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Ohio Election Law

This article is an overview of Ohio election law. It does not address Ohio campaign finance law.

Throughout the article are references to the Ohio Revised Code in the form "ORC 3501.32(A)". The code may be accessed on-line at: [1]. Title 35 of the ORC deals with elections.

Election Officials[edit]

The chief elections officer is the Ohio Secretary of State. The Secretary of State is elected to a four-year term in the even-numbered year when the President is not running, after being nominated in partisan primary elections. The Secretary selects a director for the Divisions of Elections, who oversees the day-to-day work.

The Secretary advises the boards of elections on the law and procedures for conducting elections, complies and publishes state election laws, provides educational material on statewide issues for the voters, chairs the Ohio Ballot Board, approves all elections forms and blanks, certifies statewide questions and candidates to the boards of elections, investigates election fraud, oversees a program to update voter registration lists, and distributes voter registration forms. He has the power to subpoena records and conduct investigations in furtherance of these responsibilities. ORC 3501.05

Each of Ohio's eighty-eight counties has a board of elections, which consists of four members, two Republicans and two Democrats, appointed by the Ohio Secretary of State at the recommendation of each county's party. ORC 3501.06, 3501.07. Commonly, the chairmen of each county's party will be on their Board of Elections. The board employs a director, who must be of the opposing political party of the chairman of the board of elections, and a deputy director, who must be of the political party of the chairman of the board. ORC 3501.09. The director of each board of elections acts as its clerk. ORC 3501.13.

Members of boards of elections are forbidden from running for public office, but they may be candidates to party offices (such as precinct committeeman or delegates to the national convention), for presidential electors, and for the board of directors of the county agricultural society. ORC 3501.15.

The boards of elections draw boundaries of voting precincts, acquire voting equipment and supplies (including ballots), appoint a director and deputy director, appoint poll workers, investigate election fraud and violations of election law, certify candidates and questions to the ballot, certify the results of elections to the Secretary of State, investigate the qualifications of those registering to vote, maintain the registration list, submit lists of elected officials to the Secretary of State, and aid the license bureau in registering voters. ORC 3501.11. If there is a tie vote on an issue before the board, the members submit the question to the Secretary of State to break the tie. He may refuse to do so if the law or precedents in a case are clear, returning it to the board to reconsider. ORC 3501.11(W).

Voter Registration[edit]

Voters are required to register. A citizen of the United States may register to vote if he will, by election day, be eighteen years of age and resident in the State of Ohio at least thirty days. Persons in prison for a felony are not eligible to register as long as they are incarcerated, but have their rights restored upon release. Persons judged mentally incompetent (the Ohio Constitution's language is "idiots or insane persons") are also barred from voting. Ohio Constitution, Article V, section 1, ORC 3503.01

A voter's residence is "that place . . . in which his habitation is fixed and to which, whever he is absent, he has the intention of returning." ORC 3503.02(A). A voter temporarily living elsewhere is entitled to vote from his home. ORC 3503.02(B), 3503.02(C), ORC 3503.02 (G). A college student is entitled to vote where he attends school. State ex rel May v. Jones, 16 Ohio App. 2d 140, 242 N.E. 2d 672 (Ohio App. 1968). The Ohio Attorney General has opined that a member of the military from another state is entitled to vote in Ohio if he is stationed in the state. 1960 OAG 1187.

Voters may register by mail or in person at any board of elections, county treasurer's office, license bureau, public library, or public high school. Registration closes on the thirtieth day before an election, but as this is always a Sunday, the effective deadline is the twenty-ninth day. A registration form postmarked by the deadline is considered timely filed. ORC 3503.19

Voters in Ohio, unlike states such as Florida or Kentucky do not register by party and there is no such thing as a "registered" Republican or Democrat in Ohio.

In every county, the health commissioner is required every month to send a list of all persons over eighteen who died in the county to the board of elections so they can be removed from the list of voters. ORC 3503.18. The probate court is required to send a similar list monthly of those declared incompetent and court of common please is also required to monthly notify each board of persons convicted of crimes that would disenfranchise a voter. ORC 3503.18. Each board shall forward information of any person living in another county to the appropriate board. ORC 3503.18.

Once registered, a voter does not have to re-register unless the registration is cancelled for cause. ORC 3503.07. A registration may be cancelled upon the death of a voter, his conviction on a felony charge, his being declared incompetent, his registration in another county or state, or for failing to vote in four consecutive years and failing to respond to a notice from the board of elections. ORC 3503.21. The boards of elections must notify voters before cancelling a registration for not having voted. ORC 3503.21.

Any candidate, party, or organized group is entitled to purchase copies of the list of voters. ORC 3503.23

The Secretary of State is required to keep a statewide master file of all voters. ORC 3503.27.

Political Parties[edit]

Candidates[edit]

Form of the Ballot[edit]

Only those candidates nominated in a party primary or named by a recognized party comittee to replace a candidate are eligible to have a party label by their name on the ballot. No emblems, pictures, or symbols are allowed on the ballot. ORC 3505.03. Candidates names must be rotated so that candidates can not benefit by being the first listed. ORC 3505.03.

