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S. B. No. 110 As IntroducedAs Introduced
130th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2013-2014 |
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Cosponsor:
Senator Tavares
A BILL
To amend sections 111.29, 145.053, 329.051, 742.042,
2961.01, 2967.17, 3307.072, 3309.072, 3313.77,
3501.01, 3501.011, 3501.012, 3501.04, 3501.05,
3501.11, 3501.13, 3501.18, 3501.30, 3501.31,
3501.33, 3501.90, 3503.02, 3503.07, 3503.09,
3503.10, 3503.11, 3503.111, 3503.12, 3503.13,
3503.14, 3503.15, 3503.16, 3503.17, 3503.18,
3503.19, 3503.191, 3503.21, 3503.24, 3503.25,
3503.26, 3503.28, 3503.30, 3503.33, 3505.20,
3509.03, 3509.04, 3511.02, 3511.021, 3511.04,
3517.01, 3517.08, 3517.1013, 3517.18, 3599.02,
3599.11, 3599.161, 3599.18, 3599.26, 3599.31,
4501.023, 4503.03, 4507.06, 4507.51, 5101.54,
5115.05, and 5505.044; to enact new section
3599.111 and section 3503.192; to repeal sections
3503.29 and 3599.111 of the Revised Code; and to
amend the version of section 4507.06 of the
Revised Code that is scheduled to take effect
January 1, 2017, to continue the provisions of
this act on and after that effective date to
permit sixteen and seventeen year olds to
preregister to vote and to revise the law
concerning compensated voter registration workers
and petition circulators.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 111.29, 145.053, 329.051, 742.042,
2961.01, 2967.17, 3307.072, 3309.072, 3313.77, 3501.01, 3501.011,
3501.012, 3501.04, 3501.05, 3501.11, 3501.13, 3501.18, 3501.30,
3501.31, 3501.33, 3501.90, 3503.02, 3503.07, 3503.09, 3503.10,
3503.11, 3503.111, 3503.12, 3503.13, 3503.14, 3503.15, 3503.16,
3503.17, 3503.18, 3503.19, 3503.191, 3503.21, 3503.24, 3503.25,
3503.26, 3503.28, 3503.30, 3503.33, 3505.20, 3509.03, 3509.04,
3511.02, 3511.021, 3511.04, 3517.01, 3517.08, 3517.1013, 3517.18,
3599.02, 3599.11, 3599.161, 3599.18, 3599.26, 3599.31, 4501.023,
4503.03, 4507.06, 4507.51, 5101.54, 5115.05, and 5505.044 be
amended and new section 3599.111 and section 3503.192 of the
Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 111.29. There is hereby created in the state treasury
the citizen education fund. The fund shall receive gifts, grants,
fees, and donations from private individuals and entities for
voter education purposes. The secretary of state shall use the
moneys credited to the fund for preparing, printing, and
distributing voter registration and preregistration and
educational materials and for conducting related workshops and
conferences for public education.
Sec. 145.053. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Campaign committee" means a candidate or a combination
of two or more persons authorized by a candidate to receive
contributions and in-kind contributions and make expenditures on
behalf of the candidate.
(2) "Candidate" means an individual who has been nominated
pursuant to division (C) or (D) of section 145.05 of the Revised
Code for election to the public employees retirement board or who
is seeking to be elected to fill a vacancy on the board pursuant
to section 145.06 of the Revised Code.
(3) "Contribution" means a loan, gift, deposit, forgiveness
of indebtedness, donation, advance, payment, transfer of funds or
transfer of anything of value including a transfer of funds from
an inter vivos or testamentary trust or decedent's estate, and the
payment by any person other than the person to whom the services
are rendered for the personal services of another person, which
contribution is made, received, or used for the purpose of
influencing the results of an election to the public employees
retirement board under section 145.05 of the Revised Code,
including a special election provided for by section 145.051 of
the Revised Code, or the results of an election to fill a vacancy
on the board pursuant to section 145.06 of the Revised Code.
"Contribution" does not include:
(a) Services provided without compensation by individuals
volunteering a portion or all of their time on behalf of a person;
(b) Ordinary home hospitality;
(c) The personal expenses of a volunteer paid for by that
volunteer campaign worker.
(4) "Election day" means the following, as appropriate to the
situation:
(a) The first Monday in October of a year for which section
145.05 of the Revised Code specifies that an election for a member
of the public employees retirement board be held;
(b) If, pursuant to section 145.052 of the Revised Code, no
election is held, the first Monday in October of a year that the
election would have been held if not for section 145.052 of the
Revised Code;
(c) If the election is a special election provided for by
section 145.051 of the Revised Code, a day that the board shall
specify that is consistent with requirements for a special
election established by section 145.051 of the Revised Code.
(5) "Expenditure" means the disbursement or use of a
contribution for the purpose of influencing the results of an
election to the public employees retirement board under section
145.05 of the Revised Code, including a special election provided
for by section 145.051 of the Revised Code, or the results of an
election to fill a vacancy on the board pursuant to section 145.06
of the Revised Code.
(6) "Independent expenditure" means an expenditure by an
individual, partnership, or other entity advocating the election
or defeat of an identified candidate or candidates, that is not
made with the consent of, in coordination, cooperation, or
consultation with, or at the request or suggestion of any
candidate or candidates or of the campaign committee or agent of
the candidate or candidates. An independent expenditure shall not
be construed as being a contribution. As used in division (A)(6)
of this section:
(a) "Advocating" means any communication containing a message
advocating election or defeat.
(b) "Identified candidate" means that the name of the
candidate appears, a photograph or drawing of the candidate
appears, or the identity of the candidate is otherwise apparent by
unambiguous reference.
(c) "Made in coordination, cooperation, or consultation with,
or at the request or suggestion of, any candidate or the campaign
committee or agent of the candidate" means made pursuant to any
arrangement, coordination, or direction by the candidate, the
candidate's campaign committee, or the candidate's agent prior to
the publication, distribution, display, or broadcast of the
communication. An expenditure is presumed to be so made when it is
any of the following:
(i) Based on information about the candidate's plans,
projects, or needs provided to the person making the expenditure
by the candidate, or by the candidate's campaign committee or
agent, with a view toward having an expenditure made;
(ii) Made by or through any person who is, or has been,
authorized to raise or expend funds, who is, or has been, an
officer of the candidate's campaign committee, or who is, or has
been, receiving any form of compensation or reimbursement from the
candidate or the candidate's campaign committee or agent;
(iii) Made by a political party in support of a candidate,
unless the expenditure is made by a political party to conduct
voter registration or preregistration or voter education efforts.
(d) "Agent" means any person who has actual oral or written
authority, either express or implied, to make or to authorize the
making of expenditures on behalf of a candidate, or means any
person who has been placed in a position with the candidate's
campaign committee or organization such that it would reasonably
appear that in the ordinary course of campaign-related activities
the person may authorize expenditures.
(7) "In-kind contribution" means anything of value other than
money that is used to influence the results of an election to the
public employees retirement board under section 145.05 of the
Revised Code, including a special election provided for by section
145.051 of the Revised Code, or the results of an election to fill
a vacancy on the board pursuant to section 145.06 of the Revised
Code, or is transferred to or used in support of or in opposition
to a candidate and that is made with the consent of, in
coordination, cooperation, or consultation with, or at the request
or suggestion of the benefited candidate. The financing of the
dissemination, distribution, or republication, in whole or part,
of any broadcast or of any written, graphic, or other form of
campaign materials prepared by the candidate, the candidate's
campaign committee, or their authorized agents is an in-kind
contribution to the candidate and an expenditure by the candidate.
(8) "Personal expenses" includes ordinary expenses for
accommodations, clothing, food, personal motor vehicle or
airplane, and home telephone.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (D) of this
section, each candidate who, or whose campaign committee, receives
contributions or in-kind contributions totaling one thousand
dollars or more or has expenditures totaling one thousand dollars
or more in connection with the candidate's efforts to be elected
to the public employees retirement board shall file with the
secretary of state two complete, accurate, and itemized statements
setting forth in detail the contributions, in-kind contributions,
and expenditures. The statements shall be filed regardless of
whether the election is a regular election or, pursuant to section
145.051 of the Revised Code, a special election. The statements
shall also be filed regardless of whether, pursuant to section
145.052 of the Revised Code, no election is held. The statements
shall be made on a form prescribed under section 111.30 of the
Revised Code. Every expenditure shall be vouched for by a
receipted bill, stating the purpose of the expenditures, that
shall be filed with the statement; a canceled check with a
notation of the purpose of the expenditure is a receipted bill for
purposes of this division.
The first statement shall be filed not later than four p.m.
on the day that is twelve days before election day. The second
statement shall be filed not sooner than the day that is eight
days after election day and not later than thirty-eight days after
election day. The first statement shall reflect contributions and
in-kind contributions received and expenditures made to the close
of business on the twentieth day before election day. The second
statement shall reflect contributions and in-kind contributions
received and expenditures made during the period beginning on the
nineteenth day before election day and ending on the close of
business on the seventh day after election day.
(C) Each individual, partnership, or other entity that makes
an independent expenditure in connection with the candidate's
efforts to be elected to the public employees retirement board
shall file with the secretary of state two complete, accurate, and
itemized statements setting forth in detail the independent
expenditures. The statements shall be filed regardless of whether
the election is a regular election or, pursuant to section 145.051
of the Revised Code, a special election. The statements also shall
be filed regardless of whether, pursuant to section 145.052 of the
Revised Code, no election is held. The statements shall be made on
a form prescribed under section 111.30 of the Revised Code.
The first statement shall be filed not later than four p.m.
on the day that is twelve days before election day. The second
statement shall be filed not sooner than the day that is eight
days after election day and not later than thirty-eight days after
election day. The first statement shall reflect independent
expenditures made to the close of business on the twentieth day
before election day. The second statement shall reflect
independent expenditures made during the period beginning on the
nineteenth day before election day and ending on the close of
business on the seventh day after election day.
(D) Each candidate who, or whose campaign committee, receives
a contribution or in-kind contribution or makes an expenditure in
connection with the candidate's efforts to be elected to fill a
vacancy in the public employees retirement board pursuant to
section 145.06 of the Revised Code shall file with the secretary
of state a complete, accurate, and itemized statement setting
forth in detail the contributions, in-kind contributions, and
expenditures. The statement shall be made on a form prescribed
under section 111.30 of the Revised Code. Every expenditure shall
be vouched for by a receipted bill, stating the purpose of the
expenditures, that shall be filed with the statement; a canceled
check with a notation of the purpose of the expenditure is a
receipted bill for purposes of this division.
The statement shall be filed within thirty-eight days after
the day the candidate takes office. The statement shall reflect
contributions and in-kind contributions received and expenditures
made to the close of business on the seventh day after the day the
candidate takes office.
Sec. 329.051. The county department of job and family
services shall make voter registration and preregistration
applications as prescribed by the secretary of state under section
3503.10 of the Revised Code available to persons who are applying
for, receiving assistance from, or participating in any of the
following:
(A) The disability financial assistance program established
under Chapter 5115. of the Revised Code;
(B) The medical assistance program established under Chapter
5111. of the Revised Code;
(C) The Ohio works first program established under Chapter
5107. of the Revised Code;
(D) The prevention, retention, and contingency program
established under Chapter 5108. of the Revised Code.
Sec. 742.042. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Campaign committee" means a candidate or a combination
of two or more persons authorized by a candidate to receive
contributions and in-kind contributions and make expenditures on
behalf of the candidate.
(2) "Candidate" means an individual who has been nominated
pursuant to section 742.04 of the Revised Code for election to the
board of trustees of the Ohio police and fire pension fund or who
is seeking to be elected to fill a vacancy on the board pursuant
to section 742.05 of the Revised Code.
(3) "Contribution" means a loan, gift, deposit, forgiveness
of indebtedness, donation, advance, payment, transfer of funds or
transfer of anything of value including a transfer of funds from
an inter vivos or testamentary trust or decedent's estate, and the
payment by any person other than the person to whom the services
are rendered for the personal services of another person, which
contribution is made, received, or used for the purpose of
influencing the results of an election to the board of trustees of
the Ohio police and fire pension fund under section 742.04 of the
Revised Code or the results of an election to fill a vacancy on
the board pursuant to section 742.05 of the Revised Code.
"Contribution" does not include:
(a) Services provided without compensation by individuals
volunteering a portion or all of their time on behalf of a person;
(b) Ordinary home hospitality;
(c) The personal expenses of a volunteer paid for by that
volunteer campaign worker.
(4) "Election day" means the following, as appropriate to the
situation:
(a) The third Tuesday in May of a year for which section
742.04 of the Revised Code specifies that an election for a member
of the board of trustees of the Ohio police and fire pension fund
be held;
(b) If, pursuant to section 742.041 of the Revised Code, no
election is held, the third Tuesday in May of a year that the
election would have been held if not for section 742.041 of the
Revised Code.
(5) "Expenditure" means the disbursement or use of a
contribution for the purpose of influencing the results of an
election to the board of trustees of the Ohio police and fire
pension fund under section 742.04 of the Revised Code or the
results of an election to fill a vacancy on the board pursuant to
section 742.05 of the Revised Code.
(6) "Independent expenditure" means an expenditure by an
individual, partnership, or other entity advocating the election
or defeat of an identified candidate or candidates, that is not
made with the consent of, in coordination, cooperation, or
consultation with, or at the request or suggestion of any
candidate or candidates or of the campaign committee or agent of
the candidate or candidates. An independent expenditure shall not
be construed as being a contribution. As used in division (A)(6)
of this section:
(a) "Advocating" means any communication containing a message
advocating election or defeat.
(b) "Identified candidate" means that the name of the
candidate appears, a photograph or drawing of the candidate
appears, or the identity of the candidate is otherwise apparent by
unambiguous reference.
(c) "Made in coordination, cooperation, or consultation with,
or at the request or suggestion of, any candidate or the campaign
committee or agent of the candidate" means made pursuant to any
arrangement, coordination, or direction by the candidate, the
candidate's campaign committee, or the candidate's agent prior to
the publication, distribution, display, or broadcast of the
communication. An expenditure is presumed to be so made when it is
any of the following:
(i) Based on information about the candidate's plans,
projects, or needs provided to the person making the expenditure
by the candidate, or by the candidate's campaign committee or
agent, with a view toward having an expenditure made;
(ii) Made by or through any person who is, or has been,
authorized to raise or expend funds, who is, or has been, an
officer of the candidate's campaign committee, or who is, or has
been, receiving any form of compensation or reimbursement from the
candidate or the candidate's campaign committee or agent;
(iii) Made by a political party in support of a candidate,
unless the expenditure is made by a political party to conduct
voter registration or preregistration or voter education efforts.
(d) "Agent" means any person who has actual oral or written
authority, either express or implied, to make or to authorize the
making of expenditures on behalf of a candidate, or means any
person who has been placed in a position with the candidate's
campaign committee or organization such that it would reasonably
appear that in the ordinary course of campaign-related activities
the person may authorize expenditures.
(7) "In-kind contribution" means anything of value other than
money that is used to influence the results of an election to the
board of trustees of the Ohio police and fire pension fund under
section 742.04 of the Revised Code or the results of an election
to fill a vacancy on the board pursuant to section 742.05 of the
Revised Code or is transferred to or used in support of or in
opposition to a candidate and that is made with the consent of, in
coordination, cooperation, or consultation with, or at the request
or suggestion of the benefited candidate. The financing of the
dissemination, distribution, or republication, in whole or part,
of any broadcast or of any written, graphic, or other form of
campaign materials prepared by the candidate, the candidate's
campaign committee, or their authorized agents is an in-kind
contribution to the candidate and an expenditure by the candidate.
(8) "Personal expenses" includes ordinary expenses for
accommodations, clothing, food, personal motor vehicle or
airplane, and home telephone.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (D) of this
section, each candidate who, or whose campaign committee, receives
contributions or in-kind contributions totaling one thousand
dollars or more or has expenditures totaling one thousand dollars
or more in connection with the candidate's efforts to be elected
to the board of trustees of the Ohio police and fire pension fund
shall file with the secretary of state two complete, accurate, and
itemized statements setting forth in detail the contributions,
in-kind contributions, and expenditures. The statements shall be
filed regardless of whether, pursuant to section 742.041 of the
Revised Code, no election is held. The statements shall be made on
a form prescribed under section 111.30 of the Revised Code. Every
expenditure shall be vouched for by a receipted bill, stating the
purpose of the expenditures, that shall be filed with the
statement; a canceled check with a notation of the purpose of the
expenditure is a receipted bill for purposes of this division.
The first statement shall be filed not later than four p.m.
on the day that is twelve days before election day. The second
statement shall be filed not sooner than the day that is eight
days after election day and not later than thirty-eight days after
election day. The first statement shall reflect contributions and
in-kind contributions received and expenditures made to the close
of business on the twentieth day before election day. The second
statement shall reflect contributions and in-kind contributions
received and expenditures made during the period beginning on the
nineteenth day before election day and ending on the close of
business on the seventh day after election day.
(C) Each individual, partnership, or other entity who makes
an independent expenditure in connection with the candidate's
efforts to be elected to the board of trustees of the police and
fire pension fund shall file with the secretary of state two
complete, accurate, and itemized statements setting forth in
detail the independent expenditures. The statements shall be filed
regardless of whether, pursuant to section 742.041 of the Revised
Code, no election is held. The statements shall be made on a form
prescribed under section 111.30 of the Revised Code.
The first statement shall be filed not later than four p.m.
on the day that is twelve days before election day. The second
statement shall be filed not sooner than the day that is eight
days after election day and not later than thirty-eight days after
election day. The first statement shall reflect independent
expenditures made to the close of business on the twentieth day
before election day. The second statement shall reflect
independent expenditures made during the period beginning on the
nineteenth day before election day and ending on the close of
business on the seventh day after election day.
(D) Each candidate who, or whose campaign committee, receives
a contribution or in-kind contribution or makes an expenditure in
connection with the candidate's efforts to be elected to fill a
vacancy in the board of trustees of the police and fire pension
fund pursuant to section 742.05 of the Revised Code shall file
with the secretary of state a complete, accurate, and itemized
statement setting forth in detail the contributions, in-kind
contributions, and expenditures. The statement shall be made on a
form prescribed under section 111.30 of the Revised Code. Every
expenditure shall be vouched for by a receipted bill, stating the
purpose of the expenditures, that shall be filed with the
statement; a canceled check with a notation of the purpose of the
expenditure is a receipted bill for purposes of this division.
The statement shall be filed within thirty-eight days after
the day the candidate takes office. The statement shall reflect
contributions and in-kind contributions received and expenditures
made to the close of business on the seventh day after the day the
candidate takes office.
Sec. 2961.01. (A)(1) A person who pleads guilty to a felony
under the laws of this or any other state or the United States and
whose plea is accepted by the court or a person against whom a
verdict or finding of guilt for committing a felony under any law
of that type is returned, unless the plea, verdict, or finding is
reversed or annulled, is incompetent to be an elector or juror or
to hold an office of honor, trust, or profit.
(2) When any person who under division (A)(1) of this section
is incompetent to be an elector or juror or to hold an office of
honor, trust, or profit is granted parole, judicial release, or a
conditional pardon or is released under a non-jail community
control sanction or a post-release control sanction, the person is
competent to be an elector during the period of community control,
parole, post-release control, or release or until the conditions
of the pardon have been performed or have transpired and is
competent to be an elector thereafter following final discharge.
The full pardon of a person who under division (A)(1) of this
section is incompetent to be an elector or juror or to hold an
office of honor, trust, or profit restores the rights and
privileges so forfeited under division (A)(1) of this section, but
a pardon shall not release the person from the costs of a
conviction in this state, unless so specified.
(B) A person who pleads guilty to a felony under laws of this
state or any other state or the United States and whose plea is
accepted by the court or a person against whom a verdict or
finding of guilt for committing a felony under any law of that
type is returned is incompetent to circulate or serve as a witness
for the signing of any declaration of candidacy and petition,
voter registration or preregistration application, or nominating,
initiative, referendum, or recall petition.
(C) As used in this section:
(1) "Community control sanction" has the same meaning as in
section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Non-jail community control sanction" means a community
control sanction that is neither a term in a community-based
correctional facility nor a term in a jail.
(3) "Post-release control" and "post-release control
sanction" have the same meanings as in section 2967.01 of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 2967.17. (A) The adult parole authority, in its
discretion, may grant an administrative release to any of the
following:
(1) A parole violator or release violator serving another
felony sentence in a correctional institution within or without
this state for the purpose of consolidation of the records or if
justice would best be served;
(2) A parole violator at large or release violator at large
whose case has been inactive for at least ten years following the
date of declaration of the parole violation or the violation of a
post-release control sanction;
(3) A parolee taken into custody by the immigration and
naturalization service of the United States department of justice
and deported from the United States.
(B)(1)(a) As used in divisions (B)(2) and (3) of this
section, "position of honor, trust, or profit" has the same
meaning as in section 2929.192 of the Revised Code.
(b) For purposes of divisions (B)(2) and (3) of this section,
a violation of section 2923.32 of the Revised Code or any other
violation or offense that includes as an element a course of
conduct or the occurrence of multiple acts is "committed on or
after the effective date of this amendment May 13, 2008," if the
course of conduct continues, one or more of the multiple acts
occurs, or the subject person's accountability for the course of
conduct or for one or more of the multiple acts continues, on or
after the effective date of this amendment May 13, 2008.
(2) The adult parole authority shall not grant an
administrative release except upon the concurrence of a majority
of the parole board and approval of the chief of the adult parole
authority. An administrative release does not restore for the
person to whom it is granted the rights and privileges forfeited
by conviction as provided in section 2961.01 of the Revised Code.
Any person granted an administrative release under this section
may subsequently apply for a commutation of sentence for the
purpose of regaining the rights and privileges forfeited by
conviction, except that the privilege of circulating or serving as
a witness for the signing of any declaration of candidacy and
petition, voter registration or preregistration application, or
nominating, initiative, referendum, or recall petition forfeited
under section 2961.01 of the Revised Code may not be restored
under this section and except that the privilege of holding a
position of honor, trust, or profit may not be restored under this
section to a person in the circumstances described in division
(B)(3) of this section.
(3) The privilege of holding a position of honor, trust, or
profit may not be restored under this section to a person who was
convicted of or pleaded guilty to committing on or after the
effective date of this amendment May 13, 2008, any violation or
offense listed in divisions (C)(2)(c)(i) to (vi) of section
2967.16 of the Revised Code that is a felony.
