S.B.
94
127th General Assembly
(As Introduced)
Sens. D. Miller, Boccieri
BILL SUMMARY
· Allows a political party to select delegates to its national presidential nominating convention according to the party's constitution and bylaws.
· Eliminates the requirement that such delegates be directly elected at the presidential primary election.
CONTENT AND OPERATION
Under existing law, "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 generally are 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. A
"presidential primary election" is a primary election at which an
election is held for the purpose of choosing delegates and alternates to the
national conventions of the major political parties. In years in which a presidential primary election is held, all
primary elections must be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in
March, except as otherwise authorized by municipal or county charter. (R.C. 3501.01(E).)
There are currently two alternate procedures
for selecting delegates to each national party convention. The systems differ for candidates who wish
to appear on the statewide ballot and for those who only wish to appear on the
ballot in certain Congressional districts.
Under the first procedure for candidates for
President of the United States who wish to appear on the statewide ballot, each
person seeking to be elected as a delegate or alternate to the national
convention of the person's political party must sign and file a written
statement of their first and second choices for nomination as the candidate of
the person's party for the presidency of the United States, along with the
person's declaration of candidacy and certificate. The person seeking to be elected as a delegate or alternate may
also file a signed declaration that, if elected as a delegate or alternate to
the national party convention, the person will support the candidate for
President of the United States selected by the voters of the person's party at
the primary.
A person who is a first choice for President
of candidates seeking election as delegates and alternates must file a list,
indicating the order in which certificates of election are to be issued to
delegate or alternate candidates to whose candidacy the person has consented,
with the Secretary of State prior to the day of the election. (R.C. 3513.12.)
Under the alternate procedure, any candidate
for the presidency of the United States who is eligible to receive payments
under the federal "Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account Act"[1] may file a declaration of candidacy with the
Secretary of State. This declaration
must be filed by 4 p.m. of the 60th day before the presidential primary
election held in the same year the candidate is eligible to receive such
payments, and must also indicate the Congressional districts where the person's
candidacy is to be submitted to the voters.
Along with this declaration, the candidate must also file a list of
candidates for district delegate and alternate to the national convention of
the candidate's political party who have been selected in accordance with rules
adopted by the state central committee of the candidate's political party. Those candidates for district delegate and
alternate must also file a declaration of candidacy and a signed, written
statement of their first and second choices for nomination as the candidate for
the presidency of the United States, not later than 4 p.m. on the 60th day
before the presidential primary election.
Candidates for delegate at large and alternate at large who
submit a declaration of candidacy under this alternate procedure must be
selected in accordance with rules adopted by the state central committee of the
presidential candidate's political party.
(R.C. 3513.121.)
R.C. 3513.151 stipulates that under either
procedure the names of the candidates for delegate and alternate to the
national convention generally must appear on the ballot. If the names do appear, they must be
arranged so that an elector may record the vote in the space provided for it by
the name of the first choice for President.
The names of candidates for delegate at large and alternate at large to
the national convention of a political party do not appear on the ballot. Existing law also provides procedures
for the rotation of names on the ballot and coordination with political party
rules.
The bill alters the procedures by which major party candidates access the ballot for the Ohio primary for the office of the President of the United States. As under the existing system, there are two alternate procedures that may be followed, depending upon whether the candidate wishes to appear on the ballot statewide or by individual Congressional district.
Under R.C.
3513.12(B)(1), a candidate for the presidency of the United States must file,
or designate a qualified elector to file on the candidate's behalf, a
declaration of candidacy and a petition signed by at least 1,000 qualified electors who are
members of the same political party as the candidate.
Alternately, under R.C.
3513.12(B)(2), any candidate for the presidency of the United States who is eligible to receive
payments under the "Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account
Act" may file, or designate a qualified elector to file on the candidate's
behalf, a declaration of candidacy and petition with the Secretary of State not
later than 4 p.m. of the 60th day before the presidential primary held in the
same year the candidate is eligible to receive such payments. The candidate must provide written consent for the
candidate's name to be used, and the declaration of candidacy and petition must
be filed in the same manner as a declaration of candidacy and petition is filed
for a candidacy that is to be submitted to the electors of a Congressional
district.
The candidate must
indicate, on the declaration, which Congressional districts the candidacy is to
be submitted to the electors, and must file a separate petition paper for each
Congressional district. Each petition
paper must be signed by at least 50 qualified electors residing in the district
who are members of the same political party as the candidate.
The form used for a
declaration of candidacy must be substantially similar to the general
declaration of candidacy and petition form; however, the Secretary of State
must modify that form to include spaces for a presidential candidate to
indicate which Congressional districts the candidate wishes to submit their
candidacy and may modify it in other ways necessary to adapt it to use by
presidential candidates.
A vote cast for a candidate in a presidential
primary election must be considered to be a vote for the selection of the
applicable number of delegates, as determined by the constitution and bylaws of
the political party for which the candidate is seeking nomination, to vote for
that candidate as the first choice for nomination as the candidate of the
political party for the presidency of the United States at the political
party's national convention (R.C. 3513.12(C)).
Each major political party must submit the rules
that affect the selection of delegates and alternates to its party nominating
convention. These rules must be adopted
by the state central committee of that political party at a meeting open to all
members of the committee's party and must be submitted by the state central
committee's chairperson no later than 15 days prior to the date of the
presidential primary election. (R.C.
3513.12(D)(1).)
After the presidential primary election, the
Secretary of State must issue a certificate of nomination to the state central
committee of each major political party indicating the candidate selected at
the primary as the first choice for nomination as the candidate of the
political party for the presidency of the United States. The party then selects delegates and
alternates to its national convention in accordance with the party's
constitution and bylaws. At each national convention, the delegates must
select, as their first choice, the candidate who is identified on the
certificate of nomination provided by the Secretary of State. (R.C. 3513.12(D)(2) and (3).)
The bill makes various
conforming changes related to the new procedures (R.C. 3501.01(E)(2), 3513.04,
3513.10(C), 3513.13, 3513.14, 3513.15, and 3513.30).
HISTORY
ACTION |
DATE |
|
|
Introduced |
03-06-07 |
s0094-i-127.doc/kl