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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 761
2025-2026
Representatives Miller, J., Russo
Cosponsors: Representatives
Abdullahi, Baker, Brennan, Brent, Brewer, Brownlee, Bryant Bailey,
Cockley, Glassburn, Grim, Hall, D., Jarrells, Lawson-Rowe, Lett,
McNally, Mohamed, Piccolantonio, Rader, Sigrist, Sims, Somani,
Synenberg, Tims, Troy, White, E.
To
amend sections 3505.18, 3505.31, 3509.05, 3511.09, and 3511.11 of the
Revised Code
to
allow marked absent voter's ballots to be returned to any polling
place in the county.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
sections 3505.18, 3505.31, 3509.05, 3511.09, and 3511.11 of the
Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec.
3505.18.
(A)(1)
When an elector appears in a polling place to vote, the elector shall
announce to the precinct election officials the elector's full name
and current address and provide photo identification.
(2)
If an elector does not have or is unable to provide photo
identification to the precinct election officials, the elector may
cast a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code.
(3)
If the elector provides photo identification in the form of the
elector's Ohio driver's license, state identification card, or
interim identification form and the photo identification includes a
notation designating that the individual is a noncitizen of the
United States, the election officials shall challenge the elector's
right to vote under division (A) of section 3505.20 of the Revised
Code.
(B)
After the elector has announced the elector's full name and current
address and provided photo identification, the elector shall confirm
the elector's name and address by signing the elector's name at the
proper place in the poll list or signature pollbook provided for the
purpose, except that if, for any reason, an elector is unable to sign
the elector's name in the poll list or signature pollbook, the
elector may make the elector's mark at the place intended for the
elector's name, and a precinct election official shall write the name
of the elector at the proper place on the poll list or signature
pollbook following the elector's mark. The making of such a mark
shall be attested by the precinct election official, who shall
evidence the same by signing the precinct election official's name on
the poll list or signature pollbook as a witness to the mark.
Alternatively, if applicable, an attorney in fact acting pursuant to
section 3501.382 of the Revised Code may sign the elector's signature
in the poll list or signature pollbook in accordance with that
section.
The
elector's signature in the poll list or signature pollbook then shall
be compared with the elector's signature on the elector's
registration form or a digitized signature list as provided for in
section 3503.13 of the Revised Code, and if, in the opinion of a
majority of the precinct election officials, the signatures are the
signatures of the same person, the election officials shall enter the
date of the election on the registration form or shall record the
date by other means prescribed by the secretary of state. The
validity of an attorney in fact's signature on behalf of an elector
shall be determined in accordance with section 3501.382 of the
Revised Code.
If
the right of the elector to vote is not then challenged, or, if being
challenged, the elector establishes the elector's right to vote, the
elector shall be allowed to proceed to use the voting machine. If
voting machines are not being used in that precinct, the precinct
election official in charge of ballots shall then detach the next
ballots to be issued to the elector from Stub B attached to each
ballot, leaving Stub A attached to each ballot, hand the ballots to
the elector, and call the elector's name and the stub number on each
of the ballots. The precinct election official shall enter the stub
numbers opposite the signature of the elector in the pollbook. The
elector shall then retire to one of the voting compartments to mark
the elector's ballots. No mark shall be made on any ballot which
would in any way enable any person to identify the person who voted
the ballot.
(C)(1)
When an elector or a person who is authorized under division
(C)(1)(a) of section 3509.05 of the Revised Code to do so delivers
the elector's marked absent voter's ballots in a return envelope to
the precinct election officials during the time that the polls are
open, the precinct election officials shall place the return envelope
in a secure container designated solely for the purpose of collecting
marked absent voter's ballots and shall deliver the container to the
board of elections after the close of the polls along with the sealed
pollbook, poll list, and tally sheet, as described in section 3505.31
of the Revised Code.
(2)
In a prominent location at or near the entrance to the polling place,
there shall be displayed a sign indicating that marked absent voter's
ballots cast by electors of the county are accepted at the polling
place and that a person is not required to wait in the voting line in
order to deliver those ballots to the precinct election officials.