Sec. 3307.072. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Campaign committee" means a candidate or a combination
of two or more persons authorized by a candidate to receive
contributions and in-kind contributions and make expenditures on
behalf of the candidate.
(2) "Candidate" means an individual who has been nominated
pursuant to section 3307.07 of the Revised Code for election to
the state teachers retirement board or who is seeking to be
elected to fill a vacancy on the board pursuant to division (D) of
section 3307.06 of the Revised Code.
(3) "Contribution" means a loan, gift, deposit, forgiveness
of indebtedness, donation, advance, payment, transfer of funds or
transfer of anything of value including a transfer of funds from
an inter vivos or testamentary trust or decedent's estate, and the
payment by any person other than the person to whom the services
are rendered for the personal services of another person, which
contribution is made, received, or used for the purpose of
influencing the results of an election to the state teachers
retirement board under section 3307.07 of the Revised Code or the
results of an election to fill a vacancy on the board pursuant to
division (D) of section 3307.06 of the Revised Code.
"Contribution" does not include:
(a) Services provided without compensation by individuals
volunteering a portion or all of their time on behalf of a person;
(b) Ordinary home hospitality;
(c) The personal expenses of a volunteer paid for by that
volunteer campaign worker.
(4) "Election day" means the following, as appropriate to the
situation:
(a) The first Monday in May of a year for which section
3307.06 of the Revised Code specifies that an election for a
member of the state teachers retirement board be held;
(b) If, pursuant to section 3307.071 of the Revised Code, no
election is held, the first Monday in May of a year that the
election would have been held if not for section 3307.071 of the
Revised Code.
(5) "Expenditure" means the disbursement or use of a
contribution for the purpose of influencing the results of an
election to the state teachers retirement board under section
3307.07 of the Revised Code or the results of an election to fill
a vacancy on the board pursuant to division (D) of section 3307.06
of the Revised Code.
(6) "Independent expenditure" means an expenditure by an
individual, partnership, or other entity advocating the election
or defeat of an identified candidate or candidates, that is not
made with the consent of, in coordination, cooperation, or
consultation with, or at the request or suggestion of any
candidate or candidates or of the campaign committee or agent of
the candidate or candidates. An independent expenditure shall not
be construed as being a contribution. As used in division (A)(6)
of this section:
(a) "Advocating" means any communication containing a message
advocating election or defeat.
(b) "Identified candidate" means that the name of the
candidate appears, a photograph or drawing of the candidate
appears, or the identity of the candidate is otherwise apparent by
unambiguous reference.
(c) "Made in coordination, cooperation, or consultation with,
or at the request or suggestion of, any candidate or the campaign
committee or agent of the candidate" means made pursuant to any
arrangement, coordination, or direction by the candidate, the
candidate's campaign committee, or the candidate's agent prior to
the publication, distribution, display, or broadcast of the
communication. An expenditure is presumed to be so made when it is
any of the following:
(i) Based on information about the candidate's plans,
projects, or needs provided to the person making the expenditure
by the candidate, or by the candidate's campaign committee or
agent, with a view toward having an expenditure made;
(ii) Made by or through any person who is, or has been,
authorized to raise or expend funds, who is, or has been, an
officer of the candidate's campaign committee, or who is, or has
been, receiving any form of compensation or reimbursement from the
candidate or the candidate's campaign committee or agent;
(iii) Made by a political party in support of a candidate,
unless the expenditure is made by a political party to conduct
voter registration or preregistration or voter education efforts.
(d) "Agent" means any person who has actual oral or written
authority, either express or implied, to make or to authorize the
making of expenditures on behalf of a candidate, or means any
person who has been placed in a position with the candidate's
campaign committee or organization such that it would reasonably
appear that in the ordinary course of campaign-related activities
the person may authorize expenditures.
(7) "In-kind contribution" means anything of value other than
money that is used to influence the results of an election to the
state teachers retirement board under section 3307.07 of the
Revised Code or the results of an election to fill a vacancy on
the board pursuant to division (D) of section 3307.06 of the
Revised Code or is transferred to or used in support of or in
opposition to a candidate and that is made with the consent of, in
coordination, cooperation, or consultation with, or at the request
or suggestion of the benefited candidate. The financing of the
dissemination, distribution, or republication, in whole or part,
of any broadcast or of any written, graphic, or other form of
campaign materials prepared by the candidate, the candidate's
campaign committee, or their authorized agents is an in-kind
contribution to the candidate and an expenditure by the candidate.
(8) "Personal expenses" includes ordinary expenses for
accommodations, clothing, food, personal motor vehicle or
airplane, and home telephone.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (D) of this
section, each candidate who, or whose campaign committee, receives
contributions or in-kind contributions totaling one thousand
dollars or more or has expenditures totaling one thousand dollars
or more in connection with the candidate's efforts to be elected
to the state teachers retirement board shall file with the
secretary of state two complete, accurate, and itemized statements
setting forth in detail the contributions, in-kind contributions,
and expenditures. The statements shall be filed regardless of
whether, pursuant to section 3307.071 of the Revised Code, no
election is held. The statements shall be made on a form
prescribed under section 111.30 of the Revised Code. Every
expenditure shall be vouched for by a receipted bill, stating the
purpose of the expenditures, that shall be filed with the
statement; a canceled check with a notation of the purpose of the
expenditure is a receipted bill for purposes of this division.
The first statement shall be filed not later than four p.m.
on the day that is twelve days before election day. The second
statement shall be filed not sooner than the day that is eight
days after election day and not later than thirty-eight days after
election day. The first statement shall reflect contributions and
in-kind contributions received and expenditures made to the close
of business on the twentieth day before election day. The second
statement shall reflect contributions and in-kind contributions
received and expenditures made during the period beginning on the
nineteenth day before election day and ending on the close of
business on the seventh day after election day.
(C) Each individual, partnership, or other entity who makes
an independent expenditure in connection with the candidate's
efforts to be elected to the state teachers retirement board shall
file with the secretary of state two complete, accurate, and
itemized statements setting forth in detail the independent
expenditures. The statements shall be filed regardless of whether,
pursuant to section 3307.071 of the Revised Code, no election is
held. The statements shall be made on a form prescribed under
section 111.30 of the Revised Code.
The first statement shall be filed not later than four p.m.
on the day that is twelve days before election day. The second
statement shall be filed not sooner than the day that is eight
days after election day and not later than thirty-eight days after
election day. The first statement shall reflect independent
expenditures made to the close of business on the twentieth day
before election day. The second statement shall reflect
independent expenditures made during the period beginning on the
nineteenth day before election day and ending on the close of
business on the seventh day after election day.
(D) Each candidate who, or whose campaign committee, receives
a contribution or in-kind contribution or makes an expenditure in
connection with the candidate's efforts to be elected to fill a
vacancy in the state teachers retirement board pursuant to
division (D) of section 3307.06 of the Revised Code shall file
with the secretary of state a complete, accurate, and itemized
statement setting forth in detail the contributions, in-kind
contributions, and expenditures. The statement shall be made on a
form prescribed under section 111.30 of the Revised Code. Every
expenditure shall be vouched for by a receipted bill, stating the
purpose of the expenditures, that shall be filed with the
statement; a canceled check with a notation of the purpose of the
expenditure is a receipted bill for purposes of this division.
The statement shall be filed within thirty-eight days after
the day the candidate takes office. The statement shall reflect
contributions and in-kind contributions received and expenditures
made to the close of business on the seventh day after the day the
candidate takes office.
Sec. 3309.072. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Campaign committee" means a candidate or a combination
of two or more persons authorized by a candidate to receive
contributions and in-kind contributions and make expenditures on
behalf of the candidate.
(2) "Candidate" means an individual who has been nominated
pursuant to section 3309.07 of the Revised Code for election to
the school employees retirement board or who is seeking to be
elected to fill a vacancy on the board pursuant to division (D) of
section 3309.06 of the Revised Code.
(3) "Contribution" means a loan, gift, deposit, forgiveness
of indebtedness, donation, advance, payment, transfer of funds or
transfer of anything of value including a transfer of funds from
an inter vivos or testamentary trust or decedent's estate, and the
payment by any person other than the person to whom the services
are rendered for the personal services of another person, which
contribution is made, received, or used for the purpose of
influencing the results of an election to the school employees
retirement board under section 3309.07 of the Revised Code or the
results of an election to fill a vacancy on the board pursuant to
division (C) of section 3309.06 of the Revised Code.
"Contribution" does not include:
(a) Services provided without compensation by individuals
volunteering a portion or all of their time on behalf of a person;
(b) Ordinary home hospitality;
(c) The personal expenses of a volunteer paid for by that
volunteer campaign worker.
(4) "Election day" means the following, as appropriate to the
situation:
(a) The first Monday in March of a year for which section
3309.06 of the Revised Code specifies that an election for a
member of the school employees retirement board be held;
(b) If, pursuant to section 3309.071 of the Revised Code, no
election is held, the first Monday in March of a year that the
election would have been held if not for section 3309.071 of the
Revised Code.
(5) "Expenditure" means the disbursement or use of a
contribution for the purpose of influencing the results of an
election to the school employees retirement board under section
3309.07 of the Revised Code or the results of an election to fill
a vacancy on the board pursuant to division (D) of section 3309.06
of the Revised Code.
(6) "Independent expenditure" means an expenditure by an
individual, partnership, or other entity advocating the election
or defeat of an identified candidate or candidates, that is not
made with the consent of, in coordination, cooperation, or
consultation with, or at the request or suggestion of any
candidate or candidates or of the campaign committee or agent of
the candidate or candidates. An independent expenditure shall not
be construed as being a contribution. As used in division (A)(6)
of this section:
(a) "Advocating" means any communication containing a message
advocating election or defeat.
(b) "Identified candidate" means that the name of the
candidate appears, a photograph or drawing of the candidate
appears, or the identity of the candidate is otherwise apparent by
unambiguous reference.
(c) "Made in coordination, cooperation, or consultation with,
or at the request or suggestion of, any candidate or the campaign
committee or agent of the candidate" means made pursuant to any
arrangement, coordination, or direction by the candidate, the
candidate's campaign committee, or the candidate's agent prior to
the publication, distribution, display, or broadcast of the
communication. An expenditure is presumed to be so made when it is
any of the following:
(i) Based on information about the candidate's plans,
projects, or needs provided to the person making the expenditure
by the candidate, or by the candidate's campaign committee or
agent, with a view toward having an expenditure made;
(ii) Made by or through any person who is, or has been,
authorized to raise or expend funds, who is, or has been, an
officer of the candidate's campaign committee, or who is, or has
been, receiving any form of compensation or reimbursement from the
candidate or the candidate's campaign committee or agent;
(iii) Made by a political party in support of a candidate,
unless the expenditure is made by a political party to conduct
voter registration or preregistration or voter education efforts.
(d) "Agent" means any person who has actual oral or written
authority, either express or implied, to make or to authorize the
making of expenditures on behalf of a candidate, or means any
person who has been placed in a position with the candidate's
campaign committee or organization such that it would reasonably
appear that in the ordinary course of campaign-related activities
the person may authorize expenditures.
(7) "In-kind contribution" means anything of value other than
money that is used to influence the results of an election to the
school employees retirement board under section 3309.07 of the
Revised Code or the results of an election to fill a vacancy on
the board pursuant to division (C) of section 3309.06 of the
Revised Code or is transferred to or used in support of or in
opposition to a candidate and that is made with the consent of, in
coordination, cooperation, or consultation with, or at the request
or suggestion of the benefited candidate. The financing of the
dissemination, distribution, or republication, in whole or part,
of any broadcast or of any written, graphic, or other form of
campaign materials prepared by the candidate, the candidate's
campaign committee, or their authorized agents is an in-kind
contribution to the candidate and an expenditure by the candidate.
(8) "Personal expenses" includes ordinary expenses for
accommodations, clothing, food, personal motor vehicle or
airplane, and home telephone.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (D) of this
section, each candidate who, or whose campaign committee, receives
contributions or in-kind contributions totaling one thousand
dollars or more or has expenditures totaling one thousand dollars
or more in connection with the candidate's efforts to be elected
to the school employees retirement board under section 3309.07 of
the Revised Code shall file with the secretary of state two
complete, accurate, and itemized statements setting forth in
detail the contributions, in-kind contributions, and expenditures.
The statements shall be filed regardless of whether, pursuant to
section 3309.071 of the Revised Code, no election is held. The
statements shall be made on a form prescribed under section 111.30
of the Revised Code. Every expenditure in excess of twenty-five
dollars shall be vouched for by a receipted bill, stating the
purpose of the expenditures, that shall be filed with the
statement; a canceled check with a notation of the purpose of the
expenditure is a receipted bill for purposes of this division.
The first statement shall be filed not later than four p.m.
on the day that is twelve days before election day. The second
statement shall be filed not sooner than the day that is eight
days after election day and not later than thirty-eight days after
election day. The first statement shall reflect contributions and
in-kind contributions received and expenditures made to the close
of business on the twentieth day before election day. The second
statement shall reflect contributions and in-kind contributions
received and expenditures made during the period beginning on the
nineteenth day before election day and ending on the close of
business on the seventh day after election day.
(C) Each individual, partnership, or other entity who makes
an independent expenditure in connection with the candidate's
efforts to be elected to the school employees retirement board
under section 3309.07 of the Revised Code shall file with the
secretary of state two complete, accurate, and itemized statements
setting forth in detail the independent expenditures. The
statements shall be filed regardless of whether, pursuant to
section 3309.071 of the Revised Code, no election is held. The
statements shall be made on a form prescribed under section 111.30
of the Revised Code.
The first statement shall be filed not later than four p.m.
on the day that is twelve days before election day. The second
statement shall be filed not sooner than the day that is eight
days after election day and not later than thirty-eight days after
election day. The first statement shall reflect independent
expenditures made to the close of business on the twentieth day
before election day. The second statement shall reflect
independent expenditures made during the period beginning on the
nineteenth day before election day and ending on the close of
business on the seventh day after election day.
(D) Each candidate who, or whose campaign committee, receives
contributions or in-kind contributions totaling one thousand
dollars or more or has expenditures totaling one thousand dollars
or more in connection with the candidate's efforts to be elected
to fill a vacancy in the school employees retirement board
pursuant to division (C) of section 3309.06 of the Revised Code
shall file with the secretary of state a complete, accurate, and
itemized statement setting forth in detail the contributions,
in-kind contributions, and expenditures. The statement shall be
made on a form prescribed under section 111.30 of the Revised
Code. Every expenditure in excess of twenty-five dollars shall be
vouched for by a receipted bill, stating the purpose of the
expenditures, that shall be filed with the statement; a canceled
check with a notation of the purpose of the expenditure is a
receipted bill for purposes of this division.
The statement shall be filed within thirty-eight days after
the day the candidate takes office. The statement shall reflect
contributions and in-kind contributions received and expenditures
made to the close of business on the seventh day after the day the
candidate takes office.
(E) Each individual, partnership, or other entity that makes
an independent expenditure in connection with the candidate's
efforts to be elected to fill a vacancy in the school employees
retirement board under division (C) of section 3309.06 of the
Revised Code shall file with the secretary of state a complete,
accurate, and itemized statement setting forth in detail the
independent expenditures. The statement shall be made on a form
prescribed under section 111.30 of the Revised Code.
The statement shall be filed not later than thirty-eight days
after the day the candidate takes office. The statement shall
reflect independent expenditures made to the close of business on
the seventh day after the day the candidate takes office.
Sec. 3313.77. The board of education of any city, exempted
village, or local school district shall, upon request and the
payment of a reasonable fee, subject to such regulation as is
adopted by such board, permit the use of any school house and
rooms therein and the grounds and other property under its
control, when not in actual use for school purposes, for any of
the following purposes:
(A) Giving instructions in any branch of education, learning,
or the arts;
(B) Holding educational, religious, civic, social, or
recreational meetings and entertainments, and for such other
purposes as promote the welfare of the community; provided such
meetings and entertainments shall be nonexclusive and open to the
general public;
(C) Public library purposes, as a station for a public
library, or as reading rooms;
(D) Polling places, for holding elections and for the
registration and preregistration of voters, or for holding grange
or similar meetings.
Within sixty days after
the effective date of this section
November 28, 1975, the board of education of each school district
shall adopt a policy for the use of school facilities by the
public, including a list of all fees to be paid for the use of
such facilities and the costs used to determine such fees. Once
adopted, the policy shall remain in effect until formally amended
by the board. A copy of the policy shall be made available to any
resident of the district upon request.
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 or preregistration 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
registration 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. 3501.011. (A) Except as otherwise provided in divisions
(B) and (C) of this section, and except as otherwise provided in
any section of Title XXXV of the Revised Code to the contrary, as
used in the sections of the Revised Code relating to elections and
political communications, whenever a person is required to sign or
affix a signature to a declaration of candidacy, nominating
petition, declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate,
initiative petition, referendum petition, recall petition, or any
other kind of petition, or to sign or affix a signature on any
other document that is filed with or transmitted to a board of
elections or the office of the secretary of state, "sign" or
"signature" means that person's written, cursive-style legal mark
written in that person's own hand.
(B) For persons who do not use a cursive-style legal mark
during the course of their regular business and legal affairs,
"sign" or "signature" means that person's other legal mark that
the person uses during the course of that person's regular
business and legal affairs that is written in the person's own
hand.
(C) Any voter registration or preregistration record
requiring a person's signature shall be signed using the person's
legal mark used in the person's regular business and legal
affairs. For any purpose described in division (A) of this
section, the legal mark of a registered elector shall be
considered to be the mark of that elector as it appears on the
elector's voter registration record.
Sec. 3501.012. Notwithstanding any provision of the Revised
Code to the contrary, the secretary of state or a board of
elections shall not refuse to accept and process an otherwise
valid voter registration or preregistration application, absent
voter's ballot application, uniformed services and overseas absent
voter's ballot application, returned absent voter's ballot,
returned uniformed services and overseas absent voter's ballot, or
federal write-in absentee ballot from 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 due to any
requirements regarding notarization, paper type, paper weight and
size, envelope type, or envelope weight and size.
Sec. 3501.04. The secretary of state is the chief election
officer of the state, with such powers and duties relating to the
registration and preregistration of voters and the conduct of
elections as are prescribed in Title XXXV of the Revised Code.
He
The secretary of state shall perform these duties, in addition to
other duties imposed upon him the secretary of state by law,
without additional compensation.
Sec. 3501.05. The secretary of state shall do all of the
following:
(A) Appoint all members of boards of elections;
(B) Issue instructions by directives and advisories in
accordance with section 3501.053 of the Revised Code to members of
the boards as to the proper methods of conducting elections.
(C) Prepare rules and instructions for the conduct of
elections;
(D) Publish and furnish to the boards from time to time a
sufficient number of indexed copies of all election laws then in
force;
(E) Edit and issue all pamphlets concerning proposed laws or
amendments required by law to be submitted to the voters;
(F) Prescribe the form of registration cards, blanks, and
records;
(G) Determine and prescribe the forms of ballots and the
forms of all blanks, cards of instructions, pollbooks, tally
sheets, certificates of election, and forms and blanks required by
law for use by candidates, committees, and boards;
(H) Prepare the ballot title or statement to be placed on the
ballot for any proposed law or amendment to the constitution to be
submitted to the voters of the state;
(I) Except as otherwise provided in section 3519.08 of the
Revised Code, certify to the several boards the forms of ballots
and names of candidates for state offices, and the form and
wording of state referendum questions and issues, as they shall
appear on the ballot;
(J) Except as otherwise provided in division (I)(2)(b) of
section 3501.38 of the Revised Code, give final approval to ballot
language for any local question or issue approved and transmitted
by boards of elections under section 3501.11 of the Revised Code;
(K) Receive all initiative and referendum petitions on state
questions and issues and determine and certify to the sufficiency
of those petitions;
(L) Require such reports from the several boards as are
provided by law, or as the secretary of state considers necessary;
(M) Compel the observance by election officers in the several
counties of the requirements of the election laws;
(N)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (N)(2) of
this section, investigate the administration of election laws,
frauds, and irregularities in elections in any county, and report
violations of election laws to the attorney general or prosecuting
attorney, or both, for prosecution;
(2) On and after August 24, 1995, report a failure to comply
with or a violation of a provision in sections 3517.08 to 3517.13,
3517.17, 3517.18, 3517.20 to 3517.22, 3599.03, or 3599.031 of the
Revised Code, whenever the secretary of state has or should have
knowledge of a failure to comply with or a violation of a
provision in one of those sections, by filing a complaint with the
Ohio elections commission under section 3517.153 of the Revised
Code;
(O) Make an annual report to the governor containing the
results of elections, the cost of elections in the various
counties, a tabulation of the votes in the several political
subdivisions, and other information and recommendations relative
to elections the secretary of state considers desirable;
(P) Prescribe and distribute to boards of elections a list of
instructions indicating all legal steps necessary to petition
successfully for local option elections under sections 4301.32 to
4301.41, 4303.29, 4305.14, and 4305.15 of the Revised Code;
(Q) Adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code
for the removal by boards of elections of ineligible voters from
the statewide voter registration database and, if applicable, from
the poll list or signature pollbook used in each precinct, which
rules shall provide for all of the following:
(1) A process for the removal of voters who have changed
residence, which shall be uniform, nondiscriminatory, and in
compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the National
Voter Registration Act of 1993, including a program that uses the
national change of address service provided by the United States
postal system through its licensees;
(2) A process for the removal of ineligible voters under
section 3503.21 of the Revised Code;
(3) A uniform system for marking or removing the name of a
voter who is ineligible to vote from the statewide voter
registration database and, if applicable, from the poll list or
signature pollbook used in each precinct and noting the reason for
that mark or removal.
