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H. B. No. 78 As IntroducedAs Introduced
130th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2013-2014 |
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Cosponsors:
Representatives Ashford, Boyd, Cera, Curtin, Hackett, Hagan, R., Mallory, Ramos
A BILL
To amend sections 3503.14 and 3503.15 and to enact
section 3503.20 of the Revised Code to require the
Secretary of State to create an online voter
registration system and to permit data sharing in
order to maintain the statewide voter registration
database.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 3503.14 and 3503.15 be amended and
section 3503.20 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
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, 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, or a copy of a current utility
bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other
government document, other than a notice of an election mailed by
a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or
a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections
under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the 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 (C)(1) 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. 3503.15. (A)(1) The secretary of state shall establish
and maintain a statewide voter registration database that shall be
continuously available to each board of elections and to other
agencies as authorized by law.
(2)(a) State agencies, including, but not limited to, the
department of health, bureau of motor vehicles, department of job
and family services, and the department of rehabilitation and
corrections, shall provide any information and data to the
secretary of state that the secretary of state considers necessary
in order to maintain the statewide voter registration database
established pursuant to this section, except where prohibited by
federal law or regulation. The secretary of state shall ensure
that any information or data provided to the secretary of state
that is confidential in the possession of the entity providing the
data remains confidential while in the possession of the secretary
of state.
(b) Information provided under this division for maintenance
of the statewide voter registration database shall not be used to
update the name or address of a registered elector. The name or
address of a registered elector shall only be updated as a result
of the elector's actions in filing a notice of change of name,
change of address, or both.
(c) A board of elections shall contact a registered elector
by mail at the address on file with the board to verify the
accuracy of the information in the statewide voter registration
database regarding that elector if information provided under
division (A)(2)(a) of this section identifies a discrepancy
between the information regarding that elector that is maintained
in the statewide voter registration database and maintained by a
state agency.
(3) The secretary of state may enter into agreements to share
information or data with other states or groups of states, as the
secretary of state considers necessary, in order to maintain the
statewide voter registration database established pursuant to this
section. Except as otherwise provided in this division, the
secretary of state shall ensure that any information or data
provided to the secretary of state that is confidential in the
possession of the state providing the data remains confidential
while in the possession of the secretary of state. The secretary
of state may provide such otherwise confidential information or
data to persons or organizations that are engaging in legitimate
governmental purposes related to the maintenance of the statewide
voter registration database.
(B) The statewide voter registration database established
under this section shall be the official list of registered voters
for all elections conducted in this state.
(C) The statewide voter registration database established
under this section shall, at a minimum, include all of the
following:
(1) An electronic network that connects all board of
elections offices with the office of the secretary of state and
with the offices of all other boards of elections;
(2) A computer program that harmonizes the records contained
in the database with records maintained by each board of
elections;
(3) An interactive computer program that allows access to the
records contained in the database by each board of elections and
by any persons authorized by the secretary of state to add,
delete, modify, or print database records, and to conduct updates
of the database;
(4) A search program capable of verifying registered voters
and their registration information by name, driver's license
number, birth date, social security number, or current address;
(5) Safeguards and components to ensure that the integrity,
security, and confidentiality of the voter registration
information is maintained.
(D) The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code doing all of the following:
(1) Specifying the manner in which existing voter
registration records maintained by boards of elections shall be
converted to electronic files for inclusion in the statewide voter
registration database;
(2) Establishing a uniform method for entering voter
registration records into the statewide voter registration
database on an expedited basis, but not less than once per day, if
new registration information is received;
(3) Establishing a uniform method for purging canceled voter
registration records from the statewide voter registration
database in accordance with section 3503.21 of the Revised Code;
(4) Specifying the persons authorized to add, delete, modify,
or print records contained in the statewide voter registration
database and to make updates of that database;
(5) Establishing a process for annually auditing the
information contained in the statewide voter registration
database.
(E) A board of elections promptly shall purge a voter's name
and voter registration information from the statewide voter
registration database in accordance with the rules adopted by the
secretary of state under division (D)(3) of this section after the
cancellation of a voter's registration under section 3503.21 of
the Revised Code.
(F) The secretary of state shall provide training in the
operation of the statewide voter registration database to each
board of elections and to any persons authorized by the secretary
of state to add, delete, modify, or print database records, and to
conduct updates of the database.
(G)(1) The statewide voter registration database established
under this section shall be made available on a web site of the
office of the secretary of state as follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (G)(1)(b) of
this section, only the following information from the statewide
voter registration database regarding a registered voter shall be
made available on the web site:
(ii) The voter's address;
(iii) The voter's precinct number;
(iv) The voter's voting history.