(3)
The precinct election officials shall not require a person delivering
marked absent voter's ballots to sign in or to complete any form in
order to do so.
(4)
In the area of the polling place in which persons may deliver marked
absent voter's ballots to the precinct election officials, there
shall be prominently displayed a sign indicating that only absent
voter's ballots cast by electors of the relevant county are accepted
and that absent voter's ballots cast by electors of any other county
are not accepted.
Sec.
3505.31.
When
the results of the voting in a polling place on the day of an
election have been determined and entered upon the proper forms and
the certifications of those results have been signed by the precinct
officials, those officials, before leaving the polling place, shall
place all ballots that they have counted in containers provided for
that purpose by the board of elections, and shall seal each container
in a manner that it cannot be opened without breaking the seal or the
material of which the container is made. They shall also seal the
pollbook, poll list or signature pollbook, and tally sheet in a
manner that the data contained in these items cannot be seen without
breaking the seals. On the outside of these items shall be a plain
indication that they are to be filed with the board. The voting
location manager and an employee or appointee of the board of
elections who has taken an oath to uphold the laws and constitution
of this state, including an oath that the person will promptly and
securely perform the duties required under this section and who is a
member of a different political party than the voting location
manager, shall then deliver to the board the containers of ballots
and the sealed pollbook, poll list, and tally sheet, together with
all other election reports, materials, and supplies required to be
delivered to the board
,
including the container of marked absent voter's ballots described in
division (C) of section 3505.18 of the Revised Code
.
The
board shall carefully preserve all ballots prepared and provided by
it for use in an election, whether used or unused, including any
electronic images of ballots, for at least eighty-one days after the
day of the election, except that, if an election includes the
nomination or election of candidates for any of the offices of
president, vice-president, presidential elector, member of the senate
of the congress of the United States, or member of the house of
representatives of the congress of the United States, the board shall
carefully preserve all ballots prepared and provided by it for use in
that election, whether used or unused, for twenty-two months after
the day of the election. If an election is held within that
eighty-one-day period, the board shall have authority to transfer
those ballots to other containers to preserve them until the
eighty-one-day period has expired. After that eighty-one-day period,
the ballots shall be disposed of by the board in a manner that the
board orders, or where voting machines have been used the counters
may be turned back to zero; provided that the secretary of state,
within that eighty-one-day period, may order the board to preserve
the ballots or any part of the ballots for a longer period of time,
in which event the board shall preserve those ballots for that longer
period of time.
In
counties where voting machines are used, if an election is to be held
within the eighty-one days immediately following a primary, general,
or special election or within any period of time within which the
ballots have been ordered preserved by the secretary of state or a
court of competent jurisdiction, the board, after giving notice to
all interested parties and affording them an opportunity to have a
representative present, shall open the compartments of the machines
and, without unlocking the machines, shall recanvass the vote cast in
them as if a recount were being held. The results shall be certified
by the board, and this certification shall be filed in the board's
office and retained for the remainder of the period for which ballots
must be kept. After preparation of the certificate, the counters may
be turned back to zero, and the machines may be used for the
election.
The
board shall carefully preserve the pollbook, poll list or signature
pollbook, and tally sheet delivered to it from each polling place
until it has completed the official canvass of the election returns
from all precincts in which electors were entitled to vote at an
election, and has prepared and certified the abstracts of election
returns, as required by law. The board shall not break, or permit
anyone to break, the seals upon the pollbook, poll list or signature
pollbook, and tally sheet, or make, or permit any one to make, any
changes or notations in these items, while they are in its custody,
except as provided by section 3505.32 of the Revised Code.
Pollbooks
and poll lists or signature pollbooks of a party primary election
delivered to the board from polling places shall be carefully
preserved by it for two years after the day of election in which they
were used, and shall then be disposed of by the board in a manner
that the board orders.
Pollbooks,
poll lists or signature pollbooks, tally sheets, summary statements,
and other records and returns of an election delivered to it from
polling places shall be carefully preserved by the board for two
years after the day of the election in which they were used, and
shall then be disposed of by the board in a manner that the board
orders.
Sec.
3509.05.