(R) Prescribe a general program for registering and
preregistering voters or updating voter registration and
preregistration information, such as name and residence changes,
by boards of elections, designated agencies, offices of deputy
registrars of motor vehicles, public high schools and vocational
schools, public libraries, and offices of county treasurers
consistent with the requirements of section 3503.09 of the Revised
Code;
(S) Prescribe a program of distribution of voter registration
and preregistration forms through boards of elections, designated
agencies, offices of the registrar and deputy registrars of motor
vehicles, public high schools and vocational schools, public
libraries, and offices of county treasurers;
(T) To the extent feasible, provide copies, at no cost and
upon request, of the voter registration and preregistration form
in post offices in this state;
(U) Adopt rules pursuant to section 111.15 of the Revised
Code for the purpose of implementing the program for registering
and preregistering voters through boards of elections, designated
agencies, and the offices of the registrar and deputy registrars
of motor vehicles consistent with this chapter and for the purpose
of implementing the law regarding voter preregistration;
(V) Establish the full-time position of Americans with
Disabilities Act coordinator within the office of the secretary of
state to do all of the following:
(1) Assist the secretary of state with ensuring that there is
equal access to polling places for persons with disabilities;
(2) Assist the secretary of state with ensuring that each
voter may cast the voter's ballot in a manner that provides the
same opportunity for access and participation, including privacy
and independence, as for other voters;
(3) Advise the secretary of state in the development of
standards for the certification of voting machines, marking
devices, and automatic tabulating equipment.
(W) Establish and maintain a computerized statewide database
of all legally registered and preregistered voters under section
3503.15 of the Revised Code that complies with the requirements of
the "Help America Vote Act of 2002," Pub. L. No. 107-252, 116
Stat. 1666, and provide training in the operation of that system;
(X) Ensure that all directives, advisories, other
instructions, or decisions issued or made during or as a result of
any conference or teleconference call with a board of elections to
discuss the proper methods and procedures for conducting
elections, to answer questions regarding elections, or to discuss
the interpretation of directives, advisories, or other
instructions issued by the secretary of state are posted on a web
site of the office of the secretary of state as soon as is
practicable after the completion of the conference or
teleconference call, but not later than the close of business on
the same day as the conference or teleconference call takes place.
(Y) Publish a report on a web site of the office of the
secretary of state not later than one month after the completion
of the canvass of the election returns for each primary and
general election, identifying, by county, the number of absent
voter's ballots cast and the number of those ballots that were
counted, and the number of provisional ballots cast and the number
of those ballots that were counted, for that election. The
secretary of state shall maintain the information on the web site
in an archive format for each subsequent election.
(Z) Conduct voter education outlining voter identification,
absent voters ballot, provisional ballot, and other voting
requirements;
(AA) Establish a procedure by which a registered elector may
make available to a board of elections a more recent signature to
be used in the poll list or signature pollbook produced by the
board of elections of the county in which the elector resides;
(BB) Disseminate information, which may include all or part
of the official explanations and arguments, by means of direct
mail or other written publication, broadcast, or other means or
combination of means, as directed by the Ohio ballot board under
division (F) of section 3505.062 of the Revised Code, in order to
inform the voters as fully as possible concerning each proposed
constitutional amendment, proposed law, or referendum;
(CC) Be the single state office responsible for the
implementation of 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, in this state. The secretary of state may
delegate to the boards of elections responsibilities for the
implementation of that act, including responsibilities arising
from amendments to that act made by the "Military and Overseas
Voter Empowerment Act," Subtitle H of the "National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010," Pub. L. No. 111-84, 123
Stat. 3190.
(DD) Perform other duties required by law.
Whenever a primary election is held under section 3513.32 of
the Revised Code or a special election is held under section
3521.03 of the Revised Code to fill a vacancy in the office of
representative to congress, the secretary of state shall establish
a deadline, notwithstanding any other deadline required under the
Revised Code, by which any or all of the following shall occur:
the filing of a declaration of candidacy and petitions or a
statement of candidacy and nominating petition together with the
applicable filing fee; the filing of protests against the
candidacy of any person filing a declaration of candidacy or
nominating petition; the filing of a declaration of intent to be a
write-in candidate; the filing of campaign finance reports; the
preparation of, and the making of corrections or challenges to,
precinct voter registration lists; the receipt of applications for
absent voter's ballots or armed service uniformed services or
overseas absent voter's ballots; the supplying of election
materials to precincts by boards of elections; the holding of
hearings by boards of elections to consider challenges to the
right of a person to appear on a voter registration list; and the
scheduling of programs to instruct or reinstruct election
officers.
In the performance of the secretary of state's duties as the
chief election officer, the secretary of state may administer
oaths, issue subpoenas, summon witnesses, compel the production of
books, papers, records, and other evidence, and fix the time and
place for hearing any matters relating to the administration and
enforcement of the election laws.
In any controversy involving or arising out of the adoption
of registration or preregistration or the appropriation of funds
for registration or preregistration, the secretary of state may,
through the attorney general, bring an action in the name of the
state in the court of common pleas of the county where the cause
of action arose or in an adjoining county, to adjudicate the
question.
In any action involving the laws in Title XXXV of the Revised
Code wherein the interpretation of those laws is in issue in such
a manner that the result of the action will affect the lawful
duties of the secretary of state or of any board of elections, the
secretary of state may, on the secretary of state's motion, be
made a party.
The secretary of state may apply to any court that is hearing
a case in which the secretary of state is a party, for a change of
venue as a substantive right, and the change of venue shall be
allowed, and the case removed to the court of common pleas of an
adjoining county named in the application or, if there are cases
pending in more than one jurisdiction that involve the same or
similar issues, the court of common pleas of Franklin county.
Public high schools and vocational schools, public libraries,
and the office of a county treasurer shall implement voter
registration and preregistration programs as directed by the
secretary of state pursuant to this section.
Sec. 3501.11. Each board of elections shall exercise by a
majority vote all powers granted to the board by Title XXXV of the
Revised Code, shall perform all the duties imposed by law, and
shall do all of the following:
(A) Establish, define, provide, rearrange, and combine
election precincts;
(B) Fix and provide the places for registration and
preregistration and for holding primaries and elections;
(C) Provide for the purchase, preservation, and maintenance
of booths, ballot boxes, books, maps, flags, blanks, cards of
instructions, and other forms, papers, and equipment used in
registration, preregistration, nominations, and elections;
(D) Appoint and remove its director, deputy director, and
employees and all registrars, judges, and other officers of
elections, fill vacancies, and designate the ward or district and
precinct in which each shall serve;
(E) Make and issue rules and instructions, not inconsistent
with law or the rules, directives, or advisories issued by the
secretary of state, as it considers necessary for the guidance of
election officers and voters;
(F) Advertise and contract for the printing of all ballots
and other supplies used in registrations, preregistrations, and
elections;
(G) Provide for the issuance of all notices, advertisements,
and publications concerning elections, except as otherwise
provided in division (G) of section 3501.17 and divisions (F) and
(G) of section 3505.062 of the Revised Code;
(H) Provide for the delivery of ballots, pollbooks, and other
required papers and material to the polling places;
(I) Cause the polling places to be suitably provided with
voting machines, marking devices, automatic tabulating equipment,
stalls, and other required supplies. In fulfilling this duty, each
board of a county that uses voting machines, marking devices, or
automatic tabulating equipment shall conduct a full vote of the
board during a public session of the board on the allocation and
distribution of voting machines, marking devices, and automatic
tabulating equipment for each precinct in the county.
(J) Investigate irregularities, nonperformance of duties, or
violations of Title XXXV of the Revised Code by election officers
and other persons; administer oaths, issue subpoenas, summon
witnesses, and compel the production of books, papers, records,
and other evidence in connection with any such investigation; and
report the facts to the prosecuting attorney or the secretary of
state;
(K) Review, examine, and certify the sufficiency and validity
of petitions and nomination papers, and, after certification,
return to the secretary of state all petitions and nomination
papers that the secretary of state forwarded to the board;
(L) Receive the returns of elections, canvass the returns,
make abstracts of them, and transmit those abstracts to the proper
authorities;
(M) Issue certificates of election on forms to be prescribed
by the secretary of state;
(N) Make an annual report to the secretary of state, on the
form prescribed by the secretary of state, containing a statement
of the number of voters registered and preregistered, elections
held, votes cast, appropriations received, expenditures made, and
other data required by the secretary of state;
(O) Prepare and submit to the proper appropriating officer a
budget estimating the cost of elections for the ensuing fiscal
year;
(P) Perform other duties as prescribed by law or the rules,
directives, or advisories of the secretary of state;
(Q) Investigate and determine the residence qualifications of
electors;
(R) Administer oaths in matters pertaining to the
administration of the election laws;
(S) Prepare and submit to the secretary of state, whenever
the secretary of state requires, a report containing the names and
residence addresses of all incumbent county, municipal, township,
and board of education officials serving in their respective
counties;
(T) Establish and maintain a voter registration database of
all qualified electors in the county who offer to register;
(U) Maintain voter registration and preregistration records,
make reports concerning voter registration and preregistration as
required by the secretary of state, and remove ineligible electors
from voter registration and preregistration lists in accordance
with law and directives of the secretary of state;
(V) Give approval to ballot language for any local question
or issue and transmit the language to the secretary of state for
the secretary of state's final approval;
(W) Prepare and cause the following notice to be displayed in
a prominent location in every polling place:
"NOTICE
Ohio law prohibits any person from voting or attempting to
vote more than once at the same election.
Violators are guilty of a felony of the fourth degree and
shall be imprisoned and additionally may be fined in accordance
with law."
(X) In all cases of a tie vote or a disagreement in the
board, if no decision can be arrived at, the director or
chairperson shall submit the matter in controversy, not later than
fourteen days after the tie vote or the disagreement, to the
secretary of state, who shall summarily decide the question, and
the secretary of state's decision shall be final.
(Y) Assist each designated agency, deputy registrar of motor
vehicles, public high school and vocational school, public
library, and office of a county treasurer in the implementation of
a program for registering and preregistering voters at all voter
registration and preregistration locations as prescribed by the
secretary of state. Under this program, each board of elections
shall direct to the appropriate board of elections any voter
registration or preregistration applications for persons residing
outside the county where the board is located within five days
after receiving the applications.
(Z) On any day on which an elector may vote in person at the
office of the board or at another site designated by the board,
consider the board or other designated site a polling place for
that day. All requirements or prohibitions of law that apply to a
polling place shall apply to the office of the board or other
designated site on that day.
(AA) Perform any duties with respect to voter registration
and preregistration and voting by uniformed services and overseas
voters that are delegated to the board by law or by the rules,
directives, or advisories of the secretary of state.
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 and preregistrations, 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 judges
of elections, 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 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. 3501.18. (A) The board of elections may divide a
political subdivision within its jurisdiction into precincts,
establish, define, divide, rearrange, and combine the several
election precincts within its jurisdiction, and change the
location of the polling place for each precinct when it is
necessary to maintain the requirements as to the number of voters
in a precinct and to provide for the convenience of the voters and
the proper conduct of elections. No change in the number of
precincts or in precinct boundaries shall be made during the
twenty-five days immediately preceding a primary or general
election or between the first day of January and the day on which
the members of county central committees are elected in the years
in which those committees are elected. Except as otherwise
provided in division (C) of this section, each precinct shall
contain a number of electors, not to exceed one thousand four
hundred, that the board of elections determines to be a reasonable
number after taking into consideration the type and amount of
available equipment, prior voter turnout, the size and location of
each selected polling place, available parking, availability of an
adequate number of poll workers, and handicap accessibility and
other accessibility to the polling place.
If the board changes the boundaries of a precinct after the
filing of a local option election petition pursuant to sections
4301.32 to 4301.41, 4303.29, or 4305.14 of the Revised Code that
calls for a local option election to be held in that precinct, the
local option election shall be held in the area that constituted
the precinct at the time the local option petition was filed,
regardless of the change in the boundaries.
If the board changes the boundaries of a precinct in order to
meet the requirements of division (B)(1) of this section in a
manner that causes a member of a county central committee to no
longer qualify as a representative of an election precinct in the
county, of a ward of a city in the county, or of a township in the
county, the member shall continue to represent the precinct, ward,
or township for the remainder of the member's term, regardless of
the change in boundaries.
In an emergency, the board may provide more than one polling
place in a precinct. In order to provide for the convenience of
the voters, the board may locate polling places for voting or,
registration, or preregistration outside the boundaries of
precincts, provided that the nearest public school or public
building shall be used if the board determines it to be available
and suitable for use as a polling place. Except in an emergency,
no change in the number or location of the polling places in a
precinct shall be made during the twenty-five days immediately
preceding a primary or general election.
Electors who have failed to respond within thirty days to any
confirmation notice shall not be counted in determining the size
of any precinct under this section.
(B)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(2) of
this section, a board of elections shall determine all precinct
boundaries using geographical units used by the United States
department of commerce, bureau of the census, in reporting the
decennial census of Ohio.
(2) The board of elections may apply to the secretary of
state for a waiver from the requirement of division (B)(1) of this
section when it is not feasible to comply with that requirement
because of unusual physical boundaries or residential development
practices that would cause unusual hardship for voters. The board
shall identify the affected precincts and census units, explain
the reason for the waiver request, and include a map illustrating
where the census units will be split because of the requested
waiver. If the secretary of state approves the waiver and so
notifies the board of elections in writing, the board may change a
precinct boundary as necessary under this section, notwithstanding
the requirement in division (B)(1) of this section.
(C) The board of elections may apply to the secretary of
state for a waiver from the requirement of division (A) of this
section regarding the number of electors in a precinct when the
use of geographical units used by the United States department of
commerce, bureau of the census, will cause a precinct to contain
more than one thousand four hundred electors. The board shall
identify the affected precincts and census units, explain the
reason for the waiver request, and include a map illustrating
where census units will be split because of the requested waiver.
If the secretary of state approves the waiver and so notifies the
board of elections in writing, the board may change a precinct
boundary as necessary to meet the requirements of division (B)(1)
of this section.
Sec. 3501.30. (A) The board of elections shall provide for
each polling place the necessary ballot boxes, official ballots,
cards of instructions, registration and preregistration forms,
pollbooks or poll lists, tally sheets, forms on which to make
summary statements, writing implements, paper, and all other
supplies necessary for casting and counting the ballots and
recording the results of the voting at the polling place. The
pollbooks or poll lists shall have certificates appropriately
printed on them for the signatures of all the precinct officials,
by which they shall certify that, to the best of their knowledge
and belief, the pollbooks or poll lists correctly show the names
of all electors who voted in the polling place at the election
indicated in the pollbooks or poll lists.
All of the following shall be included among the supplies
provided to each polling place:
(1) A large map of each appropriate precinct, which shall be
displayed prominently to assist persons who desire to register,
preregister, or vote on election day. Each map shall show all
streets within the precinct and contain identifying symbols of the
precinct in bold print.
(2) Any materials, postings, or instructions required to
comply with state or federal laws;
(3) A flag of the United States approximately two and
one-half feet in length along the top, which shall be displayed
outside the entrance to the polling place during the time it is
open for voting;
(4) Two or more small flags of the United States
approximately fifteen inches in length along the top, which shall
be placed at a distance of one hundred feet from the polling place
on the thoroughfares or walkways leading to the polling place, to
mark the distance within which persons other than election
officials, observers, police officers, and electors waiting to
mark, marking, or casting their ballots shall not loiter,
congregate, or engage in any kind of election campaigning. Where
small flags cannot reasonably be placed one hundred feet from the
polling place, the presiding election judge shall place the flags
as near to one hundred feet from the entrance to the polling place
as is physically possible. Police officers and all election
officials shall see that this prohibition against loitering and
congregating is enforced.
When the period of time during which the polling place is
open for voting expires, all of the flags described in this
division shall be taken into the polling place and shall be
returned to the board together with all other election supplies
required to be delivered to the board.
(B) The board of elections shall follow the instructions and
advisories of the secretary of state in the production and use of
polling place supplies.
Sec. 3501.31. The board of elections shall mail to each
precinct election official notice of the date, hours, and place of
holding each election in the official's respective precinct at
which it desires the official to serve. Each of such officials
shall notify the board immediately upon receipt of such notice of
any inability to serve.
The election official designated as presiding judge under
section 3501.22 of the Revised Code shall call at the office of
the board at such time before the day of the election, not earlier
than the tenth day before the day of the election, as the board
designates to obtain the ballots, pollbooks, registration and
preregistration forms and lists, and other material to be used in
the official's polling place on election day.
The board may also provide for the delivery of such materials
to polling places in a municipal corporation by members of the
police department of such municipal corporation; or the board may
provide for the delivery of such materials to the presiding judge
not earlier than the tenth day before the election, in any manner
it finds to be advisable.
On election day the precinct election officials shall
punctually attend the polling place one-half hour before the time
fixed for opening the polls. Each of the precinct election
officials shall thereupon make and subscribe to a statement which
shall be as follows:
County of ...............
I do solemnly swear under the penalty of perjury that I will
support the constitution of the United States of America and the
constitution of the state of Ohio and its laws; that I have not
been convicted of a felony or any violation of the election laws;
that I will discharge to the best of my ability the duties of
judge of election in and for precinct .................... in the
.................... (township) or (ward and city or village)
.................... in the county of ...................., in the
election to be held on the .......... day of ...............,
....., as required by law and the rules and instructions of the
board of elections of said county; and that I will endeavor to
prevent fraud in such election, and will report immediately to
said board any violations of the election laws which come to my
attention, and will not disclose any information as to how any
elector voted which is gained by me in the discharge of my
official duties.
............................................................
............................................................
............................................................
............................................................
............................................................
............................................................
(Signatures of precinct election officials)"
If any of the other precinct officials is absent at that
time, the presiding judge, with the concurrence of a majority of
the precinct election officials present, shall appoint a qualified
elector who is a member of the same political party as the
political party of which such absent precinct election official is
a member to fill the vacancy until the board appoints a person to
fill such vacancy and the person so appointed reports for duty at
the polling place. The presiding judge shall promptly notify the
board of such vacancy by telephone or otherwise. The presiding
judge also shall assign the precinct election officials to their
respective duties and shall have general charge of the polling
place.
Sec. 3501.33. All judges of election shall enforce peace and
good order in and about the place of registration,
preregistration, or election. They shall especially keep the place
of access of the electors to the polling place open and
unobstructed and prevent and stop any improper practices or
attempts tending to obstruct, intimidate, or interfere with any
elector individual in registering, preregistering, or voting. They
shall protect observers against molestation and violence in the
performance of their duties, and may eject from the polling place
any observer for violation of any provision of Title XXXV of the
Revised Code. They shall prevent riots, violence, tumult, or
disorder. In the discharge of these duties, they may call upon the
sheriff, police, or other peace officers to aid them in enforcing
the law. They may order the arrest of any person violating Title
XXXV of the Revised Code, but such an arrest shall not prevent the
person from registering, preregistering, or voting if the person
is entitled to do so. The sheriff, all constables, police
officers, and other officers of the peace shall immediately obey
and aid in the enforcement of any lawful order made by the
precinct election officials in the enforcement of Title XXXV of
the Revised Code.
Sec. 3501.90. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Harassment in violation of the election law" means
either of the following:
(a) Any of the following types of conduct in or about a
polling place or a place of registration, preregistration, or
election: obstructing access of an elector to a polling place;
another improper practice or attempt tending to obstruct,
intimidate, or interfere with an elector individual in
registering, preregistering, or voting at a place of registration,
preregistration, or election; molesting or otherwise engaging in
violence against observers in the performance of their duties at a
place of registration, preregistration, or election; or
participating in a riot, violence, tumult, or disorder in and
about a place of registration, preregistration, or election;
(b) A violation of division (A)(1), (2), (3), or (5) or
division (B) of section 3501.35 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Person" has the same meaning as in division (C) of
section 1.59 of the Revised Code and also includes any
organization that is not otherwise covered by that division.
(3) "Trier of fact" means the jury or, in a nonjury action,
the court.
(B) An elector individual who has experienced harassment in
violation of the election law has a cause of action against each
person that committed the harassment in violation of the election
law. In any civil action based on this cause of action, the
elector individual may seek a declaratory judgment, an injunction,
or other appropriate equitable relief. The civil action may be
commenced by an elector individual who has experienced harassment
in violation of the election law either alone or as a party to a
class action under Civil Rule 23.
(C)(1) In addition to the equitable relief authorized by
division (B) of this section, an elector individual who has
experienced harassment in violation of the election law may be
entitled to relief under division (C)(2) or (3) of this section.
(2) If the harassment in violation of the election law
involved intentional or reckless threatening or causing of bodily
harm to the elector individual while the elector individual was
attempting to register or preregister to vote, to obtain an absent
voter's ballot, or to vote, the elector individual may seek, in a
civil action based on the cause of action created by division (B)
of this section, monetary damages as prescribed in this division.
The civil action may be commenced by the elector individual who
has experienced harassment in violation of the election law either
alone or as a party to a class action under Civil Rule 23. Upon
proof by a preponderance of the evidence in the civil action that
the harassment in violation of the election law involved
intentional or reckless threatening or causing of bodily harm to
the elector individual, the trier of fact shall award the elector
individual the greater of three times of the amount of the
elector's individual's actual damages or one thousand dollars. The
court also shall award a prevailing elector individual reasonable
attorney's fees and court costs.
(3) Whether a civil action on the cause of action created by
division (B) of this section is commenced by an elector individual
who has experienced harassment in violation of the election law
alone or as a party to a class action under Civil Rule 23, if the
defendant in the action is an organization that has previously
been determined in a court of this state to have engaged in
harassment in violation of the election law, the elector
individual may seek an order of the court granting any of the
following forms of relief upon proof by a preponderance of the
evidence:
(a) Divestiture of the organization's interest in any
enterprise or in any real property;
(b) Reasonable restrictions upon the future activities or
investments of the organization, including, but not limited to,
prohibiting the organization from engaging in any harassment in
violation of the election law;
(c) The dissolution or reorganization of the organization;
(d) The suspension or revocation of any license, permit, or
prior approval granted to the organization by any state agency;
(e) The revocation of the organization's authorization to do
business in this state if the organization is a foreign
corporation or other form of foreign entity.
(D) It shall not be a defense in a civil action based on the
cause of action created by division (B) of this section, whether
commenced by an elector individual who has experienced harassment
in violation of the election law alone or as a party to a class
action under Civil Rule 23, that no criminal prosecution was
commenced or conviction obtained in connection with the conduct
alleged to be the basis of the civil action.
(E) In a civil action based on the cause of action created by
division (B) of this section, whether commenced by an elector
individual who has experienced harassment in violation of the
election law alone or as a party to a class action under Civil
Rule 23, the elector individual may name as defendants each
individual who engaged in conduct constituting harassment in
violation of the election law as well as any person that employs,
sponsors, or uses as an agent any such individual or that has
organized a common scheme to cause harassment in violation of the
election law.