Offices are listed in the following order for partisan office: governor and lieutenant governor, attorney general, auditor of state, secretary of state, treasurer of state, United States senator, United States representative, state senator, state representative, county commissioner, county auditor, prosecuting attorney, clerk of the court of common pleas, sheriff, county recorder, county treasurer, county engineer, and coroner. ORC 3503.03. On non-partisan ballots the offices are listed in this order: member of the Ohio State Board of Education, judges (with the Ohio Supreme Court first, the district courts of appeals second, and county offices last), municipal offices, township offices, and local school boards. ORC 3505.04.

Offices Elected[edit]

This is a list of offices voted on in Ohio.

Federal[edit]

Electors for President and Vice President
United States Senator
United States Representative

State[edit]

Governor and Lieutenant Governor, who run on a single ticket
Secretary of State
Auditor of State
Treasurer of State
Attorney General
The Chief Justice and six associate justices of the Ohio Supreme Court
Members of the Ohio General Assembly, which consists of 33 Senators and 99 Representatives
Judges of the twelve Courts of Appeals

County[edit]

In all counties except Summit:

Three county commissioners
County auditor
Prosecuting attorney
County clerk of court of common pleas
County sheriff
County recorder
County treasurer
County engineer
County coroner
Judges of the Court of Common Pleas
Judges of the County Court, in some counties

Municipal[edit]

Mayors in some cities and villages
City or village council
Board of Public Affairs, in some villages
Solicitor in some cities and villages
Clerk in some villages

Townships[edit]

Three trustees
Township clerk

Schools[edit]

Eleven members of the Ohio State Board of Education
Five or seven members of the Board of Education of a local, city, or exempted village school district

Getting on the Ballot[edit]

Candidates for public office must file either a declaration of candidacy or nominating petitions with the Secretary of State or one of the boards of election. (In this section, "petition" referes to both declarations and petitions.) All petitions must be signed by a certain number of registered voters, be in ink, include the address a voter is registered at, and be dated. ORC 3501.08. A person who is not registered at the time he signs will be a valid signature if a voter registration form is filed before the petition. (The circulator of a petition simply has a voter complete a form and when the papers are filed, the registration forms are presented first so they can be stamped received, then the petitions are presented.) All signatures must be witnessed by a registered voter, who must attest that he saw every person sign. Leaving a petition in a public place for voters to sign is not permitted. ORC 3501.08. Once petitions are filed, no additional signatures may be filed, even if there are insufficent names to qualify for the ballot or for any other defect. ORC 3501.08.

Issues[edit]

Issues must be certified to the ballot no later than the seventy-fifth day before the election. ORC 3501.02(F). On the ballot, questions have a brief caption (e.g. "Proposed Constitutional Amendment"), a brief summary, and the conditions for passage (e.g. "a majority vote is necessary for passage"). The full text does not need appear on the ballot. ORC 3505.06.

Initiative[edit]

Referendum[edit]

Recall[edit]

Local Option Elections[edit]

Election Day Procedures[edit]

Voting Hours[edit]

Polls open at 6:30 A.M. and close at 7:30 P.M. Any person standing in line at closing time is entitled to cast a ballot. ORC 3501.32(A). On Ottawa County's islands (e.g. in Put-in-Bay), the polls may be closed early if all registered voters have voted. ORC 3501.32(B).

Precincts[edit]

The boards of elections divide counties into precincts. They may not alter the boundaries in the twenty-five days before an election nor alter them between January 1 and the date of the primary election in a year when county central committee members are elected. Except in an emergency, the boards may not move a polling place in the twenty-five days before an election. Precincts are not to have more than eight-hundred electors each. The polling place for a precinct may be outside the geographical ambit of a precinct. ORC 3501.18. Voters must be informed in any change in the location of a polling place by mail. ORC 3501.21.

Poll Workers[edit]

At each precinct, there are four poll workers, called "judges", two Republicans and two Democrats. All poll workers must take a class on their duties. All poll wokers must be registered voters in the county they serve in and be able to read and write English. No person who has been convicted of a felony or of violating election laws shall be eligble. A person who is a candidate for office can not serve as a poll worker in any precinct that his candidacy is on the ballot. ORC 3501.27, 3501.22. Poll workers must be paid at least minimum wage, but not more than $70 per day. ORC 3501.28. Poll workers taking materials to the board of elections can claim mileage expenses. ORC 3501.26.

The boards of elections may appoint interpreters in some precincts for voters who do not understand English. ORC 3501.221.

When the polls close, the judges count the number of voters, the number of unused ballots, the number of spoiled ballots, and count the number of used ballots. If there is a discrepancy, the judges must account for it. They must certify all these numbers, seal the ballots and the poll books in the ballot box. ORC 3501.26. One of the poll workers is designated "presiding judge" and must deliver the ballot box to the Board of Elections after the polls are closed. ORC 3501.25.

