petitions filed with a board shall, under proper
regulations, be open to public inspection from the fifteenth day
of June until four p.m. of the thirtieth day of that month, or if
the primary election was a presidential primary election, from the
end of the sixth week after the election until four p.m. of the
end of the seventh week after the election. Each board shall, not
later than the next fifteenth day of July, or if the primary
election was a presidential primary election, not later than the
end of the tenth week after the day of that election, examine and
determine the sufficiency of the signatures on the petition papers
transmitted to or filed with it, and the validity of the petitions
filed with it, and shall return to the secretary of state all
petition papers transmitted to it by him the secretary of state,
together with its certification of its determination as to the
validity or invalidity of signatures thereon, and shall return to
each other board all petition papers transmitted to it by such
other board, as provided in this section, together with its
certification of its determination as to the validity or
invalidity of signatures thereon. All other matters affecting the
validity or invalidity of such petition papers shall be determined
by the secretary of state or the board with whom such petition
papers were filed.
Written protests against nominating petitions may be filed by
any qualified elector eligible to vote for the candidate whose
nominating petition he the elector objects to, not later than four
p.m. of the thirtieth day of July, or if the primary election was
a presidential primary election, not later than the end of the
twelfth week after the day of that election. Such protests shall
be filed with the election officials with whom the nominating
petition was filed. Upon the filing of such protest, the election
officials with whom it is filed shall promptly fix the time and
place for hearing it, and shall forthwith mail notice of the
filing of such protest and the time and place for hearing it to
the person whose nomination is protested. They shall also
forthwith mail notice of the time and place fixed for the hearing
to the person who filed the protest. At the time fixed, such
election officials shall hear the protest and determine the
validity or invalidity of the petition. Such determination shall
be final.
A protest against the nominating petition filed by joint
candidates for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor
shall be filed, heard, and determined in the same manner as a
protest against the nominating petition of a candidate who files
by himself individually.
Section 2. That existing sections 511.27, 1545.21, 3501.01,
3513.12, and 3513.262 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3. This act is hereby declared to be an emergency
measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public
peace, health, and safety. The reason for such necessity is to
provide additional time prior to the 2012 presidential primary
election for the General Assembly to adopt and implement new
congressional district boundaries. Therefore, this act shall go
into immediate effect.
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