S.B. 43
128th General Assembly
(As Introduced)
Sens. D. Miller, Fedor, Turner, Smith, R. Miller, Roberts, Coughlin, Sawyer
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 these 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 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 also may 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 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 also must 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 (R.C. 3513.12(A)).
Under R.C. 3513.12(B)(1), a candidate for the presidency of the
United States must file, or must 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. The declaration of candidacy and petition
must be filed in the same manner as those documents are filed for a candidacy
that is to be submitted to electors throughout the state.
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 may 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 the 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, the Congressional districts in which 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 the
candidate's 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 file with the Secretary of State the rules of the party 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 filed by the state central committee's chairperson not 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
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ACTION |
DATE |
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Introduced |
02-10-09 |
S0043-I-128.docx/jc