Supplies[edit]

Every polling place is required to have a ballot box, voting booths, a map of the precinct showing its boundaries and all streets within it, a large American flag to be displayed outside the polling place, and small American flags placed at the limit where campaigning is forbidden. ORC 3501.30.

To Vote[edit]

A voter must state his name and address to the pollworkers, who record it in a book. He then signs his name, which is compared with the signature on file. Unless challenged, he casts his ballot then returns it to the pollworkers. They will remove the stub and deposit the ballot into the box. The ballot may not contain any marks or numbers in order to trace an voter's ballot. ORC 3505.18.

Voters are allowed up to five minutes to mark their ballots if all the booths are occupied and there is a line waiting. Voters may not have another person in the booth with them or speak to other persons while voting. ORC 3505.23. However, illiterate or disabled voters who cannot vote without assistance are entitled to have two pollworkers of differing parties aid them or to have a near relative help. ORC 3505.24. A blind voter may have any person he chooses help him. ORC 3505.24.

When ballots are used, a voter who makes a mistake may return it for a replacement and is entitled to make a second mistake. A maximum of three ballots is permitted a voter. ORC 3505.23.

Absentee Ballots[edit]

Any voter may request an absentee ballot from his Board of Elections if he is or will be:

Out of the county on Election Day
Over the age of 62
Physically disabled
A firefighter, police officer, or emergency services officer on active duty
An elections official
In jail serving time on a misdemeanor or awaiting trial on a felony ORC 3509.02

However, the Boards of Election do not validate one's reason for requesting a ballot unlike some states such as West Virginia, which requires a doctor's note if a voter claims disability.

Requests must be made in writing. Though there is an official form to request a ballot, voters do not need to use it as long as they provide their name, the address they are registered at, the reason for requesting a ballot, the address to which the ballot should be mailed, the party whose ballot they are requesting (if a primary election), their signature, and the date they signed the request. ORC 3509.03.

Requests for absentee ballots to be mailed must be received by the boards of elections by noon on the Friday before the election. A person who is hospitalized on election day can request a ballot be delivered in person by elections official if the request is made by two p.m. ORC 3509.03, 3509.08.

While "early voting" is not authorized per se, a person who requests an absentee ballot can do so in person and vote the ballot at the office of the board of elections.

Absentee ballots must be received by the board of elections by the time the polls close, 7:30 p.m. on election day unless the voter is out of the country. A ballot must returned by mail in the envelope provided or in person by the voter or a close relative named in the statute. In that case, the ballot will count if it is postmarked no later than election day and is received by the board of election no later than the tenth day after the election. ORC 3509.05

Interferring With Voters[edit]

No person except for voters, elections officials, witnesses, challengers, and police are permitted within a polling place or within a one-hundred foot radius of a polling place. Campaigning within this area is prohibited. ORC 3501.30. Members of the press are legally not permitted within this area, but it is sometimes overlooked and in 2004 the Columbus Dispatch had many of its employees appointed official witnesses so as to comply with the law.

Challengers[edit]

A voter may be challenged before the election. Any person may make such a challenge, either in person at the board of elections or by writing the board. The board is required to hold a hearing on whether the voter is properly registered. ORC 3505.19.

Any voter may be challenged on election day by official challengers, any other voter entitled to be in the polling place, or the pollworkers. However, if a voter had been challenged before the board of elections previously, the issues raised before the board shall not be grounds to challenge a voter on election day. The law specifies the questions that may be asked, which include:

Are you a citizen of the United States?
Are you a native or naturalized citizen?
Where were you born?
Are you eighteen years or age of more?
Questions about where a person lives, if he has been absent from the state, and his intentions on being absent may be asked

A naturalized citizen may be required to produce his naturalization papers. ORC 3505.20

Any party or group of at least five candidates may appoint a challenger in every precinct. Candidates and uniformed policemen, firemen, state troopers, and military servicemen carrying weapons may not be challengers. Lists of challengers and their addresses must be filed with the boards of elections. ORC 3505.21.

The Count[edit]

The Canvass[edit]

The official canvass of returns shall begin by the fifteenth day after an election, but not before the eleventh day after the election. ORC 3505.32. Parties, candidates, and petitioners who put questions on the ballot may designated representatives to witness the canvass. ORC 3505.32. Official returns for the statewide executive offices shall be sent by the boards of elections to the President of the Ohio State Senate who shall open them in a joint session of the Ohio General Assembly and declare the winners. ORC 3505.33, 3505.34.

Official returns of all state and federal offices shall be sent to the Secretary of State. No later than ten days after he receives all the returns, he shall conduct the official canvass and certify the winners. ORC 3505.33, 3505.35.

Tie Votes[edit]

A tie vote shall be resolved by the chairman of the board of elections or the Secretary of State drawing lots. ORC 3505.23, 3505.35.

Recounts and Contests[edit]

Presidential Electors[edit]

Electors meet at noon on the day provided by Congress in the state capitol. The electors may replace any vacancies in their number by ballot. Electors are required to vote for the candidate they were pledged to. ORC 3505.39, 3505.40.