Sec. 3503.02. All registrars and judges of elections, in
determining the residence of a person offering to register,
preregister, 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, 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)(B)(3) of section 3511.011 3511.01 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. 3503.07. (A) Each person who will be of the age of
eighteen years or more at the next ensuing November election, who
is a citizen of the United States, and who, if he the person
continues to reside in the precinct until the next election, will
at that time have fulfilled all the requirements as to length of
residence to qualify him the person as an elector shall, unless
otherwise disqualified, be entitled to be registered as an elector
in such precinct. When once registered, an elector shall not be
required to register again unless his the person's registration is
canceled.
(B) Each person who is at least sixteen years of age but will
not be of the age of eighteen years or more at the next ensuing
November election, who is a citizen of the United States, and who,
if the person continues to reside in the precinct until the next
election in which the person will have reached the age of
eligibility to vote, will at that time have fulfilled all the
requirements as to length of residence to qualify the person as an
elector shall, unless otherwise disqualified, be entitled to be
preregistered as an elector in the precinct in which the person
resides.
Upon reaching the age of eligibility, the person shall be
automatically registered as an elector in accordance with section
3503.192 of the Revised Code. A preregistered person is not
eligible to vote until the person becomes a registered elector.
Sec. 3503.09. (A)(1) The secretary of state shall adopt
rules for the electronic transmission by boards of elections,
designated agencies, offices of deputy registrars of motor
vehicles, public high schools and vocational schools, public
libraries, and offices of county treasurers, where applicable, of
name and residence changes for voter registration and
preregistration records in the statewide voter registration
database.
(2) The secretary of state shall adopt rules for the purpose
of improving the speed of processing new voter registrations and
preregistrations that permit information from a voter registration
or preregistration application received by a designated agency or
an office of deputy registrar of motor vehicles to be made
available electronically, in addition to requiring the original
voter registration or preregistration application to be
transmitted to the applicable board of elections under division
(E)(2) of section 3503.10 or section 3503.11 of the Revised Code.
(B) Rules adopted under division (A) of this section shall do
all of the following:
(1) Prohibit any direct electronic connection between a
designated agency, office of deputy registrar of motor vehicles,
public high school or vocational school, public library, or office
of a county treasurer and the statewide voter registration
database;
(2) Require any updated voter registration or preregistration
information to be verified by the secretary of state or a board of
elections before the information is added to the statewide voter
registration database for the purpose of modifying an existing
voter registration or preregistration;
(3) Require each designated agency or office of deputy
registrar of motor vehicles that transmits voter registration or
preregistration information electronically to transmit an
identifier for data relating to each new voter registration or
preregistration that shall be used by the secretary of state or a
board of elections to match the electronic data to the original
voter registration or preregistration application.
Sec. 3503.10. (A) Each designated agency shall designate one
person within that agency to serve as coordinator for the voter
registration and preregistration program within the agency and its
departments, divisions, and programs. The designated person shall
be trained under a program designed by the secretary of state and
shall be responsible for administering all aspects of the voter
registration and preregistration program for that agency as
prescribed by the secretary of state. The designated person shall
receive no additional compensation for performing such duties.
(B) Every designated agency, public high school and
vocational school, public library, and office of a county
treasurer shall provide in each of its offices or locations voter
registration and preregistration applications and assistance in
the registration and preregistration of persons qualified to
register or to preregister to vote, in accordance with this
chapter.
(C) Every designated agency shall distribute to its
applicants, prior to or in conjunction with distributing a voter
registration application, a form prescribed by the secretary of
state that includes all of the following:
(1) The question, "Do you want to register or preregister to
vote or update your current voter registration or
preregistration?"--followed by boxes for the applicant to indicate
whether the applicant would like to register or preregister or
decline to register or preregister to vote, and the statement,
highlighted in bold print, "If you do not check either box, you
will be considered to have decided not to register or preregister
to vote at this time.";
(2) If the agency provides public assistance, the statement,
"Applying to register or preregister or declining to register or
preregister to vote will not affect the amount of assistance that
you will be provided by this agency.";
(3) The statement, "If you would like help in filling out the
voter registration or preregistration application form, we will
help you. The decision whether to seek or accept help is yours.
You may fill out the application form in private.";
(4) The statement, "If you believe that someone has
interfered with your right to register or preregister or to
decline to register or preregister to vote, your right to privacy
in deciding whether to register or preregister or in applying to
register or preregister to vote, or your right to choose your own
political party or other political preference, you may file a
complaint with the prosecuting attorney of your county or with the
secretary of state," with the address and telephone number for
each such official's office.
(D) Each designated agency shall distribute a voter
registration or preregistration form prescribed by the secretary
of state to each applicant with each application for service or
assistance, and with each written application or form for
recertification, renewal, or change of address.
(E) Each designated agency shall do all of the following:
(1) Have employees trained to administer the voter
registration and preregistration program in order to provide to
each applicant who wishes to register or preregister to vote and
who accepts assistance, the same degree of assistance with regard
to completion of the voter registration or preregistration
application as is provided by the agency with regard to the
completion of its own form;
(2) Accept completed voter registration or preregistration
applications, voter registration or preregistration change of
residence forms, and voter registration or preregistration change
of name forms, regardless of whether the application or form was
distributed by the designated agency, for transmittal to the
office of the board of elections in the county in which the agency
is located. Each designated agency and the appropriate board of
elections shall establish a method by which the voter registration
or preregistration applications and other voter registration or
preregistration forms are transmitted to that board of elections
within five days after being accepted by the agency.
(3) If the designated agency is one that is primarily engaged
in providing services to persons with disabilities under a
state-funded program, and that agency provides services to a
person with disabilities at a person's home, provide the services
described in divisions (E)(1) and (2) of this section at the
person's home;
(4) Keep as confidential, except as required by the secretary
of state for record-keeping purposes, the identity of an agency
through which a person registered or preregistered to vote or
updated the person's voter registration or preregistration
records, and information relating to a declination to register or
preregister to vote made in connection with a voter registration
or preregistration application issued by a designated agency.
(F) The secretary of state shall prepare and transmit written
instructions on the implementation of the voter registration and
preregistration program within each designated agency, public high
school and vocational school, public library, and office of a
county treasurer. The instructions shall include directions as
follows:
(1) That each person designated to assist with voter
registration and preregistration maintain strict neutrality with
respect to a person's political philosophies, a person's right to
register or preregister or decline to register or preregister, and
any other matter that may influence a person's decision to
register or preregister or not to register or preregister to vote;
(2) That each person designated to assist with voter
registration or preregistration not seek to influence a person's
decision to register or preregister or not to register or
preregister to vote, not display or demonstrate any political
preference or party allegiance, and not make any statement to a
person or take any action the purpose or effect of which is to
lead a person to believe that a decision to register or
preregister or not to register or preregister has any bearing on
the availability of services or benefits offered, on the grade in
a particular class in school, or on credit for a particular class
in school;
(3) Regarding when and how to assist a person in completing
the voter registration or preregistration application, what to do
with the completed voter registration or preregistration
application or voter registration or preregistration update form,
and when the application must be transmitted to the appropriate
board of elections;
(4) Regarding what records must be kept by the agency and
where and when those records should be transmitted to satisfy
reporting requirements imposed on the secretary of state under the
National Voter Registration Act of 1993;
(5) Regarding whom to contact to obtain answers to questions
about voter registration and preregistration forms and procedures.
(G) If the voter registration or preregistration activity is
part of an in-class voter registration or preregistration program
in a public high school or vocational school, whether prescribed
by the secretary of state or independent of the secretary of
state, the board of education shall do all of the following:
(1) Establish a schedule of school days and hours during
these days when the person designated to assist with voter
registration and preregistration shall provide voter registration
and preregistration assistance;
(2) Designate a person to assist with voter registration and
preregistration from the public high school's or vocational
school's staff;
(3) Make voter registration and preregistration applications
and materials available, as outlined in the voter registration and
preregistration program established by the secretary of state
pursuant to section 3501.05 of the Revised Code;
(4) Distribute the statement, "applying to register or
preregister or declining to register or preregister to vote will
not affect or be a condition of your receiving a particular grade
in or credit for a school course or class, participating in a
curricular or extracurricular activity, receiving a benefit or
privilege, or participating in a program or activity otherwise
available to pupils enrolled in this school district's schools.";
(5) Establish a method by which the voter registration or
preregistration application and other voter registration and
preregistration forms are transmitted to the board of elections
within five days after being accepted by the public high school or
vocational school.
(H) Any person employed by the designated agency, public high
school or vocational school, public library, or office of a county
treasurer may be designated to assist with voter registration and
preregistration pursuant to this section. The designated agency,
public high school or vocational school, public library, or office
of a county treasurer shall provide the designated person, and
make available such space as may be necessary, without charge to
the county or state.
(I) The secretary of state shall prepare and cause to be
displayed in a prominent location in each designated agency a
notice that identifies the person designated to assist with voter
registration and preregistration, the nature of that person's
duties, and where and when that person is available for assisting
in the registration and preregistration of voters.
A designated agency may furnish additional supplies and
services to disseminate information to increase public awareness
of the existence of a person designated to assist with voter
registration and preregistration in every designated agency.
(J) This section does not limit any authority a board of
education, superintendent, or principal has to allow, sponsor, or
promote voluntary election registration and preregistration
programs within a high school or vocational school, including
programs in which pupils serve as persons designated to assist
with voter registration and preregistration, provided that no
pupil is required to participate.
(K) Each public library and office of the county treasurer
shall establish a method by which voter registration and
preregistration forms are transmitted to the board of elections
within five days after being accepted by the public library or
office of the county treasurer.
(L) The department of job and family services and its
departments, divisions, and programs shall limit administration of
the aspects of the voter registration and preregistration program
for the department to the requirements prescribed by the secretary
of state and the requirements of this section and the National
Voter Registration Act of 1993.
Sec. 3503.11. When any person applies for a driver's
license, commercial driver's license, a state of Ohio
identification card issued under section 4507.50 of the Revised
Code, or motorcycle operator's license or endorsement, or the
renewal or duplicate of any license or endorsement under Chapter
4506. or 4507. of the Revised Code, the registrar of motor
vehicles or deputy registrar shall offer the applicant the
opportunity to register or preregister to vote or to update the
applicant's voter registration or preregistration. The registrar
of motor vehicles or deputy registrar also shall make available to
all other customers voter registration or preregistration
applications and change of residence and change of name, forms,
but is not required to offer assistance to these customers in
completing a voter registration or preregistration application or
other form.
The registrar or deputy registrar shall send any completed
registration or preregistration application or any completed
change of residence or change of name form to the board of
elections of the county in which the office of the registrar or
deputy registrar is located, within five days after accepting the
application or other form.
The registrar shall collect from each deputy registrar
through the reports filed under division (J) of section 4503.03 of
the Revised Code and transmit to the secretary of state
information on the number of voter registration or preregistration
applications and change of residence or change of name forms
completed or declined, and any additional information required by
the secretary of state to comply with the National Voter
Registration Act of 1993. No information relating to an
applicant's decision to decline to register or preregister or to
update the applicant's voter registration or preregistration at
the office of the registrar or deputy registrar may be used for
any purpose other than voter registration and preregistration
record-keeping required by the secretary of state, and all such
information shall be kept confidential.
The secretary of state shall prescribe voter registration or
preregistration applications and change of residence and change of
name forms for use by the bureau of motor vehicles. The bureau of
motor vehicles shall supply all of its deputy registrars with a
sufficient number of voter registration or preregistration
applications and change of residence and change of name forms.
Sec. 3503.111. The board of elections of any county shall
register or preregister or change the registration or
preregistration of any person determined not to be a resident in
that county under section 3503.02 of the Revised Code, who is a
resident and a qualified elector of, or is eligible to preregister
in, another county in this state, on behalf of the county of
residence.
The director of any board of elections registering or
preregistering a person under this section shall send the
completed registration or preregistration form of that person to
the director of the board of elections of the county of residence,
who shall enter the form in the proper registration or
preregistration files and shall promptly send an acknowledgment
notice as prescribed by the secretary of state to the registrant
or preregistrant at the new address listed on the registration or
preregistration form.
Sec. 3503.12. All registrations and preregistrations shall
be carefully checked, and in case any person is found to have
registered or preregistered more than once, the additional
registration or preregistration forms shall be canceled by the
board of elections.
Six weeks prior to the day of a special, primary, or general
election, the board shall publish notices in one or more
newspapers of general circulation advertising the places, dates,
times, methods of registration, and voter qualifications for
registration.
The board shall establish a schedule or program to assure to
the extent reasonably possible that, on or before November 1,
1980, all registration and preregistration places shall be are
free of barriers that would impede the ingress and egress of
handicapped persons. Entrances shall be level or shall be provided
with a nonskid ramp of not over eight per cent gradient, and doors
shall be a minimum of thirty-two inches wide. Registration and
preregistration places located at polling places shall, however,
comply with the requirements of section 3501.29 of the Revised
Code for the elimination of barriers.
As used in this section, "handicapped" means having lost the
use of one or both legs, one or both arms, or any combination
thereof, or being blind or so severely disabled as to be unable to
move about without the aid of crutches or a wheelchair.
Sec. 3503.13. (A) Except as otherwise provided by state or
federal law, registration and preregistration forms submitted by
applicants and the statewide voter registration database
established under section 3503.15 of the Revised Code shall be
open to public inspection at all times when the office of the
board of elections is open for business, under such regulations as
the board adopts, provided that no person shall be permitted to
inspect voter registration or preregistration forms except in the
presence of an employee of the board.
(B) A board of elections may use a legible digitized
signature list of voter signatures, copied from the signatures on
the registration and preregistration forms in a form and manner
prescribed by the secretary of state, provided that the board
includes the required voter registration information in the
statewide voter registration database established under section
3503.15 of the Revised Code, and provided that the precinct
election officials have computer printouts at the polls prepared
in the manner required under section 3503.23 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3503.14. (A) The secretary of state shall prescribe the
form and content of the registration or preregistration, change of
residence, and change of name forms used in this state. The
The forms shall meet the requirements of the National Voter
Registration Act of 1993 and shall include spaces for all of the
following:
(1) The voter's applicant's name;
(2) The voter's applicant's address;
(4) The voter's applicant's date of birth;
(5) The voter applicant to provide one or more of the
following:
(a) The voter's applicant's driver's license number, if any;
(b) The last four digits of the voter's applicant'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
applicant's name and address.
(6) The voter's applicant'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.
(B) The form shall include the following questions and
statement:
(1) "Will you be at least 18 years of age on or before the
day of the next general election?" and boxes for the applicant to
check to indicate yes or no.
(2) "Are you at least 16 years of age and do you wish to be
automatically registered to vote when you will be 18 years of age
on or before the day of the next general election?" and boxes for
the applicant to check to indicate yes or no.
(3) "If you checked 'no' in response to both of these
questions, do not submit this form."
(C) 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 applicant so as to
accommodate the electronic reading and conversion of the voter's
applicant'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)(D) 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 or preregister to vote or
to change the applicant's name or residence. The person
registering or preregistering the applicant shall sign the form
and attest that the applicant indicated that the applicant desired
to register or preregister 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) 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) 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.
(B) The statewide voter registration database established
under this section shall be the official list of registered voters
and preregistered persons 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 preregistered persons and their registration or
preregistration information by name, driver's license number,
birth date, social security number, or current address;
(5) A clear marking on each preregistration record indicating
that the preregistered person is not yet a qualified elector;
(6) Safeguards and components to ensure that the integrity,
security, and confidentiality of the voter registration and
preregistration 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 and preregistration 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 and preregistration records into the statewide voter
registration database on an expedited basis, but not less than
once per day, if new registration or preregistration information
is received;
(3) Establishing a uniform method for purging canceled voter
registration and preregistration 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 or
preregistered person's name and voter registration or
preregistration 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 or a person's preregistration 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 or
preregistered person shall be made available on the web site:
(i) The voter's or person's name;
(ii) The voter's or person's address;
(iii) The voter's or person'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. 3503.16. (A) Whenever a registered elector or a person
who is preregistered to vote changes the place of residence of
that registered elector from one precinct to another within a
county or from one county to another, or has a change of name,
that registered elector or preregistered person shall report the
change by delivering a change of residence or change of name form,
whichever is appropriate, as prescribed by the secretary of state
under section 3503.14 of the Revised Code to the state or local
office of a designated agency, a public high school or vocational
school, a public library, the office of the county treasurer, the
office of the secretary of state, any office of the registrar or
deputy registrar of motor vehicles, or any office of a board of
elections in person or by a third person. Any voter registration
or preregistration, change of address, or change of name
application, returned by mail, may be sent only to the secretary
of state or the board of elections.
A registered elector or a person who is preregistered to vote
also may update the person's registration of that registered
elector or preregistration by filing a change of residence or
change of name form on the day of a special, primary, or general
election at the polling place in the precinct in which that
registered elector
or preregistered person resides or at the
board of elections or at another site designated by the board.
(B)(1)(a) Any registered elector who moves within a precinct
on or prior to the day of a general, primary, or special election
and has not filed a notice of change of residence with the board
of elections may vote in that election by going to that registered
elector's assigned polling place, completing and signing a notice
of change of residence, showing identification in the form of a
current and valid photo identification, 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 name and current address of the
elector, and casting a ballot. If the elector provides either a
driver's license or a state identification card issued under
section 4507.50 of the Revised Code that does not contain the
elector's current residence address, the elector shall provide the
last four digits of the elector's driver's license number or state
identification card number, and the precinct election official
shall mark the poll list or signature pollbook to indicate that
the elector has provided a driver's license or state
identification card number with a former address and record the
last four digits of the elector's driver's license number or state
identification card number.
(b) Any registered elector who changes the name of that
registered elector and remains within a precinct on or prior to
the day of a general, primary, or special election and has not
filed a notice of change of name with the board of elections may
vote in that election by going to that registered elector's
assigned polling place, completing and signing a notice of a
change of name, and casting a provisional ballot under section
3505.181 of the Revised Code.
(2) Any registered elector who moves from one precinct to
another within a county or moves from one precinct to another and
changes the name of that registered elector on or prior to the day
of a general, primary, or special election and has not filed a
notice of change of residence or change of name, whichever is
appropriate, with the board of elections may vote in that election
if that registered elector complies with division (G) of this
section or does all of the following:
(a) Appears at anytime during regular business hours on or
after the twenty-eighth day prior to the election in which that
registered elector wishes to vote or, if the election is held on
the day of a presidential primary election, the twenty-fifth day
prior to the election, through noon of the Saturday prior to the
election at the office of the board of elections, appears at any
time during regular business hours on the Monday prior to the
election at the office of the board of elections, or appears on
the day of the election at either of the following locations:
(i) The polling place in the precinct in which that
registered elector resides;
(ii) The office of the board of elections or, if pursuant to
division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code the board has
designated another location in the county at which registered
electors may vote, at that other location instead of the office of
the board of elections.
(b) Completes and signs, under penalty of election
falsification, a notice of change of residence or change of name,
whichever is appropriate, and files it with election officials at
the polling place, at the office of the board of elections, or, if
pursuant to division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code
the board has designated another location in the county at which
registered electors may vote, at that other location instead of
the office of the board of elections, whichever is appropriate;
(c) Votes a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the
Revised Code at the polling place, at the office of the board of
elections, or, if pursuant to division (C) of section 3501.10 of
the Revised Code the board has designated another location in the
county at which registered electors may vote, at that other
location instead of the office of the board of elections,
whichever is appropriate, using the address to which that
registered elector has moved or the name of that registered
elector as changed, whichever is appropriate;
(d) Completes and signs, under penalty of election
falsification, a statement attesting that that registered elector
moved or had a change of name, whichever is appropriate, on or
prior to the day of the election, has voted a provisional ballot
at the polling place in the precinct in which that registered
elector resides, at the office of the board of elections, or, if
pursuant to division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code
the board has designated another location in the county at which
registered electors may vote, at that other location instead of
the office of the board of elections, whichever is appropriate,
and will not vote or attempt to vote at any other location for
that particular election. The statement required under division
(B)(2)(d) of this section shall be included on the notice of
change of residence or change of name, whichever is appropriate,
required under division (B)(2)(b) of this section.
(C) Any registered elector who moves from one county to
another county within the state on or prior to the day of a
general, primary, or special election and has not registered to
vote in the county to which that registered elector moved may vote
in that election if that registered elector complies with division
(G) of this section or does all of the following:
(1) Appears at any time during regular business hours on or
after the twenty-eighth day prior to the election in which that
registered elector wishes to vote or, if the election is held on
the day of a presidential primary election, the twenty-fifth day
prior to the election, through noon of the Saturday prior to the
election at the office of the board of elections or, if pursuant
to division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code the board
has designated another location in the county at which registered
electors may vote, at that other location instead of the office of
the board of elections, appears during regular business hours on
the Monday prior to the election at the office of the board of
elections or, if pursuant to division (C) of section 3501.10 of
the Revised Code the board has designated another location in the
county at which registered electors may vote, at that other
location instead of the office of the board of elections, or
appears on the day of the election at the office of the board of
elections or, if pursuant to division (C) of section 3501.10 of
the Revised Code the board has designated another location in the
county at which registered electors may vote, at that other
location instead of the office of the board of elections;
(2) Completes and signs, under penalty of election
falsification, a notice of change of residence and files it with
election officials at the board of elections or, if pursuant to
division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code the board has
designated another location in the county at which registered
electors may vote, at that other location instead of the office of
the board of elections;
(3) Votes a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the
Revised Code at the office of the board of elections or, if
pursuant to division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code
the board has designated another location in the county at which
registered electors may vote, at that other location instead of
the office of the board of elections, using the address to which
that registered elector has moved;
(4) Completes and signs, under penalty of election
falsification, a statement attesting that that registered elector
has moved from one county to another county within the state on or
prior to the day of the election, has voted at the office of the
board of elections or, if pursuant to division (C) of section
3501.10 of the Revised Code the board has designated another
location in the county at which registered electors may vote, at
that other location instead of the office of the board of
elections, and will not vote or attempt to vote at any other
location for that particular election. The statement required
under division (C)(4) of this section shall be included on the
notice of change of residence required under division (C)(2) of
this section.
(D) A person who votes by absent voter's ballots pursuant to
division (G) of this section shall not make written application
for the ballots pursuant to Chapter 3509. of the Revised Code.
Ballots cast pursuant to division (G) of this section shall be set
aside in a special envelope and counted during the official
canvass of votes in the manner provided for in sections 3505.32
and 3509.06 of the Revised Code insofar as that manner is
applicable. The board shall examine the pollbooks to verify that
no ballot was cast at the polls or by absent voter's ballots under
Chapter 3509. or 3511. of the Revised Code by an elector who has
voted by absent voter's ballots pursuant to division (G) of this
section. Any ballot determined to be insufficient for any of the
reasons stated above or stated in section 3509.07 of the Revised
Code shall not be counted.