(b) During the thirty days before the day of a primary or
general election, the web site interface of the statewide voter
registration database shall permit a voter to search for the
polling location at which that voter may cast a ballot.
(2) The secretary of state shall establish, by rule adopted
under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, a process for boards of
elections to notify the secretary of state of changes in the
locations of precinct polling places for the purpose of updating
the information made available on the secretary of state's web
site under division (G)(1)(b) of this section. Those rules shall
require a board of elections, during the thirty days before the
day of a primary or general election, to notify the secretary of
state within one business day of any change to the location of a
precinct polling place within the county.
(3) During the thirty days before the day of a primary or
general election, not later than one business day after receiving
a notification from a county pursuant to division (G)(2) of this
section that the location of a precinct polling place has changed,
the secretary of state shall update that information on the
secretary of state's web site for the purpose of division
(G)(1)(b) of this section.
Sec. 3503.20. (A) As used in this section, "applicant" means
an individual who is qualified to register to vote under this
chapter and who possesses a current and valid Ohio driver's
license or identification card issued under Chapter 4507. of the
Revised Code.
(B) The secretary of state, by rule, shall establish a secure
online process for voter registration. The rules shall provide for
an applicant to submit all of the following to the secretary of
state online through the internet:
(1) An application to register as a first-time voter in Ohio
or an application to change the applicant's name, address, or
both, as set forth in the applicant's existing voter registration
record;
(2) Information to establish the applicant's address, that
the applicant is qualified to register to vote under this chapter,
and that the applicant possesses a current and valid Ohio driver's
license or identification card issued under Chapter 4507. of the
Revised Code;
(3) The applicant's attestation to the truth and accuracy of
the information submitted in the online application under penalty
of election falsification using the applicant's Ohio driver's
license number or the number of the applicant's Ohio
identification card as proof of the applicant's identity.
(C) The online voter registration application established
under division (B) of this section shall include the following
language:
"By clicking the box below, I affirm all of the following
under penalty of election falsification:
(1) I am the person whose name and identifying information is
provided on this form, and I desire to register to vote, or update
my voter registration, in the State of Ohio.
(2) All of the information I have provided on this form is
true and correct as of the date I am submitting this form.
(3) I authorize the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to transmit to
the Ohio Secretary of State my signature that is on file with the
Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and I understand and agree that the
signature transmitted by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles will be used
by the Secretary of State to validate this electronic voter
registration application as if I had signed this form personally."
In order to register to vote or update a voter registration
under division (B) of this section, an applicant or elector shall
be required to mark the box in the online voter registration
application that appears in conjunction with the previous
statement.
(D) When an applicant submits a voter registration
application under this section, the secretary of state shall
submit the completed application to the bureau of motor vehicles.
The bureau of motor vehicles shall compare the information
submitted by the applicant with the information maintained in the
bureau of motor vehicles database that lists individuals who
possess a current and valid Ohio driver's license or
identification card issued under Chapter 4507. of the Revised
Code.
(1) If the bureau of motor vehicles confirms that the
applicant possesses a current and valid Ohio driver's license or
identification card issued under Chapter 4507. of the Revised
Code, the bureau of motor vehicles shall submit the completed
application and the information compiled by the bureau of motor
vehicles, including an electronic copy of the applicant's
signature, to the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall
validate and submit the completed application and the information
compiled by the bureau of motor vehicles, including the electronic
signature of the applicant, to the board of elections of the
county in which the applicant resides. The board of elections
shall register the applicant. The electronic signature shall be
used as the applicant's signature on voter registration records,
for all election and signature-matching purposes.
(2) If the bureau of motor vehicles is unable to confirm that
the applicant possesses a current and valid Ohio driver's license
or identification card issued under Chapter 4507. of the Revised
Code, the bureau of motor vehicles shall submit the completed
application and the information that the bureau of motor vehicles
is unable to confirm that the applicant possesses a current and
valid Ohio driver's license or identification card to the
secretary of state. The secretary of state shall submit the
completed application and the information that the bureau of motor
vehicles is unable to confirm that the applicant possesses a
current and valid Ohio driver's license or identification card to
the board of elections of the county in which the applicant
resides. The board of elections shall send a notice to the
applicant that the application cannot be processed because the
bureau of motor vehicles cannot confirm that the applicant
possesses a current and valid Ohio driver's license or
identification card. The board of elections shall send the notice
to the applicant at the electronic mail address, if any, provided
in the application, and by mail to the address provided in the
application.
Section 2. That existing sections 3503.14 and 3503.15 of the
Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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