(A)
When an elector receives an absent voter's ballot pursuant to the
elector's application or request, the elector shall, before placing
any marks on the ballot, note whether there are any voting marks on
it. If there are any voting marks, the ballot shall be returned
immediately to the board of elections; otherwise, the elector shall
cause the ballot to be marked, folded in a manner that the stub on it
and the indorsements and facsimile signatures of the members of the
board of elections on the back of it are visible, and placed and
sealed within the identification envelope received from the board of
elections for that purpose. Then, the elector shall cause the
statement of voter on the outside of the identification envelope to
be completed and signed, under penalty of election falsification.
(B)
The elector shall provide one of the following:
(1)
The elector's Ohio driver's license or state identification card
number on the statement of voter on the identification envelope;
(2)
The last four digits of the elector's social security number on the
statement of voter on the identification envelope;
(3)
A copy of the elector's photo identification in the return envelope
with the identification envelope.
(C)(1)
(C)(1)(a)
The
elector shall
mail
return
the
identification envelope to
the
office of
the
board of elections in the return envelope
by one of the following methods:
(i)
The elector may mail it to the office of the board
,
postage prepaid
,
or the
.
(ii)
The
elector
may personally deliver it to the office of the board
,
or
the
,
on the day of the election, to the precinct election officials at a
polling place located in the county in which the elector resides.
(iii)
The
spouse
of the elector, the father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law,
grandfather, grandmother, brother, or sister of the whole or half
blood, or the son, daughter, adopting parent, adopted child,
stepparent, stepchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece of the elector
may deliver it to the office of the board
or, on the day of the election, to the precinct election officials at
a polling place located in the county in which the elector resides.
(iv)
If the elector requires assistance to vote by reason of a disability,
any person of the elector's choice, other than the elector's
employer, an agent of the elector's employer, or an officer or agent
of the elector's union, may deliver it to the office of the board or,
on the day of the election, to the precinct election officials at a
polling place located in the county in which the elector resides
.
The
(b)
The
return
envelope shall be returned by no other person, in no other manner,
and to no other location, except as otherwise provided in section
3509.08 of the Revised Code.
(2)
If the board maintains multiple offices in the county, as permitted
under division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code, the board
may designate any of its offices for the return of absent voter's
ballots under this section, provided that the board shall designate
only one office to which absent voter's ballots shall be returned
under this section.
(3)(a)
The board of elections may place not more than one secure receptacle
outside the office of the board, on the property on which the office
of the board is located, for the purpose of receiving absent voter's
ballots under this section.
(b)
A secure receptacle shall be open to receive ballots only during the
period beginning on the first day after the close of voter
registration before the election and ending at seven-thirty p.m. on
the day of the election. The receptacle shall be open to receive
ballots at all times during that period.
(c)
A secure receptacle shall be monitored by recorded video surveillance
at all times. The video recordings are a public record. The board
shall do one of the following:
(i)
Make the video recordings available for inspection upon request in
accordance with section 149.43 of the Revised Code.
(ii)
Make each day's video recording available to the public on the
internet for streaming or download without charge within seventy-two
hours after the recording ends and make the video recordings
available to the public upon request in accordance with section
149.43 of the Revised Code.
(d)
Only a bipartisan team of election officials may open a secure
receptacle or handle its contents. A bipartisan team of election
officials shall collect the contents of each secure receptacle and
deliver them to the board for processing at least once each day and
at seven-thirty p.m. on the day of the election. If, at seven-thirty
p.m. on the day of the election, there are persons waiting in line to
deposit absent voter's ballots in a receptacle, those persons shall
be permitted to deposit the ballots.
(4)(a)
During the period beginning on the forty-fifth day before election
day and ending on the day after election day, on each day the office
of the board of elections is open for business, the board shall
report to the secretary of state all of the following information
concerning the previous business day:
(i)
The number of return envelopes purporting to contain absent voter's
ballots or uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballots the
board received by personal delivery, other than to a receptacle
described in division (C)(3) of this section;
(ii)
If the board has placed a secure receptacle outside the office of the
board under division (C)(3) of this section, the number of return
envelopes purporting to contain absent voter's ballots or uniformed
services or overseas absent voter's ballots the board received in the
receptacle.