Subject to division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised
Code, a board of elections may lease or otherwise acquire a site
different from the office of the board at which registered
electors may vote pursuant to division (B) or (C) of this section.
(E) Upon receiving a change of residence or change of name
form, the board of elections shall immediately send the registrant
an acknowledgment notice. If the change of residence or change of
name form is valid, the board shall update the voter's
registration as appropriate. If that form is incomplete, the board
shall inform the registrant in the acknowledgment notice specified
in this division of the information necessary to complete or
update that registrant's registration.
(F) Change of residence and change of name forms shall be
available at each polling place, and when these forms are
completed, noting changes of residence or name, as appropriate,
they shall be filed with election officials at the polling place.
Election officials shall return completed forms, together with the
pollbooks and tally sheets, to the board of elections.
The board of elections shall provide change of residence and
change of name forms to the probate court and court of common
pleas. The court shall provide the forms to any person eighteen
years of age or older who has a change of name by order of the
court or who applies for a marriage license. The court shall
forward all completed forms to the board of elections within five
days after receiving them.
(G) A registered elector who otherwise would qualify to vote
under division (B) or (C) of this section but is unable to appear
at the office of the board of elections or, if pursuant to
division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code the board has
designated another location in the county at which registered
electors may vote, at that other location, on account of personal
illness, physical disability, or infirmity, may vote on the day of
the election if that registered elector does all of the following:
(1) Makes a written application that includes all of the
information required under section 3509.03 of the Revised Code to
the appropriate board for an absent voter's ballot on or after the
twenty-seventh day prior to the election in which the registered
elector wishes to vote through noon of the Saturday prior to that
election and requests that the absent voter's ballot be sent to
the address to which the registered elector has moved if the
registered elector has moved, or to the address of that registered
elector who has not moved but has had a change of name;
(2) Declares that the registered elector has moved or had a
change of name, whichever is appropriate, and otherwise is
qualified to vote under the circumstances described in division
(B) or (C) of this section, whichever is appropriate, but that the
registered elector is unable to appear at the board of elections
because of personal illness, physical disability, or infirmity;
(3) Completes and returns along with the completed absent
voter's ballot a notice of change of residence indicating the
address to which the registered elector has moved, or a notice of
change of name, whichever is appropriate;
(4) Completes and signs, under penalty of election
falsification, a statement attesting that the registered elector
has moved or had a change of name on or prior to the day before
the election, has voted by absent voter's ballot because of
personal illness, physical disability, or infirmity that prevented
the registered elector from appearing at the board of elections,
and will not vote or attempt to vote at any other location or by
absent voter's ballot mailed to any other location or address for
that particular election.
Sec. 3503.17. When a new precinct has been created, or the
boundaries thereof have been changed, the election authorities
shall correct and transfer the registration and preregistration
forms of registered electors and preregistered persons whose
voting precincts have thus been changed and shall notify such
registrants and preregistrants by mail. The No registration of an
elector or preregistration shall not be invalidated by such
alteration or transfer nor shall the right of any registered
elector to vote be prejudiced by any error in making out the
certified list of registered voters.
Sec. 3503.18. At least once each month, each probate judge
in this state shall file with the board of elections the names and
residence addresses of all persons over eighteen years of age who
have been adjudicated incompetent for the purpose of voting, as
provided in section 5122.301 of the Revised Code. At least once
each month the clerk of the court of common pleas shall file with
the board the names and residence addresses of all persons who
have been convicted during the previous month of crimes that would
disfranchise such persons under existing laws of the state.
Reports of conviction of crimes under the laws of the United
States that would disfranchise an elector and that are provided to
the secretary of state by any United States attorney shall be
forwarded by the secretary of state to the appropriate board of
elections.
Upon receiving a report required by this section, the board
of elections shall promptly cancel the registration or
preregistration of each
elector person named in the report. If
the report contains a residence address of an elector in a county
other than the county in which the board of elections is located,
the director shall promptly send a copy of the report to the
appropriate board of elections, which shall cancel the
registration or preregistration.
Sec. 3503.19. (A) Persons qualified to register or
preregister or to change their registration or preregistration
because of a change of address or change of name may register or
preregister or change their registration or preregistration in
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
or preregistration application or change of registration or
preregistration form that it receives to the board of elections of
the county in which the state or local office is located, within
five days after receiving the voter registration or
preregistration application or change of registration or
preregistration 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
or
preregistration 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 or preregistration.
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 or
preregistration 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 or who is eligible to
preregister to vote and who, but for the person's age, would be
eligible to vote as a uniformed services or overseas absent voter
also may apply for voter registration or preregistration 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 or preregistration form in person or by mail 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 or who is eligible to
preregister to vote and who, but for the person's age, would be
eligible to vote as a uniformed services or overseas absent voter
also may return the applicant's completed voter registration or
preregistration 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 or
preregistration form 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, or a copy of a
current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck,
or other government document, other than this notification or a
notification of an election mailed 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
casting a provisional ballot. Voters who do not have any of the
above forms of identification, including a social security number,
will still be able to vote by signing an affirmation swearing to
the voter's identity under penalty of election falsification 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), (v), or (vi) 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
Chapter 3511. of the Revised Code or who is eligible to
preregister to vote and who, but for the person's age, would be
eligible to vote as a uniformed services or overseas absent voter
to request voter registration
or preregistration 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 or preregistration forms, whether by
mail, electronically, or in person. The registration and
preregistration forms shall be transmitted by the preferred
method. If the requestor does not express a preferred method, the
registration and preregistration 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 and
preregistration form request process established under this
section. To the extent practicable, the procedures shall protect
the security and integrity of the electronic voter registration
and preregistration 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 and preregistration forms, for use by the state to
send voter registration and preregistration 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. 3503.192. Each board of elections shall keep a record
of each completed application to preregister to vote or to change
a name or address in a person's preregistration record that it
receives.
Not less than forty-five days before the date of the first
election in which a preregistered person will be eligible to vote,
the board of elections shall register the person and shall send
the person a notification of registration in accordance with
division (C) of section 3503.19 of the Revised Code. The person's
preregistration form shall be considered to be the person's
registration form.
Sec. 3503.21. (A) The registration of a registered elector
or the preregistration of a preregistered person shall be canceled
upon the occurrence of any of the following:
(1) The filing by a registered elector or a preregistered
person of a written request with a board of elections, on a form
prescribed by the secretary of state and signed by the elector or
the preregistered person, that the registration or preregistration
be canceled. The filing of such a request does not prohibit an
otherwise qualified elector from reregistering to vote, or a
person who is otherwise qualified to preregister to vote from
preregistering to vote, at any time.
(2) The conviction of the registered elector or a
preregistered person of a felony under the laws of this state, any
other state, or the United States as provided in section 2961.01
of the Revised Code;
(3) The adjudication of incompetency of the registered
elector for the purpose of voting as provided in section 5122.301
of the Revised Code;
(5)(4) The change of residence of the registered elector to a
location outside the county of registration in accordance with
division (B) of this section;
(6)(5) The failure of the registered elector, after having
been mailed a confirmation notice, to do either of the following:
(a) Respond to such a notice and vote at least once during a
period of four consecutive years, which period shall include two
general federal elections;
(b) Update the elector's registration and vote at least once
during a period of four consecutive years, which period shall
include two general federal elections.
(B)(1) The secretary of state shall prescribe procedures to
identify and cancel the registration in a prior county of
residence of any registrant who changes the registrant's voting
residence to a location outside the registrant's current county of
registration. Any procedures prescribed in this division shall be
uniform and nondiscriminatory, and shall comply with the Voting
Rights Act of 1965. The secretary of state may prescribe
procedures under this division that include the use of the
national change of address service provided by the United States
postal system through its licensees. Any program so prescribed
shall be completed not later than ninety days prior to the date of
any primary or general election for federal office.
(2) The registration of any elector identified as having
changed the elector's voting residence to a location outside the
elector's current county of registration shall not be canceled
unless the registrant is sent a confirmation notice on a form
prescribed by the secretary of state and the registrant fails to
respond to the confirmation notice or otherwise update the
registration and fails to vote in any election during the period
of two federal elections subsequent to the mailing of the
confirmation notice.
(C) The registration of a registered elector or the
preregistration of a preregistered person shall not be canceled
except as provided in this section, division (Q) of section
3501.05 of the Revised Code, division (C)(2) of section 3503.19 of
the Revised Code, or division (C) of section 3503.24 of the
Revised Code.
(D) Boards of elections shall send their voter registration
information to the secretary of state as required under section
3503.15 of the Revised Code. In the first quarter of each
odd-numbered year, the secretary of state shall send the
information to the national change of address service described in
division (B) of this section and request that service to provide
the secretary of state with a list of any voters sent by the
secretary of state who have moved within the last thirty-six
months. The secretary of state shall transmit to each appropriate
board of elections whatever lists the secretary of state receives
from that service. The board shall send a notice to each person on
the list transmitted by the secretary of state requesting
confirmation of the person's change of address, together with a
postage prepaid, preaddressed return envelope containing a form on
which the voter may verify or correct the change of address
information.
(E) The registration of a registered elector described in
division (A)(6) or (B)(2) of this section shall be canceled not
later than one hundred twenty days after the date of the second
general federal election in which the elector fails to vote or not
later than one hundred twenty days after the expiration of the
four-year period in which the elector fails to vote or respond to
a confirmation notice, whichever is later.
Sec. 3503.24. (A) Application for the correction of any
precinct registration list or preregistration record or a
challenge of the right to vote of any registered elector or the
right to preregister of any preregistered person may be made by
any qualified elector of the county at the office of the board of
elections not later than twenty days prior to the election. The
applications or challenges, with the reasons for the application
or challenge, shall be filed with the board on a form prescribed
by the secretary of state and shall be signed under penalty of
election falsification.
(B) On receiving an application or challenge filed under this
section, the board of elections promptly shall review the board's
records. If the board is able to determine that an application or
challenge should be granted or denied solely on the basis of the
records maintained by the board, the board immediately shall vote
to grant or deny that application or challenge.
If the board is not able to determine whether an application
or challenge should be granted or denied solely on the basis of
the records maintained by the board, the director shall promptly
set a time and date for a hearing before the board. Except as
otherwise provided in division (D) of this section, the hearing
shall be held, and the application or challenge shall be decided,
no later than ten days after the board receives the application or
challenge. The director shall send written notice to any elector
whose right to vote is challenged, to any preregistered person
whose right to preregister is challenged, and to any person whose
name is alleged to have been omitted from a registration list or a
preregistration record. The notice shall inform the person of the
time and date of the hearing, and of the person's right to appear
and testify, call witnesses, and be represented by counsel. The
notice shall be sent by first class mail no later than three days
before the day of any scheduled hearing. The director shall also
provide the person who filed the application or challenge with
such written notice of the date and time of the hearing.
At the request of either party or any member of the board,
the board shall issue subpoenas to witnesses to appear and testify
before the board at a hearing held under this section. All
witnesses shall testify under oath. The board shall reach a
decision on all applications and challenges immediately after
hearing.
(C) If the board decides that any such person is not entitled
to have the person's name on the registration list or the
preregistration record, the person's name shall be removed from
the list or the record and the person's registration
or
preregistration forms canceled. If the board decides that the name
of any such person should appear on the registration list or the
preregistration record, it shall be added to the list or the
record, and the person's registration or preregistration forms
placed in the proper registration or preregistration files. All
such corrections and additions
to the registration list shall be
made on a copy of the precinct lists, which shall constitute the
poll lists, to be furnished to the respective precincts with other
election supplies on the day preceding the election, to be used by
the election officials in receiving the signatures of voters and
in checking against the registration forms.
(D)(1) If an application or challenge for which a hearing is
required to be conducted under division (B) of this section is
filed after the thirtieth day before the day of an election, the
board of elections, in its discretion, may postpone that hearing
and any notifications of that hearing until after the day of the
election. Any hearing postponed under this division shall be
conducted not later than ten days after the day of the election.
(2) The board of elections shall cause the name of any
registered elector whose registration is challenged and whose
challenge hearing is postponed under division (D)(1) of this
section to be marked in the official registration list and in the
poll list or signature pollbook for that elector's precinct to
indicate that the elector's registration is subject to challenge.
(3) Any elector who is the subject of an application or
challenge hearing that is postponed under division (D)(1) of this
section shall be permitted to vote a provisional ballot under
section 3505.181 of the Revised Code. The validity of a
provisional ballot cast pursuant to this section shall be
determined in accordance with section 3505.183 of the Revised
Code, except that no such provisional ballot shall be counted
unless the hearing conducted under division (B) of this section
after the day of the election results in the elector's inclusion
in the official registration list.
Sec. 3503.25. The board of elections may conduct
investigations, summon witnesses, and take testimony under oath
regarding the registration or preregistration of any voter or as
to the accuracy of the registration and preregistration lists in
any precinct.
Sec. 3503.26. (A) All registration and preregistration forms
and lists, when not in official use by the registrars or judges of
elections, shall be in the possession of the board of elections.
Names and addresses of electors and preregistered persons may be
copied from the registration and preregistration lists only in the
office of the board when it is open for business; but no such
copying shall be permitted during the period of time commencing
twenty-one days before an election and ending on the eleventh day
after an election if such copying will, in the opinion of the
board, interfere with the necessary work of the board. The board
shall keep in convenient form and available for public inspection
a correct set of the registration and preregistration lists of all
precincts in the county.
(B) Notwithstanding division (A) of this section the board of
elections shall maintain and make available for public inspection
and copying at a reasonable cost all records concerning the
implementation of programs and activities conducted for the
purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of voter
registration and preregistration lists, including the names and
addresses of all registered electors sent confirmation notices and
whether or not the elector responded to the confirmation notice.
The board shall maintain all records described in this division
for a period of two years.
Sec. 3503.28. (A) The secretary of state shall develop an
information brochure regarding voter registration and
preregistration. 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 or preregistration form if the person
returning the form is being compensated for registering or
preregistering voters;
(3) The locations to which a person may return an applicant's
completed registration or preregistration form;
(4) The location to which a person who is compensated for
registering or preregistering voters may return an applicant's
completed registration or preregistration form;
(5) The registration and affirmation requirements applicable
to persons who are compensated for registering voters under
section 3503.29 of the Revised Code;
(6) 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, or a copy of a
current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck,
or other government document, other than a notice of an election
or 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
casting a provisional ballot. Voters who do not have any of the
above forms of identification, including a social security number,
will still be able to vote by signing an affirmation swearing to
the voter's identity under penalty of election falsification and
by casting a provisional ballot."
(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (D) of this
section, a board of elections, designated agency, public high
school, public vocational school, public library, office of a
county treasurer, or deputy registrar of motor vehicles shall
distribute a copy of the brochure developed under division (A) of
this section to any person who requests more than two voter
registration or preregistration forms at one time.
(C)(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
or preregistration 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 or
preregistration form that is made available on that web site.
(D) A board of elections shall not be required to distribute
a copy of a brochure under division (B) of this section to any of
the following officials or employees who are requesting more than
two voter registration or preregistration forms at one time in the
course of the official's or employee's normal duties:
(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.
(E) As used in this section, "registering or preregistering
voters" includes any effort, for compensation, to provide voter
registration or preregistration forms or to assist persons in
completing or returning those forms.
Sec. 3503.30. When by mistake a qualified elector or a
person qualified to preregister has caused himself
the person to
be registered or preregistered in a precinct which was not his the
elector's or the qualified person's place of residence, the board
of elections, on full and satisfactory proof that such error was
committed by mistake, may, on his the elector's or the qualified
person's personal application and proof of his the elector's or
the qualified person's true residence, correct his the elector's
or the qualified person's registration or preregistration form.
The board may correct all errors occurring in the registration of
electors or preregistration when it finds that the errors subject
to correction were not of fraudulent intent.
Sec. 3503.33. If an elector applying for registration or an
applicant to preregister is already registered or preregistered in
another state or in another county within this state, the elector
or applicant shall declare this fact to the registration officer
and shall sign an authorization to cancel the previous
registration or preregistration on a form prescribed by the
secretary of state.
The director of the board of elections shall mail all such
authorizations to the board of elections or comparable agency of
the proper state and county. Upon the receipt of this
authorization from the forwarding county, the director of a board
of elections in Ohio, upon a comparison of the elector's or the
applicant's signature with the elector's or the applicant's
signature as it appears on the registration or preregistration
files, shall remove the elector's registration or the applicant's
preregistration from the files, and place it with the cancellation
authorization in a separate file which shall be kept for a period
of two calendar years. The board shall notify the elector or
applicant at the present address as shown on the cancellation
authorization that his the elector's registration or the
applicant's preregistration has been canceled.
Sec. 3505.20. Any person offering to vote may be challenged
at the polling place by any judge of elections. If the board of
elections has ruled on the question presented by a challenge prior
to election day, its finding and decision shall be final, and the
presiding judge shall be notified in writing. If the board has not
ruled, the question shall be determined as set forth in this
section. If any person is so challenged as unqualified to vote,
the presiding judge shall tender the person the following oath:
"You do swear or affirm under penalty of election falsification
that you will fully and truly answer all of the following
questions put to you concerning your qualifications as an elector
at this election."
(A) If the person is challenged as unqualified on the ground
that the person is not a citizen, the judges shall put the
following questions:
(1) Are you a citizen of the United States?
(2) Are you a native or naturalized citizen?
(4) What official documentation do you possess to prove your
citizenship? Please provide that documentation.
If the person offering to vote claims to be a naturalized
citizen of the United States, the person shall, before the vote is
received, produce for inspection of the judges a certificate of
naturalization and declare under oath that the person is the
identical person named in the certificate. If the person states
under oath that, by reason of the naturalization of the person's
parents or one of them, the person has become a citizen of the
United States, and when or where the person's parents were
naturalized, the certificate of naturalization need not be
produced. If the person is unable to provide a certificate of
naturalization on the day of the election, the judges shall
provide to the person, and the person may vote, a provisional
ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code. The provisional
ballot shall not be counted unless it is properly completed and
the board of elections determines that the voter is properly
registered and eligible to vote in the election.
(B) If the person is challenged as unqualified on the ground
that the person has not resided in this state for thirty days
immediately preceding the election, the judges shall put the
following questions:
(1) Have you resided in this state for thirty days
immediately preceding this election? If so, where have you
resided?
(2) Did you properly register to vote?
(3) Can you provide some form of identification containing
your current mailing address in this precinct? Please provide that
identification.
(4) Have you voted or attempted to vote at any other location
in this or in any other state at this election?
(5) Have you applied for an absent voter's ballot in any
state for this election?
If the judges are unable to verify the person's eligibility
to cast a ballot in the election, the judges shall provide to the
person, and the person may vote, a provisional ballot under
section 3505.181 of the Revised Code. The provisional ballot shall
not be counted unless it is properly completed and the board of
elections determines that the voter is properly registered and
eligible to vote in the election.
(C) If the person is challenged as unqualified on the ground
that the person is not a resident of the precinct where the person
offers to vote, the judges shall put the following questions:
(1) Do you reside in this precinct?
(2) When did you move into this precinct?
(3) When you came into this precinct, did you come for a
temporary purpose merely or for the purpose of making it your
home?
(4) What is your current mailing address?
(5) Do you have some official identification containing your
current address in this precinct? Please provide that
identification.
(6) Have you voted or attempted to vote at any other location
in this or in any other state at this election?
(7) Have you applied for any absent voter's ballot in any
state for this election?
The judges shall direct an individual who is not in the
appropriate polling place to the appropriate polling place. If the
individual refuses to go to the appropriate polling place, or if
the judges are unable to verify the person's eligibility to cast a
ballot in the election, the judges shall provide to the person,
and the person may vote, a provisional ballot under section
3505.181 of the Revised Code. The provisional ballot shall not be
counted unless it is properly completed and the board of elections
determines that the voter is properly registered and eligible to
vote in the election.
(D) If the person is challenged as unqualified on the ground
that the person is not of legal voting age, the judges shall put
the following questions:
(1) Are you eighteen years of age or more?
(2) What is your date of birth?
(3) Do you have some official identification verifying your
age? Please provide that identification.
If the judges are unable to verify the person's age and
eligibility to cast a ballot in the election, the judges shall
provide to the person, and the person may vote, a provisional
ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code. The provisional
ballot shall not be counted unless it is properly completed and
the board of elections determines that the voter is properly
registered and eligible to vote in the election.
The presiding judge shall put such other questions to the
person challenged as are necessary to determine the person's
qualifications as an elector at the election. If a person
challenged refuses to answer fully any question put to the person,
is unable to answer the questions as they were answered on the
registration form by the person under whose name the person offers
to vote, or refuses to sign the person's name or make the person's
mark, or if for any other reason a majority of the judges believes
the person is not entitled to vote, the judges shall provide to
the person, and the person may vote, a provisional ballot under
section 3505.181 of the Revised Code. The provisional ballot shall
not be counted unless it is properly completed and the board of
elections determines that the voter is properly registered and
eligible to vote in the election.
A qualified citizen who has certified the citizen's intention
to vote for president and vice-president as provided by Chapter
3504. of the Revised Code shall be eligible to receive only the
ballot containing presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
However, prior to the nineteenth day before the day of an
election and in accordance with section 3503.24 of the Revised
Code, any person qualified to vote may challenge the right of any
other person to be registered or preregistered as a voter, or the
right to cast an absent voter's ballot, or to make application for
such ballot. Such challenge shall be made in accordance with
section 3503.24 of the Revised Code, and the board of elections of
the county in which the voting residence of the challenged voter
or preregistered person is situated shall make a final
determination relative to the legality of such registration or
application.
Sec. 3509.03. Except as provided in division (B) of section
3509.08 of the Revised Code, any qualified elector or any
preregistered person who will be a qualified elector for that
election desiring to vote absent voter's ballots at an election
shall make written application for those ballots to the director
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;
(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, 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 name and address of the elector.
(F) A statement identifying the election for which absent
voter's ballots are requested;
(G) A statement that Boxes for the person requesting the
ballots to check, indicating either that the person is a qualified
elector or that the person is preregistered to vote and will be a
qualified elector for that election;
(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 director 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 six p.m. on the the 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.
