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HB 260 - Election Law Amendments - Key Vote

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Legislation - Bill Passed (House) (52-46) - (Key vote)

Title: Election Law Amendments

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that issues various amendments to state election law, including, but not limited to, eliminating same day voter registration and application for absentee ballots, authorizing county Board of Elections to increase the number of polling places for early voting, and amending the requirements for presenting photo identification to vote.

Highlights:
-Repeals the period in which voters may dually register to vote and apply for an absentee ballot by amending the deadline for absentee ballots to be printed and ready for use as follows (Sec. 1):
    -Existing law: for all ballots, 35 days before the election; and -New law:
      -For absentee voters, other than overseas voters and absent uniformed services voters, 28 days before the election; and -For overseas voters and absent uniformed services voters, 45 days before an election.
-Increases the number of possible locations a county Board of Elections may establish for early voting from 1 to 4, provided a majority of the Board of Elections voted to expand beyond 1 location (Sec. 1). -Repeals the requirement that only an individual or an individual's immediate family member may personally deliver an absentee ballot to the the Board of Elections, and authorizes an individual to appoint another individual to personally deliver an absentee ballot (Sec. 1). -Amends the requirements for presenting photo identification to vote as follows (Sec. 1):
    -Expands the list of authorized documents to include photo identification issued by a public, private, or proprietary institution of higher education; -Repeals the requirement that the photo identification list the current address of the individual; and -Authorizes individuals to, in lieu of presenting photo identification, provide a signed affirmation, made under penalty of election falsification, as to the voter's identity.
-Requires the Secretary of State to establish policies that require any change of address form submitted to change an individual's address on a driver's license also serve as notification of change of address for voter registration, unless the individual states on the form that the change of address is not for voter registration purposes (Sec. 1). -Requires the Secretary of State to establish a secure Internet website to allow qualified individuals to do any of the following (Sec. 1):
    -Register to vote; -Change the individual's name, address, or other information in the individual's current voter registration record; and -Determine the status of the individual's previously submitted voter registration application and correct an error or omission on that application.
-Amends the number ballots required to be prepared for each election from 1 percent more ballots than the total registration in the precinct (unless the Board of Elections opts to provide additional ballots on demand) to the following (Sec. 1):
    -For regular state elections when the office of President or Governor appears on the ballot, at least 101 percent of the total registration in the precinct; -For partisan primaries, at least 150 percent of the number voters who voted in that party's primary election the previous primary election in that precinct, or if the party has not held a primary election in that precinct within the past 4 years, at least 50 percent of the number of voters who voted in any other party's primary election; -For ballots containing only questions and issues, at least 150 percent of the number of voters who voted only a questions and issues ballot in the previous applicable special election; and -For special elections held on a day other than the day of a primary or general election, at least 60 percent of the total registration in the precinct.
-Specifies that if the Board of Elections finds that the aforementioned minimum number of ballots required for a precinct is less than the number of ballots cast in that precinct in the previous applicable election, the Board of Elections must provide for ballots equal to the lesser of the following (Sec. 1):
    -At least 125 percent of the number of ballots cast in the previous applicable election; or -At least 101 percent of the total registration in that precinct.
-Amends the filing deadline for candidates from 75 days to 85 days before the election, including, but not limited to, U.S. Presidential candidates running in a primary, candidates running as independents in a primary, and all other candidates running in a General Election (Sec. 1). -Amends the certification deadline for all questions and issues appearing on the ballot in a General Election from 75 days to 85 days before an election, including those limited to cities, townships, and villages (Sec. 1). -Requires the Secretary of State and the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to enter into an agreement to match information in the statewide voter registration database with information in the database of the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to enable each official to verify the accuracy of the information provided on applications for voter registration (Sec. 1). -Specifies that a driver's license number, social security number, or date of birth mismatch between voter registration forms, motor vehicle records, and social security records shall not be the sole basis for any of the following (Sec. 1):
    -Failing to add a voter to the statewide voter registration database; -Challenging or upholding a challenge to an individual's voter registration, an individual's right to case a regular or absentee ballot, or an individual's complete regular, provisional, or absentee ballot; -Canceling an individual's voter registration; -Requiring an individual to vote a provisional ballot; or -Failing to provide a regular ballot or absentee ballot to an otherwise eligible voter.
See The Voting Record

Legislation - Introduced (House) -

Title: Ohio Election Law

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