(b)
As soon as practicable after receiving a report under division
(C)(4)(a) of this section, the secretary of state shall make the
information in the report available to the public on the secretary of
state's official web site.
(D)
Except as otherwise provided in section 3511.11 of the Revised Code,
all envelopes containing marked absent voter's ballots shall be
delivered to the office of the board
or
to a polling place in the county
not
later than the close of the polls on the day of an election. Absent
voter's ballots delivered to the office of the board
or
to a polling place in the county
later
than the times specified shall not be counted, but shall be kept by
the board in the sealed identification envelopes in which they are
delivered, until the time provided by section 3505.31 of the Revised
Code for the destruction of all other ballots used at the election
for which ballots were provided, at which time they shall be
destroyed.
Sec.
3511.09.
(A)
Upon receiving uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballots,
the elector shall cause the questions on the face of the
identification envelope to be answered, and, by writing the elector's
usual signature in the proper place on the identification envelope,
the elector shall declare under penalty of election falsification
that the answers to those questions are true and correct to the best
of the elector's knowledge and belief. Then, the elector shall note
whether there are any voting marks on the ballot. If there are any
voting marks, the ballot shall be returned immediately to the board
of elections; otherwise, the elector shall cause the ballot to be
marked, folded separately so as to conceal the markings on it,
deposited in the identification envelope, and securely sealed in the
identification envelope. The elector shall sign the identification
envelope not later than the close of the polls on the day of the
election. The elector then shall cause the identification envelope to
be placed within the return envelope, sealed in the return envelope,
and mailed to the board of elections to which it is addressed.
(B)
The elector shall provide one of the following:
(1)
The elector's Ohio driver's license or state identification card
number on the statement of voter on the identification envelope;
(2)
The last four digits of the elector's social security number on the
statement of voter on the identification envelope;
(3)
A copy of the elector's photo identification in the return envelope
with the identification envelope.
(C)
Every uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballot
identification envelope shall be accompanied by the following
statement in boldface capital letters: WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION
FALSIFICATION IS GUILTY OF A FELONY OF THE FIFTH DEGREE.
(D)
The elector shall cause the uniformed services or overseas absent
voter's ballots to be returned
to
the office of the board of elections
in
a manner described in division (C) of section 3509.05 of the Revised
Code, provided that the elector shall not be required to prepay the
postage on the return envelope if, under 39 U.S.C. 3406, no postage
is required.
Sec.
3511.11.
(A)
Uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballots delivered to
the office of the board of elections not later than the close of the
polls on election day shall be processed and counted in the manner
provided in section 3509.06 of the Revised Code.
(B)
A return envelope is not required to be postmarked in order for a
uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballot contained in it
to be valid. Except as otherwise provided in this division, whether
or not the return envelope containing the ballot is postmarked,
contains a late postmark, or contains an illegible postmark, a
uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballot that is received
by mail after the close of the polls on election day through the
fourth day after the election day shall be processed and counted on
the fifth day after the election day at the office of the board of
elections in the manner provided in section 3509.06 of the Revised
Code if the voter signed the identification envelope by the close of
the polls on election day. However, if a return envelope containing a
uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballot is so received,
but the identification envelope in it is signed after the close of
the polls on election day, the uniformed services or overseas absent
voter's ballot shall not be counted.
(C)
The following types of uniformed services or overseas absent voter's
ballots shall not be counted:
(1)
Uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballots that are
received by the board of elections
by
mail
after
the close of the polls on the day of the election, and that contain
an identification envelope that is signed after the close of the
polls on election day;
(2)
Uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballots that are
received
by
mail
after
the fourth day following the election.
The
uncounted ballots shall be preserved in their identification
envelopes unopened until the time provided by section 3505.31 of the
Revised Code for the destruction of all other ballots used at the
election for which ballots were provided, at which time they shall be
destroyed.
Section
2.
That
existing sections 3505.18, 3505.31, 3509.05, 3511.09, and 3511.11 of
the Revised Code are hereby repealed.