Sec. 3509.04. (A) If a director of a board of elections
receives an application for absent voter's ballots that does not
contain all of the required information, the director 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 director of elections of an
application for absent voter's ballots that contains all of the
required information, as provided by section 3509.03 and division
(G) of section 3503.16 of the Revised Code, the director, if the
director 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 However, if
the application indicates that the applicant is preregistered to
vote and will be a qualified elector for the election, the
director shall wait until the forty-fifth day before the day of
the election to determine whether the applicant is a qualified
elector.
The director 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).
The last four digits of my Social Security Number are
............... (Last four digits of Social Security Number).
...... In lieu of providing a driver's license 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, or 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,
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 director 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 director. 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 director.
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 3511.011 of the Revised Code,
including a preregistered person who will be a qualified elector
for that election and who meets the other requirements of that
section, 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 director of 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
director 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 director. 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;
(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, 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 name and address of the elector.
(6) A statement identifying the election for which absent
voter's ballots are requested;
(7) A statement that Boxes for the person requesting the
ballots to check, indicating either that the person is a qualified
elector or that the person is preregistered to vote and will be a
qualified elector for that election;
(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 director 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 director 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;
(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, 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 name and address of the elector.
(7) A statement identifying the election for which absent
voter's ballots are requested;
(8) A statement that Boxes for the applicant to check,
indicating either that the person requesting the ballots is a
qualified elector or that the person requesting the ballots is
preregistered to vote and will be a qualified elector for that
election;
(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, 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 director 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 six p.m. on the 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 director 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, or who is preregistered to vote and who will
be eligible to vote as such a voter in that election, 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, 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, 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 director of 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 director 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 director
of 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 director has
received valid applications prior to that time. However, if an
application indicates that the applicant is preregistered to vote
and will be a qualified elector for the election, the director
shall wait until the forty-fifth day before the day of the
election to determine whether the applicant is a qualified
elector. Thereafter, and until twelve noon of the third day
preceding the day of election, the director 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 the director shall promptly 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 each such separate ballot to each person
to whom the director has previously mailed or sent other uniformed
services or overseas absent voter's ballots.
In mailing uniformed services or overseas absent voter's
ballots, the director shall use the fastest mail service
available, but the director shall not mail them by certified mail.
Sec. 3517.01. (A)(1) A political party within the meaning of
Title XXXV of the Revised Code is any group of voters that, at the
most recent regular state election, polled for its candidate for
governor in the state or nominees for presidential electors at
least five per cent of the entire vote cast for that office or
that filed with the secretary of state, subsequent to any election
in which it received less than five per cent of that vote, a
petition signed by qualified electors equal in number to at least
one per cent of the total vote for governor or nominees for
presidential electors at the most recent election, declaring their
intention of organizing a political party, the name of which shall
be stated in the declaration, and of participating in the
succeeding primary election, held in even-numbered years, that
occurs more than one hundred twenty days after the date of filing.
No such group of electors shall assume a name or designation that
is similar, in the opinion of the secretary of state, to that of
an existing political party as to confuse or mislead the voters at
an election. If any political party fails to cast five per cent of
the total vote cast at an election for the office of governor or
president, it shall cease to be a political party.
(2) A campaign committee shall be legally liable for any
debts, contracts, or expenditures incurred or executed in its
name.
(B) Notwithstanding the definitions found in section 3501.01
of the Revised Code, as used in this section and sections 3517.08
to 3517.14, 3517.99, and 3517.992 of the Revised Code:
(1) "Campaign committee" means a candidate or a combination
of two or more persons authorized by a candidate under section
3517.081 of the Revised Code to receive contributions and make
expenditures.
(2) "Campaign treasurer" means an individual appointed by a
candidate under section 3517.081 of the Revised Code.
(3) "Candidate" has the same meaning as in division (H) of
section 3501.01 of the Revised Code and also includes any person
who, at any time before or after an election, receives
contributions or makes expenditures or other use of contributions,
has given consent for another to receive contributions or make
expenditures or other use of contributions, or appoints a campaign
treasurer, for the purpose of bringing about the person's
nomination or election to public office. When two persons jointly
seek the offices of governor and lieutenant governor, "candidate"
means the pair of candidates jointly. "Candidate" does not include
candidates for election to the offices of member of a county or
state central committee, presidential elector, and delegate to a
national convention or conference of a political party.
(4) "Continuing association" means an association, other than
a campaign committee, political party, legislative campaign fund,
political contributing entity, or labor organization, that is
intended to be a permanent organization that has a primary purpose
other than supporting or opposing specific candidates, political
parties, or ballot issues, and that functions on a regular basis
throughout the year. "Continuing association" includes
organizations that are determined to be not organized for profit
under subsection 501 and that are described in subsection
501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), or 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(5) "Contribution" means a loan, gift, deposit, forgiveness
of indebtedness, donation, advance, payment, or transfer of funds
or anything of value, including a transfer of funds from an inter
vivos or testamentary trust or decedent's estate, and the payment
by any person other than the person to whom the services are
rendered for the personal services of another person, which
contribution is made, received, or used for the purpose of
influencing the results of an election. Any loan, gift, deposit,
forgiveness of indebtedness, donation, advance, payment, or
transfer of funds or of anything of value, including a transfer of
funds from an inter vivos or testamentary trust or decedent's
estate, and the payment by any campaign committee, political
action committee, legislative campaign fund, political party,
political contributing entity, or person other than the person to
whom the services are rendered for the personal services of
another person, that is made, received, or used by a state or
county political party, other than moneys a state or county
political party receives from the Ohio political party fund
pursuant to section 3517.17 of the Revised Code and the moneys a
state or county political party may receive under sections
3517.101, 3517.1012, and 3517.1013 of the Revised Code, shall be
considered to be a "contribution" for the purpose of section
3517.10 of the Revised Code and shall be included on a statement
of contributions filed under that section.
"Contribution" does not include any of the following:
(a) Services provided without compensation by individuals
volunteering a portion or all of their time on behalf of a person;
(b) Ordinary home hospitality;
(c) The personal expenses of a volunteer paid for by that
volunteer campaign worker;
(d) Any gift given to a state or county political party
pursuant to section 3517.101 of the Revised Code. As used in
division (B)(5)(d) of this section, "political party" means only a
major political party;
(e) Any contribution as defined in section 3517.1011 of the
Revised Code that is made, received, or used to pay the direct
costs of producing or airing an electioneering communication;
(f) Any gift given to a state or county political party for
the party's restricted fund under division (A)(2) of section
3517.1012 of the Revised Code;
(g) Any gift given to a state political party for deposit in
a Levin account pursuant to section 3517.1013 of the Revised Code.
As used in this division, "Levin account" has the same meaning as
in that section.
(h) Any donation given to a transition fund under section
3517.1014 of the Revised Code.
(6) "Expenditure" means the disbursement or use of a
contribution for the purpose of influencing the results of an
election or of making a charitable donation under division (G) of
section 3517.08 of the Revised Code. Any disbursement or use of a
contribution by a state or county political party is an
expenditure and shall be considered either to be made for the
purpose of influencing the results of an election or to be made as
a charitable donation under division (G) of section 3517.08 of the
Revised Code and shall be reported on a statement of expenditures
filed under section 3517.10 of the Revised Code. During the thirty
days preceding a primary or general election, any disbursement to
pay the direct costs of producing or airing a broadcast, cable, or
satellite communication that refers to a clearly identified
candidate shall be considered to be made for the purpose of
influencing the results of that election and shall be reported as
an expenditure or as an independent expenditure under section
3517.10 or 3517.105 of the Revised Code, as applicable, except
that the information required to be reported regarding
contributors for those expenditures or independent expenditures
shall be the same as the information required to be reported under
divisions (D)(1) and (2) of section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code.
As used in this division, "broadcast, cable, or satellite
communication" and "refers to a clearly identified candidate" have
the same meanings as in section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code.
(7) "Personal expenses" includes, but is not limited to,
ordinary expenses for accommodations, clothing, food, personal
motor vehicle or airplane, and home telephone.
(8) "Political action committee" means a combination of two
or more persons, the primary or major purpose of which is to
support or oppose any candidate, political party, or issue, or to
influence the result of any election through express advocacy, and
that is not a political party, a campaign committee, a political
contributing entity, or a legislative campaign fund. "Political
action committee" does not include either of the following:
(a) A continuing association that makes disbursements for the
direct costs of producing or airing electioneering communications
and that does not engage in express advocacy;
(b) A political club that is formed primarily for social
purposes and that consists of one hundred members or less, has
officers and periodic meetings, has less than two thousand five
hundred dollars in its treasury at all times, and makes an
aggregate total contribution of one thousand dollars or less per
calendar year.
(9) "Public office" means any state, county, municipal,
township, or district office, except an office of a political
party, that is filled by an election and the offices of United
States senator and representative.
(10) "Anything of value" has the same meaning as in section
1.03 of the Revised Code.
(11) "Beneficiary of a campaign fund" means a candidate, a
public official or employee for whose benefit a campaign fund
exists, and any other person who has ever been a candidate or
public official or employee and for whose benefit a campaign fund
exists.
(12) "Campaign fund" means money or other property, including
contributions.
(13) "Public official or employee" has the same meaning as in
section 102.01 of the Revised Code.
(14) "Caucus" means all of the members of the house of
representatives or all of the members of the senate of the general
assembly who are members of the same political party.
(15) "Legislative campaign fund" means a fund that is
established as an auxiliary of a state political party and
associated with one of the houses of the general assembly.
(16) "In-kind contribution" means anything of value other
than money that is used to influence the results of an election or
is transferred to or used in support of or in opposition to a
candidate, campaign committee, legislative campaign fund,
political party, political action committee, or political
contributing entity and that is made with the consent of, in
coordination, cooperation, or consultation with, or at the request
or suggestion of the benefited candidate, committee, fund, party,
or entity. The financing of the dissemination, distribution, or
republication, in whole or part, of any broadcast or of any
written, graphic, or other form of campaign materials prepared by
the candidate, the candidate's campaign committee, or their
authorized agents is an in-kind contribution to the candidate and
an expenditure by the candidate.
(17) "Independent expenditure" means an expenditure by a
person advocating the election or defeat of an identified
candidate or candidates, that is not made with the consent of, in
coordination, cooperation, or consultation with, or at the request
or suggestion of any candidate or candidates or of the campaign
committee or agent of the candidate or candidates. As used in
division (B)(17) of this section:
(a) "Person" means an individual, partnership, unincorporated
business organization or association, political action committee,
political contributing entity, separate segregated fund,
association, or other organization or group of persons, but not a
labor organization or a corporation unless the labor organization
or corporation is a political contributing entity.
(b) "Advocating" means any communication containing a message
advocating election or defeat.
(c) "Identified candidate" means that the name of the
candidate appears, a photograph or drawing of the candidate
appears, or the identity of the candidate is otherwise apparent by
unambiguous reference.
(d) "Made in coordination, cooperation, or consultation with,
or at the request or suggestion of, any candidate or the campaign
committee or agent of the candidate" means made pursuant to any
arrangement, coordination, or direction by the candidate, the
candidate's campaign committee, or the candidate's agent prior to
the publication, distribution, display, or broadcast of the
communication. An expenditure is presumed to be so made when it is
any of the following:
(i) Based on information about the candidate's plans,
projects, or needs provided to the person making the expenditure
by the candidate, or by the candidate's campaign committee or
agent, with a view toward having an expenditure made;
(ii) Made by or through any person who is, or has been,
authorized to raise or expend funds, who is, or has been, an
officer of the candidate's campaign committee, or who is, or has
been, receiving any form of compensation or reimbursement from the
candidate or the candidate's campaign committee or agent;
(iii) Except as otherwise provided in division (D) of section
3517.105 of the Revised Code, made by a political party in support
of a candidate, unless the expenditure is made by a political
party to conduct voter registration or preregistration or voter
education efforts.
(e) "Agent" means any person who has actual oral or written
authority, either express or implied, to make or to authorize the
making of expenditures on behalf of a candidate, or means any
person who has been placed in a position with the candidate's
campaign committee or organization such that it would reasonably
appear that in the ordinary course of campaign-related activities
the person may authorize expenditures.
(18) "Labor organization" means a labor union; an employee
organization; a federation of labor unions, groups, locals, or
other employee organizations; an auxiliary of a labor union,
employee organization, or federation of labor unions, groups,
locals, or other employee organizations; or any other bona fide
organization in which employees participate and that exists for
the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers
concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, hours, and other
terms and conditions of employment.
(19) "Separate segregated fund" means a separate segregated
fund established pursuant to the Federal Election Campaign Act.
(20) "Federal Election Campaign Act" means the "Federal
Election Campaign Act of 1971," 86 Stat. 11, 2 U.S.C.A. 431, et
seq., as amended.
(21) "Restricted fund" means the fund a state or county
political party must establish under division (A)(1) of section
3517.1012 of the Revised Code.
(22) "Electioneering communication" has the same meaning as
in section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code.
(23) "Express advocacy" means a communication that contains
express words advocating the nomination, election, or defeat of a
candidate or that contains express words advocating the adoption
or defeat of a question or issue, as determined by a final
judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction.
(24) "Political committee" has the same meaning as in section
3517.1011 of the Revised Code.
(25) "Political contributing entity" means any entity,
including a corporation or labor organization, that may lawfully
make contributions and expenditures and that is not an individual
or a political action committee, continuing association, campaign
committee, political party, legislative campaign fund, designated
state campaign committee, or state candidate fund. For purposes of
this division, "lawfully" means not prohibited by any section of
the Revised Code, or authorized by a final judgment of a court of
competent jurisdiction.
Sec. 3517.08. (A) The personal expenses of a candidate paid
for by the candidate, from the candidate's personal funds, shall
not be considered as a contribution by or an expenditure by the
candidate and shall not be reported under section 3517.10 of the
Revised Code.
(B)(1) An expenditure by a political action committee or a
political contributing entity shall not be considered a
contribution by the political action committee or the political
contributing entity or an expenditure by or on behalf of the
candidate if the purpose of the expenditure is to inform only its
members by means of mailed publications of its activities or
endorsements.
(2) An expenditure by a political party shall not be
considered a contribution by the political party or an expenditure
by or on behalf of the candidate if the purpose of the expenditure
is to inform predominantly the party's members by means of mailed
publications or other direct communication of its activities or
endorsements, or for voter contact such as sample ballots, absent
voter's ballots application mailings, voter registration or
preregistration, or get-out-the-vote activities.
(C) An expenditure by a continuing association, political
contributing entity, or political party shall not be considered a
contribution to any campaign committee or an expenditure by or on
behalf of any campaign committee if the purpose of the expenditure
is for the staff and maintenance of the continuing association's,
political contributing entity's, or political party's
headquarters, or for a political poll, survey, index, or other
type of measurement not on behalf of a specific candidate.
(D) The expenses of maintaining a constituent office paid
for, from the candidate's personal funds, by a candidate who is a
member of the general assembly at the time of the election shall
not be considered a contribution by or an expenditure by or on
behalf of the candidate, and shall not be reported, if the
constituent office is not used for any candidate's campaign
activities.
(E) The net contribution of each social or fund-raising
activity shall be calculated by totaling all contributions to the
activity minus the expenditures made for the activity.
(F) An expenditure that purchases goods or services shall be
attributed to an election when the disbursement of funds is made,
rather than at the time the goods or services are used. The
secretary of state, under the procedures of Chapter 119. of the
Revised Code, shall establish rules for the attribution of
expenditures to a candidate when the candidate is a candidate for
more than one office during a reporting period and for
expenditures made in a year in which no election is held. The
secretary of state shall further define by rule those expenditures
that are or are not by or on behalf of a candidate.
(G) An expenditure for the purpose of a charitable donation
may be made if it is made to an organization that is exempt from
federal income taxation under subsection 501(a) and described in
subsection 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(8), 501(c)(10), or
501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code or is approved by advisory
opinion of the Ohio elections commission as a legitimate
charitable organization. Each expenditure under this division
shall be separately itemized on statements made pursuant to
section 3517.10 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3517.1013. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Gift" means a gift, subscription, loan, advance, or
deposit of money, or anything of value given to a state political
party that is specifically designated and used to defray any cost
incurred on or after the effective date of this section March 31,
2005, for voter registration or preregistration, voter
identification, get-out-the-vote, or generic campaign activities,
and that is not used for the purpose of directly influencing the
election of any individual candidate in any particular election
for any office.
(2) "Address" has the same meaning as in section 3517.10 of
the Revised Code.
(3) "Political party" means a major political party as
defined in section 3501.01 of the Revised Code.
(B)(1) Notwithstanding section 3599.03 of the Revised Code,
any person, including a for-profit or nonprofit corporation, but
not including a public utility, may make a gift to a Levin account
as described in division (D) of this section, if the gift is
specifically designated and used to defray any cost incurred on or
after the effective date of this section March 31, 2005, for voter
registration or preregistration, voter identification,
get-out-the-vote, or generic campaign activities that would not
otherwise be considered a contribution or expenditure.
(2)(a) All gifts made by a corporation, nonprofit
corporation, or labor organization under division (B)(1) of this
section shall be limited to an aggregate amount of ten thousand
dollars in a calendar year in which a candidate for federal office
will appear on a ballot at an election to be held in this state.
(b) No corporation, nonprofit corporation, or labor
organization shall make a gift under division (B)(1) of this
section in any year in which no candidate for federal office will
appear on the ballot at an election to be held in this state.
(3) The limitation described in division (B)(2)(a) of this
section is in addition to any limitation described in section
3517.1012 or any other section of the Revised Code.
(C)(1) Each state political party that receives a gift under
this section shall file, by electronic means of transmission to
the office of the secretary of state, a full, true, and itemized
statement describing the gift received and the manner in which
disbursements were made from the account. The statement shall be
filed at the same time as and in conjunction with each filing of a
deposit and disbursement statement by the state political party in
accordance with division (B) of section 3517.1012 of the Revised
Code.
(2) Each statement required under division (C)(1) of this
section shall contain all of the following information:
(a) The full name and address of the state political party
filing the statement and the full name and address of the party's
treasurer;
(b) A description of each gift received, which shall include
all of the following:
(i) The month, day, and year on which the gift was received;
(ii) The full name and address of each donor of the gift;
(iii) The nature of the gift, if other than money;
(iv) The value of the gift in dollars and cents. Each gift
received shall be itemized separately, regardless of its amount or
value.
(c) An itemization of the manner in which each disbursement
was made, which shall include all of the following:
(i) The name and address of the recipient of the
disbursement;
(ii) The date of the disbursement;
(iii) The amount of the disbursement;
(iv) The method by which the disbursement was made, such as
by cash or check.
(d) The total value of gifts received and gifts disbursed
during the reporting period.
(D) All monetary gifts given pursuant to this section shall
be deposited in an account separate from other funds and shall be
maintained in that separate account, which account shall be
designated a "Levin account." Moneys in a Levin account shall be
used only for voter registration or preregistration, voter
identification, get-out-the-vote, or generic campaign activities
that would not otherwise be considered a contribution or
expenditure.
(E)(1) No state political party shall fail to file a
statement required to be filed under this section.
(2) No state political party shall knowingly fail to report,
or shall knowingly misrepresent, a gift required to be reported on
a statement required to be filed under this section.
(F) No state political party shall expend or use a gift
received under this section for a purpose other than to defray a
cost incurred on or after the effective date of this section March
31, 2005, for voter registration or preregistration, voter
identification, get-out-the-vote, or generic campaign activities
that would not otherwise be considered a contribution or
expenditure.
(G)(1) Before receiving a gift under this section, each state
political party shall appoint a treasurer and file, on a form
prescribed by the secretary of state, a designation of that
appointment. The designation shall include the full name and
address of the political party for which the person has been
appointed treasurer. The designation shall be filed with the
secretary of state.
(2) The treasurer shall keep a strict account of all gifts
required to be reported under this section.
(3) A state political party that has already filed the form
required under division (G)(1) of this section prior to receiving
a contribution or making an expenditure is considered to have met
the requirements of that division.
(H) Upon request, the secretary of state shall issue a
receipt for each statement filed under this section. The secretary
of state shall maintain a record of the filing for at least six
years. All statements filed under this section shall be open to
public inspection in the office in which they are filed.
Sec. 3517.18. (A) A political party receiving moneys from
the Ohio political party fund may expend the moneys only for the
following purposes:
(1) The defraying of operating and maintenance costs
associated with political party headquarters, including rental or
leasing costs, staff salaries, office equipment and supplies,
postage, and the purchase, lease, or maintenance of computer
hardware and software;
(2) The organization of voter registration and
preregistration programs and get-out-the-vote campaigns and the
costs associated with voter registration and preregistration and
get-out-the-vote activities, including, but not limited to, rental
costs for booth spaces at fairs, festivals, or similar events if
voter registration and preregistration forms are available at
those booths, printing costs for registration and preregistration
forms, mailing costs for communications soliciting voter
registration or preregistration, and payments for the services of
persons conducting voter registration and preregistration and
get-out-the-vote activities;
(3) The administration of party fund-raising drives;
(4) Paid advertisements in the electronic or printed media,
sponsored jointly by two or more qualified political parties, to
publicize the Ohio political party fund and to encourage taxpayers
to support the income tax checkoff program;
(5) Direct mail campaigns or other communications with the
registered voters of a party that are not related to any
particular candidate or election;
(6) The preparation of reports required by law.
(B)(1) Moneys from the Ohio political party fund shall not be
used for any of the following purposes:
(a) To further the election or defeat of any particular
candidate or to influence directly the outcome of any candidate or
issue election;
(b) To pay party debts incurred as the result of any
election;
(c) To make a payment clearly in excess of the market value
of the item or service that is received for the payment.
(2) Moneys from the Ohio political party fund that are used
as rental costs for booth spaces at fairs, festivals, or similar
events, at which candidates are present or informational materials
about candidates are available, are not used in violation of
division (B)(1)(a) of this section if voter registration and
preregistration forms also are available at those booths and booth
space is available for use by all candidates of the party renting
the booth.
(C) If there is a question about the legitimacy of a party
expenditure of public moneys, a designated agent of a political
party receiving moneys from the Ohio political party fund may
request the Ohio elections commission for an advisory opinion on
the matter prior to making an expenditure of those public moneys.
The commission shall afford the highest priority to a request made
under this division.
Sec. 3599.02. No person shall before, during, or after any
primary, general, or special election or convention solicit,
request, demand, receive, or contract for any money, gift, loan,
property, influence, position, employment, or other thing of value
for that person or for another person for doing any of the
following:
(A) Registering or preregistering, or refraining from
registering or preregistering, to vote;
(B) Agreeing to register or preregister, or to refrain from
registering or preregistering, to vote;
(C) Agreeing to vote or to refrain from voting;
(D) Voting or refraining from voting at any primary, general,
or special election or convention for a particular person,
question, or issue;
(E) Registering, preregistering, or voting, or refraining
from registering, preregistering, or voting, or voting or
refraining from voting for a particular person, question, or
issue.
Whoever violates this section is guilty of bribery, a felony
of the fourth degree, and shall be disfranchised and excluded from
holding any public office for five years immediately following
such conviction.
Sec. 3599.11. (A) No person shall knowingly register or make
application or attempt to register in a precinct in which the
person is not a qualified voter; or knowingly aid or abet any
person to so register or preregister; or attempt to register or
knowingly induce or attempt to induce any person to so register or
preregister; or knowingly impersonate another or write or assume
the name of another, real or fictitious, in registering or
attempting to register; or by false statement or other unlawful
means procure, aid, or attempt to procure the erasure or striking
out on the register or duplicate list of the name of a qualified
elector therein; or knowingly induce or attempt to induce a
registrar or other election authority to refuse registration or
preregistration in a precinct to an elector a qualified person
thereof; or knowingly swear or affirm falsely upon a lawful
examination by or before any registering officer; or make, print,
or issue any false or counterfeit certificate of registration or
preregistration or knowingly alter any certificate of registration
or preregistration.
No person shall knowingly register under more than one name
or knowingly induce any person to so register or preregister.
No person shall knowingly make any false statement on any
form for registration or change of registration or upon any
application or return envelope for an absent voter's ballot.
Whoever violates this division is guilty of a felony of the
fifth degree.
(B)(1) No person who helps another person register or
preregister outside an official voter registration and
preregistration place shall knowingly destroy, or knowingly help
another person to destroy, any completed registration or
preregistration form.
Whoever violates this division is guilty of election
falsification, a felony of the fifth degree.
(2)(a) No person who helps another person register or
preregister outside an official voter registration and
preregistration place shall knowingly fail to return any
registration or preregistration form entrusted to that person to
any board of elections or the office of the secretary of state
within ten days after that regsitration registration or
preregistration form is completed, or on or before the thirtieth
day before the election, whichever day is earlier, unless the
registration or preregistration form is received by the person
within twenty-four hours of the thirtieth day before the election,
in which case the person shall return the registration or
preregistration form to any board of elections or the office of
the secretary of state within ten days of its receipt.
Whoever violates this division is guilty of election
falsification, a felony of the fifth degree, unless the person has
not previously been convicted of a violation of division
(B)(2)(a), (B)(2)(b), (C)(1), or (C)(2) of this section, the
violation of this division does not cause any person to miss any
voter registration deadline with regard to any election, and the
number of voter registration or preregistration forms that the
violator has failed to properly return does not exceed forty-nine,
in which case the violator is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first
degree.
(b) Subject to division (C)(2) of this section, no person who
helps another person register or preregister outside an official
registration and preregistration place shall knowingly return any
registration or preregistration form entrusted to that person to
any location other than any board of elections or the office of
the secretary of state.
Whoever violates this division is guilty of election
falsification, a felony of the fifth degree, unless the person has
not previously been convicted of a violation of division
(B)(2)(a), (B)(2)(b), (C)(1), or (C)(2) of this section, the
violation of this division does not cause any person to miss any
voter registration deadline with regard to any election, and the
number of voter registration or preregistration forms that the
violator has failed to properly return does not exceed forty-nine,
in which case the violator is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first
degree.
(C)(1) No person who receives compensation for registering or
preregistering a voter shall knowingly fail to return any
registration or preregistration form entrusted to that person to
any board of elections or the office of the secretary of state
within ten days after that voter registration or preregistration
form is completed, or on or before the thirtieth day before the
election, whichever is earlier, unless the registration or
preregistration form is received by the person within twenty-four
hours of the thirtieth day before the election, in which case the
person shall return the registration or preregistration form to
any board of elections or the office of the secrtary secretary of
state within ten days of its receipt.
Whoever violates this division is guilty of election
falsification, a felony of the fifth degree, unless the person has
not previously been convicted of a violation of division
(B)(2)(a), (B)(2)(b), (C)(1), or (C)(2) of this section, the
violation of this division does not cause any person to miss any
voter registration deadline with regard to any election, and the
number of voter registration or preregistration forms that the
violator has failed to properly return does not exceed forty-nine,
in which case the violator is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first
degree.
(2) No person who receives compensation for registering or
preregistering a voter shall knowingly return any registration or
preregistration form entrusted to that person to any location
other than any board of elections or the office of the secretary
of state.
Whoever violates this division is guilty of election
falsification, a felony of the fifth degree, unless the person has
not previously been convicted of a violation of division
(B)(2)(a), (B)(2)(b), (C)(1), or (C)(2) of this section, the
violation of this division does not cause any person to miss any
voter registration deadline with regard to any election, and the
number of voter registration or preregistration forms that the
violator has failed to properly return does not exceed forty-nine,
in which case the violator is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first
degree.
(D) As used in division (C) of this section, "registering or
preregistering a voter" includes any effort, for compensation, to
provide voter registration or preregistration forms or to assist
persons in completing or returning those forms.
Sec. 3599.111. (A) No person shall knowingly:
(1) Preregister or make application or attempt to preregister
to vote in a precinct in which the person is not qualified to
preregister;
(2) Impersonate another or write or assume the name of
another, real or fictitious, in preregistering or attempting to
preregister;
(3) Swear or affirm falsely upon a lawful examination by or
before any preregistering officer;
(4) Preregister under more than one name; or
(5) Make any false statement on any form for preregistration
or change of preregistration.
(B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a delinquent
act that would be a felony of the fifth degree if it could be
committed by an adult.
Sec. 3599.161. (A) The director of elections, deputy
director of elections, or an employee of the board of elections
designated by the director or deputy director shall be available
during normal office hours to provide any person with access to
the public records filed in the office of the board of elections.
(B) No director of elections, deputy director of elections,
or employee of the board of elections designated by the director
or deputy director shall knowingly prevent or prohibit any person
from inspecting, under reasonable regulations established and
posted by the board of elections, the public records filed in the
office of the board of elections. Records relating to the
declination of a person to register or preregister to vote and to
the identity of a voter registration or preregistration agency
through which any particular person registered or preregistered to
vote are not public records for purposes of this section.
(C) Whoever violates division (B) of this section is guilty
of prohibiting inspection of election records, a minor
misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction, be dismissed from his the
offender's position as director of elections, deputy director of
elections, or employee of the board of elections.
Sec. 3599.18. (A) No election official, person assisting in
the registration or preregistration of electors, or police officer
shall knowingly do any of the following:
(1) Refuse, neglect, or unnecessarily delay, hinder, or
prevent the registration of a qualified elector or the
preregistration of a person who is qualified to preregister, who
in a lawful manner applies for registration or preregistration;
(2) Enter or consent to the entry of a fictitious name on a
voter registration or preregistration list;
(3) Alter the name on or remove or destroy the registration
card or form of any qualified elector or the preregistration
record or form of any person who is qualified to preregister;
(4) Neglect, unlawfully execute, or fail to execute any duty
enjoined upon that person as an election official, person
assisting in the registration or preregistration of electors, or
police officer.
(B) Whoever violates division (A) of this section is guilty
of a misdemeanor of the first degree.
Sec. 3599.26. No person shall fraudulently put a ballot or
ticket into a ballot box; or knowingly and willfully vote a ballot
other than an official ballot lawfully obtained by the person from
the precinct election authorities; or fraudulently or deceitfully
change a ballot of an elector, by which such elector is prevented
from voting for such candidates or on an issue as the elector
intends to do; or mark a ballot of an elector except as authorized
by section 3505.24 of the Revised Code; or hand a marked ballot to
an elector to vote, with intent to ascertain how the elector
voted; or furnish a ballot to an elector who cannot read,
knowingly informing the elector that it contains a name different
from the one that is printed or written thereon, to induce the
elector to vote contrary to the elector's intentions; or unduly
delay or hinder an elector another person from applying for
registration or preregistration, registering or preregistering, or
from attempting to vote or voting; or knowingly print or
distribute a ballot contrary to law.
Whoever violates this section is guilty of a felony of the
fifth degree.
Sec. 3599.31. No officer of the law shall fail to obey
forthwith an order of the presiding judge and aid in enforcing a
lawful order of the presiding judges at an election, against
persons unlawfully congregating or loitering within one hundred
feet of a polling place, hindering or delaying an elector from
reaching or leaving the polling place, soliciting or attempting,
within one hundred feet of the polling place, to influence an
elector in casting the elector's vote, or interfering with the
registration or preregistration of voters or casting and counting
of the ballots.
Whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of
the first degree.
Sec. 4501.023. (A) The registrar of motor vehicles shall
designate an employee of the bureau of motor vehicles to be in
charge of and responsible for voter registration and
preregistration within the bureau. Each deputy registrar of motor
vehicles shall designate an employee in that deputy registrar's
office to be in charge of and responsible for voter registration
and preregistration within that office.
(B) The registrar shall provide, in cooperation with the
secretary of state, a training program and materials for initial
training in voter registration and preregistration and for ongoing
training for all deputy registrars and their employees.
(C) The registrar shall report to the secretary of state at
least once annually the number of applicants for licenses served
and the number of voter registration and preregistration
transactions completed and transmitted to the board of elections
by the registrar and all deputy registrars.
Sec. 4503.03. (A)(1)(a) The registrar of motor vehicles may
designate the county auditor in each county a deputy registrar. If
the population of a county is forty thousand or less according to
the last federal census and if the county auditor is designated by
the registrar as a deputy registrar, no other person need be
designated in the county to act as a deputy registrar.
(b) The registrar may designate a clerk of a court of common
pleas as a deputy registrar if the population of the county is
forty thousand or less according to the last federal census. In a
county with a population greater than forty thousand but not more
than fifty thousand according to the last federal census, the
clerk of a court of common pleas is eligible to act as a deputy
registrar and may participate in the competitive selection process
for the award of a deputy registrar contract by applying in the
same manner as any other person. All fees collected and retained
by a clerk for conducting deputy registrar services shall be paid
into the county treasury to the credit of the certificate of title
administration fund created under section 325.33 of the Revised
Code.
(c) In all other instances, the registrar shall contract with
one or more other persons in each county to act as deputy
registrars. Notwithstanding the county population restrictions in
division (A)(1)(b) of this section, if no person applies to act
under contract as a deputy registrar in a county and the county
auditor is not designated as a deputy registrar, the registrar may
ask the clerk of a court of common pleas to serve as the deputy
registrar for that county.
(2) Deputy registrars shall accept applications for the
annual license tax for any vehicle not taxed under section 4503.63
of the Revised Code and shall assign distinctive numbers in the
same manner as the registrar. Such deputies shall be located in
such locations in the county as the registrar sees fit. There
shall be at least one deputy registrar in each county.
Deputy registrar contracts are subject to the provisions of
division (B) of section 125.081 of the Revised Code.
(B) The registrar shall not contract with any person to act
as a deputy registrar if the person or, where applicable, the
person's spouse or a member of the person's immediate family has
made, within the current calendar year or any one of the previous
three calendar years, one or more contributions totaling in excess
of one hundred dollars to any person or entity included in
division (A)(2) of section 4503.033 of the Revised Code. As used
in this division, "immediate family" has the same meaning as in
division (D) of section 102.01 of the Revised Code, and "entity"
includes any political party and any "continuing association" as
defined in division (B)(4) of section 3517.01 of the Revised Code
or "political action committee" as defined in division (B)(8) of
that section that is primarily associated with that political
party. For purposes of this division, contributions to any
continuing association or any political action committee that is
primarily associated with a political party shall be aggregated
with contributions to that political party.
The contribution limitations contained in this division do
not apply to any county auditor or clerk of a court of common
pleas. A county auditor or clerk of a court of common pleas is not
required to file the disclosure statement or pay the filing fee
required under section 4503.033 of the Revised Code. The
limitations of this division also do not apply to a deputy
registrar who, subsequent to being awarded a deputy registrar
contract, is elected to an office of a political subdivision.
The registrar shall not contract with either of the following
to act as a deputy registrar:
(1) Any elected public official other than a county auditor
or, as authorized by division (A)(1)(b) of this section, a clerk
of a court of common pleas, acting in an official capacity, except
that, the registrar shall continue and may renew a contract with
any deputy registrar who, subsequent to being awarded a deputy
registrar contract, is elected to an office of a political
subdivision;
(2) Any person holding a current, valid contract to conduct
motor vehicle inspections under section 3704.14 of the Revised
Code.
As used in division (B) of this section, "political
subdivision" has the same meaning as in section 3501.01 of the
Revised Code.
(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this section,
deputy registrars are independent contractors and neither they nor
their employees are employees of this state, except that nothing
in this section shall affect the status of county auditors or
clerks of courts of common pleas as public officials, nor the
status of their employees as employees of any of the counties of
this state, which are political subdivisions of this state. Each
deputy registrar shall be responsible for the payment of all
unemployment compensation premiums, all workers' compensation
premiums, social security contributions, and any and all taxes for
which the deputy registrar is legally responsible. Each deputy
registrar shall comply with all applicable federal, state, and
local laws requiring the withholding of income taxes or other
taxes from the compensation of the deputy registrar's employees.
Each deputy registrar shall maintain during the entire term of the
deputy registrar's contract a policy of business liability
insurance satisfactory to the registrar and shall hold the
department of public safety, the director of public safety, the
bureau of motor vehicles, and the registrar harmless upon any and
all claims for damages arising out of the operation of the deputy
registrar agency.
(2) For purposes of Chapter 4141. of the Revised Code,
determinations concerning the employment of deputy registrars and
their employees shall be made under Chapter 4141. of the Revised
Code.
(D)(1) With the approval of the director, the registrar shall
adopt rules governing the terms of the contract between the
registrar and each deputy registrar and specifications for the
services to be performed. The rules shall include specifications
relating to the amount of bond to be given as provided in this
section; the size and location of the deputy's office; and the
leasing of equipment necessary to conduct the vision screenings
required under section 4507.12 of the Revised Code and training in
the use of the equipment. The specifications shall permit and
encourage every deputy registrar to inform the public of the
location of the deputy registrar's office and hours of operation
by means of public service announcements and allow any deputy
registrar to advertise in regard to the operation of the deputy
registrar's office. The rules also shall include specifications
for the hours the deputy's office is to be open to the public and
shall require as a minimum that one deputy's office in each county
be open to the public for at least four hours each weekend,
provided that if only one deputy's office is located within the
boundary of the county seat, that office is the office that shall
be open for the four-hour period each weekend, and that every
deputy's office in each county shall be open to the public until
six-thirty p.m. on at least one weeknight each week. The rules
also shall include specifications providing that every deputy in
each county, upon request, provide any person with information
about the location and office hours of all deputy registrars in
the county and that every deputy prominently display within the
deputy's office, the toll-free telephone number of the bureau. The
rules shall not prohibit the award of a deputy registrar contract
to a nonprofit corporation formed under the laws of this state.
The rules shall prohibit any deputy registrar from operating more
than one such office at any time, except that the rules may permit
a nonprofit corporation formed for the purposes of providing
automobile-related services to its members or the public and that
provides such services from more than one location in this state
to operate a deputy registrar office at any such location,
provided that the nonprofit corporation operates no more than one
deputy registrar office in any one county. The rules may include
such other specifications as the registrar and director consider
necessary to provide a high level of service.
The rules shall establish procedures for a deputy registrar
who requests such authority to collect reinstatement fees under
sections 4507.1612, 4507.45, 4509.101, 4509.81, 4510.10, 4510.22,
4510.72, and 4511.191 of the Revised Code and to transmit the
reinstatement fees and two dollars of the service fee collected
under those sections. The registrar shall ensure that, not later
than January 1, 2012, at least one deputy registrar in each county
has the necessary equipment and is able to accept reinstatement
fees. The registrar shall deposit the service fees received from a
deputy registrar under those sections into the state bureau of
motor vehicles fund created in section 4501.25 of the Revised Code
and shall use the money for deputy registrar equipment necessary
in connection with accepting reinstatement fees.
(2) As a daily adjustment, the bureau of motor vehicles shall
credit to a deputy registrar three dollars and fifty cents for
each damaged license plate or validation sticker the deputy
registrar replaces as a service to a member of the public.
(3) With the prior approval of the registrar, each deputy
registrar may conduct at the location of the deputy registrar's
office any business that is consistent with the functions of a
deputy registrar and that is not specifically mandated or
authorized by this or another chapter of the Revised Code or by
implementing rules of the registrar.
In accordance with guidelines the director of public safety
shall establish, a deputy registrar may operate or contract for
the operation of a vending machine at a deputy registrar location
if products of the vending machine are consistent with the
functions of a deputy registrar.
(4) As used in this section and in section 4507.01 of the
Revised Code, "nonprofit corporation" has the same meaning as in
section 1702.01 of the Revised Code.
(E) Unless otherwise terminated and except for interim
contracts of less than one year, contracts with deputy registrars
shall be for a term of at least two years, but no more than three
years, and all contracts effective on or after July 1, 1996, shall
be for a term of more than two years, but not more than three
years. All contracts with deputy registrars shall expire on the
last Saturday of June in the year of their expiration. The auditor
of state may examine the accounts, reports, systems, and other
data of each deputy registrar at least every two years. The
registrar, with the approval of the director, shall immediately
remove a deputy who violates any provision of the Revised Code
related to the duties as a deputy, any rule adopted by the
registrar, or a term of the deputy's contract with the registrar.
The registrar also may remove a deputy who, in the opinion of the
registrar, has engaged in any conduct that is either unbecoming to
one representing this state or is inconsistent with the efficient
operation of the deputy's office.
If the registrar, with the approval of the director,
determines that there is good cause to believe that a deputy
registrar or a person proposing for a deputy registrar contract
has engaged in any conduct that would require the denial or
termination of the deputy registrar contract, the registrar may
require the production of books, records, and papers as the
registrar determines are necessary, and may take the depositions
of witnesses residing within or outside the state in the same
manner as is prescribed by law for the taking of depositions in
civil actions in the court of common pleas, and for that purpose
the registrar may issue a subpoena for any witness or a subpoena
duces tecum to compel the production of any books, records, or
papers, directed to the sheriff of the county where the witness
resides or is found. Such a subpoena shall be served and returned
in the same manner as a subpoena in a criminal case is served and
returned. The fees of the sheriff shall be the same as that
allowed in the court of common pleas in criminal cases. Witnesses
shall be paid the fees and mileage provided for under section
119.094 of the Revised Code. The fees and mileage shall be paid
from the fund in the state treasury for the use of the agency in
the same manner as other expenses of the agency are paid.
In any case of disobedience or neglect of any subpoena served
on any person or the refusal of any witness to testify to any
matter regarding which the witness lawfully may be interrogated,
the court of common pleas of any county where the disobedience,
neglect, or refusal occurs or any judge of that court, on
application by the registrar, shall compel obedience by attachment
proceedings for contempt, as in the case of disobedience of the
requirements of a subpoena issued from that court, or a refusal to
testify in that court.
Nothing in this division shall be construed to require a
hearing of any nature prior to the termination of any deputy
registrar contract by the registrar, with the approval of the
director, for cause.
(F) Except as provided in section 2743.03 of the Revised
Code, no court, other than the court of common pleas of Franklin
county, has jurisdiction of any action against the department of
public safety, the director, the bureau, or the registrar to
restrain the exercise of any power or authority, or to entertain
any action for declaratory judgment, in the selection and
appointment of, or contracting with, deputy registrars. Neither
the department, the director, the bureau, nor the registrar is
liable in any action at law for damages sustained by any person
because of any acts of the department, the director, the bureau,
or the registrar, or of any employee of the department or bureau,
in the performance of official duties in the selection and
appointment of, and contracting with, deputy registrars.
(G) The registrar shall assign to each deputy registrar a
series of numbers sufficient to supply the demand at all times in
the area the deputy registrar serves, and the registrar shall keep
a record in the registrar's office of the numbers within the
series assigned. Each deputy shall be required to give bond in the
amount of at least twenty-five thousand dollars, or in such higher
amount as the registrar determines necessary, based on a uniform
schedule of bond amounts established by the registrar and
determined by the volume of registrations handled by the deputy.
The form of the bond shall be prescribed by the registrar. The
bonds required of deputy registrars, in the discretion of the
registrar, may be individual or schedule bonds or may be included
in any blanket bond coverage carried by the department.
(H) Each deputy registrar shall keep a file of each
application received by the deputy and shall register that motor
vehicle with the name and address of its owner.
(I) Upon request, a deputy registrar shall make the physical
inspection of a motor vehicle and issue the physical inspection
certificate required in section 4505.061 of the Revised Code.
(J) Each deputy registrar shall file a report semi-annually
semiannually with the registrar of motor vehicles listing the
number of applicants for licenses the deputy has served, the
number of voter registration and preregistration applications the
deputy has completed and transmitted to the board of elections,
and the number of voter registration and preregistration
applications declined.
Sec. 4507.06. (A)(1) Every application for a driver's
license or motorcycle operator's license or endorsement, or
duplicate of any such license or endorsement, shall be made upon
the approved form furnished by the registrar of motor vehicles and
shall be signed by the applicant.
Every application shall state the following:
(a) The applicant's name, date of birth, social security
number if such has been assigned, sex, general description,
including height, weight, color of hair, and eyes, residence
address, including county of residence, duration of residence in
this state, and country of citizenship;
(b) Whether the applicant previously has been licensed as an
operator, chauffeur, driver, commercial driver, or motorcycle
operator and, if so, when, by what state, and whether such license
is suspended or canceled at the present time and, if so, the date
of and reason for the suspension or cancellation;
(c) Whether the applicant is now or ever has been afflicted
with epilepsy, or whether the applicant now is suffering from any
physical or mental disability or disease and, if so, the nature
and extent of the disability or disease, giving the names and
addresses of physicians then or previously in attendance upon the
applicant;
(d) Whether an applicant for a duplicate driver's license, or
duplicate license containing a motorcycle operator endorsement has
pending a citation for violation of any motor vehicle law or
ordinance, a description of any such citation pending, and the
date of the citation;
(e) Whether the applicant wishes to certify willingness to
make an anatomical gift under section 2108.05 of the Revised Code,
which shall be given no consideration in the issuance of a license
or endorsement;
(f) Whether the applicant has executed a valid durable power
of attorney for health care pursuant to sections 1337.11 to
1337.17 of the Revised Code or has executed a declaration
governing the use or continuation, or the withholding or
withdrawal, of life-sustaining treatment pursuant to sections
2133.01 to 2133.15 of the Revised Code and, if the applicant has
executed either type of instrument, whether the applicant wishes
the applicant's license to indicate that the applicant has
executed the instrument;
(g) On and after October 7, 2009, whether the applicant is a
veteran, active duty, or reservist of the armed forces of the
United States and, if the applicant is such, whether the applicant
wishes the applicant's license to indicate that the applicant is a
veteran, active duty, or reservist of the armed forces of the
United States by a military designation on the license.
(2) Every applicant for a driver's license shall be
photographed in color at the time the application for the license
is made. The application shall state any additional information
that the registrar requires.
(B) The registrar or a deputy registrar, in accordance with
section 3503.11 of the Revised Code, shall register or preregister
as an elector any person who applies for a driver's license or
motorcycle operator's license or endorsement under division (A) of
this section, or for a renewal or duplicate of the license or
endorsement, if the applicant is eligible and wishes to be
registered or preregistered as an elector. The decision of an
applicant whether to register or preregister as an elector shall
be given no consideration in the decision of whether to issue the
applicant a license or endorsement, or a renewal or duplicate.
(C) The registrar or a deputy registrar, in accordance with
section 3503.11 of the Revised Code, shall offer the opportunity
of completing a notice of change of residence or change of name to
any applicant for a driver's license or endorsement under division
(A) of this section, or for a renewal or duplicate of the license
or endorsement, if the applicant is a registered elector or
preregistered person who has changed the applicant's residence or
name and has not filed such a notice.
(D) In addition to any other information it contains, on and
after October 7, 2009, the approved form furnished by the
registrar of motor vehicles for an application for a driver's
license or motorcycle operator's license or endorsement or an
application for a duplicate of any such license or endorsement
shall inform applicants that the applicant must present a copy of
the applicant's DD-214 or an equivalent document in order to
qualify to have the license or duplicate indicate that the
applicant is a veteran, active duty, or reservist of the armed
forces of the United States based on a request made pursuant to
division (A)(1)(g) of this section.
Sec. 4507.51. (A)(1) Every application for an identification
card or duplicate shall be made on a form furnished by the
registrar of motor vehicles, shall be signed by the applicant, and
by the applicant's parent or guardian if the applicant is under
eighteen years of age, and shall contain the following information
pertaining to the applicant: name, date of birth, sex, general
description including the applicant's height, weight, hair color,
and eye color, address, and social security number. The
application also shall state whether an applicant wishes to
certify willingness to make an anatomical gift under section
2108.05 of the Revised Code and shall include information about
the requirements of sections 2108.01 to 2108.29 of the Revised
Code that apply to persons who are less than eighteen years of
age. The statement regarding willingness to make such a donation
shall be given no consideration in the decision of whether to
issue an identification card. Each applicant shall be photographed
in color at the time of making application.
(2)(a) The application also shall state whether the applicant
has executed a valid durable power of attorney for health care
pursuant to sections 1337.11 to 1337.17 of the Revised Code or has
executed a declaration governing the use or continuation, or the
withholding or withdrawal, of life-sustaining treatment pursuant
to sections 2133.01 to 2133.15 of the Revised Code and, if the
applicant has executed either type of instrument, whether the
applicant wishes the identification card issued to indicate that
the applicant has executed the instrument.
(b) On and after October 7, 2009, the application also shall
state whether the applicant is a veteran, active duty, or
reservist of the armed forces of the United States and, if the
applicant is such, whether the applicant wishes the identification
card issued to indicate that the applicant is a veteran, active
duty, or reservist of the armed forces of the United States by a
military designation on the identification card.
(3) The registrar or deputy registrar, in accordance with
section 3503.11 of the Revised Code, shall register or preregister
as an elector any person who applies for an identification card or
duplicate if the applicant is eligible and wishes to be registered
or preregistered as an elector. The decision of an applicant
whether to register or preregister as an elector shall be given no
consideration in the decision of whether to issue the applicant an
identification card or duplicate.
(B) The application for an identification card or duplicate
shall be filed in the office of the registrar or deputy registrar.
Each applicant shall present documentary evidence as required by
the registrar of the applicant's age and identity, and the
applicant shall swear that all information given is true. An
identification card issued by the department of rehabilitation and
correction under section 5120.59 of the Revised Code or an
identification card issued by the department of youth services
under section 5139.511 of the Revised Code shall be sufficient
documentary evidence under this division upon verification of the
applicant's social security number by the registrar or a deputy
registrar. Upon issuing an identification card under this section
for a person who has been issued an identification card under
section 5120.59 or section 5139.511 of the Revised Code, the
registrar or deputy registrar shall destroy the identification
card issued under section 5120.59 or section 5139.511 of the
Revised Code.
All applications for an identification card or duplicate
shall be filed in duplicate, and if submitted to a deputy
registrar, a copy shall be forwarded to the registrar. The
registrar shall prescribe rules for the manner in which a deputy
registrar is to file and maintain applications and other records.
The registrar shall maintain a suitable, indexed record of all
applications denied and cards issued or canceled.
(C) In addition to any other information it contains, on and
after the date that is fifteen months after April 7, 2009, the
form furnished by the registrar of motor vehicles for an
application for an identification card or duplicate shall inform
applicants that the applicant must present a copy of the
applicant's DD-214 or an equivalent document in order to qualify
to have the card or duplicate indicate that the applicant is an
honorably discharged veteran of the armed forces of the United
States based on a request made pursuant to division (A)(2)(b) of
this section.
Sec. 5101.54. (A) The director of job and family services
shall administer the supplemental nutrition assistance program in
accordance with the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011
et seq.). The department may:
(1) Prepare and submit to the secretary of the United States
department of agriculture a plan for the administration of the
supplemental nutrition assistance program;
(2) Prescribe forms for applications, certificates, reports,
records, and accounts of county departments of job and family
services, and other matters;
(3) Require such reports and information from each county
department of job and family services as may be necessary and
advisable;
(4) Administer and expend any sums appropriated by the
general assembly for the purposes of the supplemental nutrition
assistance program and all sums paid to the state by the United
States as authorized by the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008;
(5) Conduct such investigations as are necessary;
(6) Enter into interagency agreements and cooperate with
investigations conducted by the department of public safety,
including providing information for investigative purposes,
exchanging property and records, passing through federal financial
participation, modifying any agreements with the United States
department of agriculture, providing for the supply, security, and
accounting of supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits
for investigative purposes, and meeting any other requirements
necessary for the detection and deterrence of illegal activities
in the supplemental nutrition assistance program;
(7) Adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the
Revised Code governing employment and training requirements of
recipients of supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits,
including rules specifying which recipients are subject to the
requirements and establishing sanctions for failure to satisfy the
requirements. The rules shall be consistent with 7 U.S.C. 2015
and, to the extent practicable, may provide for the recipients to
participate in work activities, developmental activities, and
alternative work activities established under sections 5107.40 to
5107.69 of the Revised Code that are comparable to programs
authorized by 7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4). The rules may reference rules
adopted under section 5107.05 of the Revised Code governing work
activities, developmental activities, and alternative work
activities established under sections 5107.40 to 5107.69 of the
Revised Code.
(8) Adopt rules in accordance with section 111.15 of the
Revised Code that are consistent with the Food and Nutrition Act
of 2008, as amended, and regulations adopted thereunder governing
the following:
(a) Eligibility requirements for the supplemental nutrition
assistance program;
(b) Sanctions for failure to comply with eligibility
requirements;
(c) Allotment of supplemental nutrition assistance program
benefits;
(d) To the extent permitted under federal statutes and
regulations, a system under which some or all recipients of
supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits subject to
employment and training requirements established by rules adopted
under division (A)(7) of this section receive the benefits after
satisfying the requirements;
(e) Administration of the program by county departments of
job and family services;
(f) Other requirements necessary for the efficient
administration of the program.
(9) Submit a plan to the United States secretary of
agriculture for the department of job and family services to
operate a simplified supplemental nutrition assistance program
pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 2035 under which requirements governing the
Ohio works first program established under Chapter 5107. of the
Revised Code also govern the supplemental nutrition assistance
program in the case of households receiving supplemental nutrition
assistance program benefits and participating in Ohio works first.
(B) A household that is entitled to receive supplemental
nutrition assistance program benefits and that is determined to be
in immediate need of nutrition assistance, shall receive
certification of eligibility for program benefits, pending
verification, within twenty-four hours, or, if mitigating
circumstances occur, within seventy-two hours, after application,
if:
(1) The results of the application interview indicate that
the household will be eligible upon full verification;
(2) Information sufficient to confirm the statements in the
application has been obtained from at least one additional source,
not a member of the applicant's household. Such information shall
be recorded in the case file, and shall include:
(a) The name of the person who provided the name of the
information source;
(b) The name and address of the information source;
(c) A summary of the information obtained.
The period of temporary eligibility shall not exceed one
month from the date of certification of temporary eligibility. If
eligibility is established by full verification, benefits shall
continue without interruption as long as eligibility continues.
At the time of application, the county department of job and
family services shall provide to a household described in this
division a list of community assistance programs that provide
emergency food.
(C) All applications shall be approved or denied through full
verification within thirty days from receipt of the application by
the county department of job and family services.
(D) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit
the certification of households that qualify under federal
regulations to receive supplemental nutrition assistance program
benefits without charge under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008.
(E) Any person who applies for the supplemental nutrition
assistance program shall receive a voter registration or
preregistration application under section 3503.10 of the Revised
Code.
Sec. 5115.05. (A) The director of job and family services
shall adopt rules in accordance with section 111.15 of the Revised
Code establishing application and verification procedures,
reapplication procedures, and other requirements the director
considers necessary in the administration of the application
process for disability financial assistance. The rules may require
recipients of disability financial assistance to participate in a
reapplication process two months after initial approval for
assistance has been determined and at such other times as
specified in the rules.
(B) Any person who applies for disability financial
assistance shall receive a voter registration or preregistration
application under section 3503.10 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 5505.044. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Campaign committee" means a candidate or a combination
of two or more persons authorized by a candidate to receive
contributions and in-kind contributions and make expenditures on
behalf of the candidate.
(2) "Candidate" means an individual who has been nominated in
accordance with rules adopted under section 5505.047 of the
Revised Code for election to the state highway patrol retirement
board or who is seeking to be elected to fill a vacancy on the
board pursuant to section 5505.042 of the Revised Code.
(3) "Contribution" means a loan, gift, deposit, forgiveness
of indebtedness, donation, advance, payment, transfer of funds or
transfer of anything of value including a transfer of funds from
an inter vivos or testamentary trust or decedent's estate, and the
payment by any person other than the person to whom the services
are rendered for the personal services of another person, which
contribution is made, received, or used for the purpose of
influencing the results of an election to the state highway patrol
retirement board under section 5505.041 or 5505.042 of the Revised
Code or the results of an election to fill a vacancy on the board
pursuant to section 5505.042 of the Revised Code. "Contribution"
does not include:
(a) Services provided without compensation by individuals
volunteering a portion or all of their time on behalf of a person;
(b) Ordinary home hospitality;
(c) The personal expenses of a volunteer paid for by that
volunteer campaign worker.
(4) "Election day" means the following, as appropriate to the
situation:
(a) The last day that ballots for an election to the state
highway patrol retirement board under section 5505.041 or 5505.042
of the Revised Code may be returned in order for the ballot to be
counted;
(b) If, pursuant to section 5505.043 of the Revised Code, no
election is held, the last day that ballots would have been
required to be returned in order to be counted if an election was
to be held under section 5505.041 or 5505.042 of the Revised Code.
(5) "Expenditure" means the disbursement or use of a
contribution for the purpose of influencing the results of an
election to the state highway patrol retirement board under
section 5505.041 or 5505.042 of the Revised Code or the results of
an election to fill a vacancy on the board pursuant to section
5505.042 of the Revised Code.
(6) "Independent expenditure" means an expenditure by an
individual, partnership, or other entity advocating the election
or defeat of an identified candidate or candidates, that is not
made with the consent of, in coordination, cooperation, or
consultation with, or at the request or suggestion of any
candidate or candidates or of the campaign committee or agent of
the candidate or candidates. An independent expenditure shall not
be construed as being a contribution. As used in division (A)(6)
of this section:
(a) "Advocating" means any communication containing a message
advocating election or defeat.
(b) "Identified candidate" means that the name of the
candidate appears, a photograph or drawing of the candidate
appears, or the identity of the candidate is otherwise apparent by
unambiguous reference.
(c) "Made in coordination, cooperation, or consultation with,
or at the request or suggestion of, any candidate or the campaign
committee or agent of the candidate" means made pursuant to any
arrangement, coordination, or direction by the candidate, the
candidate's campaign committee, or the candidate's agent prior to
the publication, distribution, display, or broadcast of the
communication. An expenditure is presumed to be so made when it is
any of the following:
(i) Based on information about the candidate's plans,
projects, or needs provided to the person making the expenditure
by the candidate, or by the candidate's campaign committee or
agent, with a view toward having an expenditure made;
(ii) Made by or through any person who is, or has been,
authorized to raise or expend funds, who is, or has been, an
officer of the candidate's campaign committee, or who is, or has
been, receiving any form of compensation or reimbursement from the
candidate or the candidate's campaign committee or agent;
(iii) Made by a political party in support of a candidate,
unless the expenditure is made by a political party to conduct
voter registration or preregistration or voter education efforts.
(d) "Agent" means any person who has actual oral or written
authority, either express or implied, to make or to authorize the
making of expenditures on behalf of a candidate, or means any
person who has been placed in a position with the candidate's
campaign committee or organization such that it would reasonably
appear that in the ordinary course of campaign-related activities
the person may authorize expenditures.
(7) "In-kind contribution" means anything of value other than
money that is used to influence the results of an election to the
state highway patrol retirement board under section 5505.041 or
5505.042 of the Revised Code or the results of an election to fill
a vacancy on the board pursuant to section 5505.042 of the Revised
Code or is transferred to or used in support of or in opposition
to a candidate and that is made with the consent of, in
coordination, cooperation, or consultation with, or at the request
or suggestion of the benefited candidate. The financing of the
dissemination, distribution, or republication, in whole or in
part, of any broadcast or of any written, graphic, or other form
of campaign materials prepared by the candidate, the candidate's
campaign committee, or their authorized agents is an in-kind
contribution to the candidate and an expenditure by the candidate.
(8) "Personal expenses" includes ordinary expenses for
accommodations, clothing, food, personal motor vehicle or
airplane, and home telephone.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (D) of this
section, each candidate who, or whose campaign committee, receives
contributions or in-kind contributions totaling one thousand
dollars or more or has expenditures totaling one thousand dollars
or more in connection with the candidate's efforts to be elected
to the state highway patrol retirement board shall file with the
secretary of state two complete, accurate, and itemized statements
setting forth in detail the contributions, in-kind contributions,
and expenditures. The statements shall be filed regardless of
whether an election is held or, pursuant to section 5505.043 of
the Revised Code, an election is not held. The statements shall be
made on a form prescribed under section 111.30 of the Revised
Code. Every expenditure shall be vouched for by a receipted bill,
stating the purpose of the expenditures, that shall be filed with
the statement; a canceled check with a notation of the purpose of
the expenditure is a receipted bill for purposes of this division.
The first statement shall be filed not later than four p.m.
on the day that is twelve days before election day. The second
statement shall be filed not sooner than the day that is eight
days after election day and not later than thirty-eight days after
election day. The first statement shall reflect contributions and
in-kind contributions received and expenditures made to the close
of business on the twentieth day before election day. The second
statement shall reflect contributions and in-kind contributions
received and expenditures made during the period beginning on the
nineteenth day before election day and ending on the close of
business on the seventh day after election day.
(C) Each individual, partnership, or other entity who makes
an independent expenditure in connection with the candidate's
efforts to be elected to the state highway patrol retirement board
shall file with the secretary of state two complete, accurate, and
itemized statements setting forth in detail the independent
expenditures. The statements shall be filed regardless of whether
an election is held or, pursuant to section 5505.043 of the
Revised Code, an election is not held. The statements shall be
made on a form prescribed under section 111.30 of the Revised
Code.
The first statement shall be filed not later than four p.m.
on the day that is twelve days before election day. The second
statement shall be filed not sooner than the day that is eight
days after election day and not later than thirty-eight days after
election day. The first statement shall reflect independent
expenditures made to the close of business on the twentieth day
before election day. The second statement shall reflect
independent expenditures made during the period beginning on the
nineteenth day before election day and ending on the close of
business on the seventh day after election day.
(D) Each candidate who, or whose campaign committee, receives
a contribution or in-kind contribution or makes an expenditure in
connection with the candidate's efforts to be elected to fill a
vacancy in the public employees retirement board pursuant to
section 5505.042 of the Revised Code shall file with the secretary
of state a complete, accurate, and itemized statement setting
forth in detail the contributions, in-kind contributions, and
expenditures. The statement shall be made on a form prescribed
under section 111.30 of the Revised Code. Every expenditure shall
be vouched for by a receipted bill, stating the purpose of the
expenditures, that shall be filed with the statement; a canceled
check with a notation of the purpose of the expenditure is a
receipted bill for purposes of this division.
The statement shall be filed within thirty-eight days after
the day the candidate takes office. The statement shall reflect
contributions and in-kind contributions received and expenditures
made to the close of business on the seventh day after the day the
candidate takes office.
Section 2. That existing sections 111.29, 145.053, 329.051,
742.042, 2961.01, 2967.17, 3307.072, 3309.072, 3313.77, 3501.01,
3501.011, 3501.012, 3501.04, 3501.05, 3501.11, 3501.13, 3501.18,
3501.30, 3501.31, 3501.33, 3501.90, 3503.02, 3503.07, 3503.09,
3503.10, 3503.11, 3503.111, 3503.12, 3503.13, 3503.14, 3503.15,
3503.16, 3503.17, 3503.18, 3503.19, 3503.191, 3503.21, 3503.24,
3503.25, 3503.26, 3503.28, 3503.30, 3503.33, 3505.20, 3517.01,
3517.08, 3517.1013, 3517.18, 3599.02, 3599.11, 3599.161, 3599.18,
3599.26, 3599.31, 4501.023, 4503.03, 4507.06, 4507.51, 5101.54,
5115.05, and 5505.044 and sections 3503.29 and 3599.111 of the
Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3. That the version of section 4507.06 of the Revised
Code that is scheduled to take effect January 1, 2017, be amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 4507.06. (A)(1) Every application for a driver's
license, motorcycle operator's license or endorsement, or
motor-driven cycle or motor scooter license or endorsement, or
duplicate of any such license or endorsement, shall be made upon
the approved form furnished by the registrar of motor vehicles and
shall be signed by the applicant.
Every application shall state the following:
(a) The applicant's name, date of birth, social security
number if such has been assigned, sex, general description,
including height, weight, color of hair, and eyes, residence
address, including county of residence, duration of residence in
this state, and country of citizenship;
(b) Whether the applicant previously has been licensed as an
operator, chauffeur, driver, commercial driver, or motorcycle
operator and, if so, when, by what state, and whether such license
is suspended or canceled at the present time and, if so, the date
of and reason for the suspension or cancellation;
(c) Whether the applicant is now or ever has been afflicted
with epilepsy, or whether the applicant now is suffering from any
physical or mental disability or disease and, if so, the nature
and extent of the disability or disease, giving the names and
addresses of physicians then or previously in attendance upon the
applicant;
(d) Whether an applicant for a duplicate driver's license,
duplicate license containing a motorcycle operator endorsement, or
duplicate license containing a motor-driven cycle or motor scooter
endorsement has pending a citation for violation of any motor
vehicle law or ordinance, a description of any such citation
pending, and the date of the citation;
(e) Whether the applicant wishes to certify willingness to
make an anatomical gift under section 2108.05 of the Revised Code,
which shall be given no consideration in the issuance of a license
or endorsement;
(f) Whether the applicant has executed a valid durable power
of attorney for health care pursuant to sections 1337.11 to
1337.17 of the Revised Code or has executed a declaration
governing the use or continuation, or the withholding or
withdrawal, of life-sustaining treatment pursuant to sections
2133.01 to 2133.15 of the Revised Code and, if the applicant has
executed either type of instrument, whether the applicant wishes
the applicant's license to indicate that the applicant has
executed the instrument;
(g) On and after October 7, 2009, whether the applicant is a
veteran, active duty, or reservist of the armed forces of the
United States and, if the applicant is such, whether the applicant
wishes the applicant's license to indicate that the applicant is a
veteran, active duty, or reservist of the armed forces of the
United States by a military designation on the license.
(2) Every applicant for a driver's license shall be
photographed in color at the time the application for the license
is made. The application shall state any additional information
that the registrar requires.
(B) The registrar or a deputy registrar, in accordance with
section 3503.11 of the Revised Code, shall register or preregister
as an elector any person who applies for a license or endorsement
under division (A) of this section, or for a renewal or duplicate
of the license or endorsement, if the applicant is eligible and
wishes to be registered or preregistered as an elector. The
decision of an applicant whether to register or preregister as an
elector shall be given no consideration in the decision of whether
to issue the applicant a license or endorsement, or a renewal or
duplicate.
(C) The registrar or a deputy registrar, in accordance with
section 3503.11 of the Revised Code, shall offer the opportunity
of completing a notice of change of residence or change of name to
any applicant for a driver's license or endorsement under division
(A) of this section, or for a renewal or duplicate of the license
or endorsement, if the applicant is a registered elector or
preregistered person who has changed the applicant's residence or
name and has not filed such a notice.
(D) In addition to any other information it contains, on and
after October 7, 2009, the approved form furnished by the
registrar of motor vehicles for an application for a license or
endorsement or an application for a duplicate of any such license
or endorsement shall inform applicants that the applicant must
present a copy of the applicant's DD-214 or an equivalent document
in order to qualify to have the license or duplicate indicate that
the applicant is a veteran, active duty, or reservist of the armed
forces of the United States based on a request made pursuant to
division (A)(1)(g) of this section.
Section 4. That the existing version of section 4507.06 of
the Revised Code that is scheduled to take effect January 1, 2017,
is hereby repealed.
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