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As Passed by the Senate
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
Am. S. B. No. 4
2025-2026
Senator Gavarone
Cosponsors: Senators Cirino,
Reynolds, Timken
A
BILL
To
amend
section
3501.05
and to enact section 3501.055 of the Revised Code
to
establish the Election Integrity Unit in the Office of the Secretary
of State and to modify the law governing the prosecution of Election
Law violations.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
section
3501.05
be amended and section 3501.055 of the Revised Code be enacted to
read as follows:
Sec.
3501.05.
The
secretary of state shall do all of the following:
(A)
Appoint all members of boards of elections;
(B)
Issue instructions by directives and advisories in accordance with
section 3501.053 of the Revised Code to members of the boards as to
the proper methods of conducting elections.
(C)
Prepare rules and instructions for the conduct of elections;
(D)
Publish and furnish to the boards from time to time a sufficient
number of indexed copies of all election laws then in force;
(E)
Edit and issue all pamphlets concerning proposed laws or amendments
required by law to be submitted to the voters;
(F)
Prescribe the form of registration cards, blanks, and records;
(G)
Determine and prescribe the forms of ballots and the forms of all
blanks, cards of instructions, pollbooks, tally sheets, certificates
of election, and forms and blanks required by law for use by
candidates, committees, and boards;
(H)
Prepare the ballot title or statement to be placed on the ballot for
any proposed law or amendment to the constitution to be submitted to
the voters of the state;
(I)
Except as otherwise provided in section 3519.08 of the Revised Code,
certify to the several boards the forms of ballots and names of
candidates for state offices, and the form and wording of state
referendum questions and issues, as they shall appear on the ballot;
(J)
Except as otherwise provided in division (I)(2)(b) of section 3501.38
of the Revised Code, give final approval to ballot language for any
local question or issue approved and transmitted by boards of
elections under section 3501.11 of the Revised Code;
(K)
Receive all initiative and referendum petitions on state questions
and issues and determine and certify to the sufficiency of those
petitions;
(L)
Require such reports from the several boards as are provided by law,
or as the secretary of state considers necessary;
(M)
Compel the observance by election officers in the several counties of
the requirements of the election laws;
(N)(1)
Except as otherwise provided in division (N)(2) of this section,
through
the election integrity unit created under section 3501.055 of the
Revised Code,
investigate
the administration of election laws, frauds, and irregularities in
elections in any county, and report violations of election laws to
the attorney general or prosecuting attorney, or both, for
prosecution;
(2)
On and after August 24, 1995, report a failure to comply with or a
violation of a provision in sections 3517.08 to 3517.13, 3517.20 to
3517.22, 3599.03, or 3599.031 of the Revised Code, whenever the
secretary of state has or should have knowledge of a failure to
comply with or a violation of a provision in one of those sections,
by filing a complaint with the Ohio elections commission under
section 3517.153 of the Revised Code.
(O)
Make an annual report to the governor containing the results of
elections, the cost of elections in the various counties, a
tabulation of the votes in the several political subdivisions, and
other information and recommendations relative to elections the
secretary of state considers desirable;
(P)
Prescribe and distribute to boards of elections a list of
instructions indicating all legal steps necessary to petition
successfully for local option elections under sections 4301.32 to
4301.41, 4303.29, 4305.14, and 4305.15 of the Revised Code;
(Q)
Adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code for the
removal by boards of elections of ineligible voters from the
statewide voter registration database and, if applicable, from the
poll list or signature pollbook used in each precinct, which rules
shall provide for all of the following:
(1)
A process for the removal of voters who have changed residence, which
shall be uniform, nondiscriminatory, and in compliance with the
Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the National Voter Registration Act of
1993, including a program that uses the national change of address
service provided by the United States postal system through its
licensees;
(2)
A process for the removal of ineligible voters under section 3503.21
of the Revised Code;
(3)
A uniform system for marking or removing the name of a voter who is
ineligible to vote from the statewide voter registration database
and, if applicable, from the poll list or signature pollbook used in
each precinct and noting the reason for that mark or removal.
(R)
Prescribe a general program for registering voters or updating voter
registration information, such as name and residence changes, by
boards of elections, designated agencies, offices of deputy
registrars of motor vehicles, public high schools and vocational
schools, public libraries, and offices of county treasurers
consistent with the requirements of section 3503.09 of the Revised
Code;
(S)
Prescribe a program of distribution of voter registration forms
through boards of elections, designated agencies, offices of the
registrar and deputy registrars of motor vehicles, public high
schools and vocational schools, public libraries, and offices of
county treasurers;
(T)
To the extent feasible, provide copies, at no cost and upon request,
of the voter registration form in post offices in this state;
(U)
Adopt rules pursuant to section 111.15 of the Revised Code for the
purpose of implementing the program for registering voters through
boards of elections, designated agencies, and the offices of the
registrar and deputy registrars of motor vehicles consistent with
this chapter;
(V)
Establish the full-time position of Americans with Disabilities Act
coordinator within the office of the secretary of state to do all of
the following:
(1)
Assist the secretary of state with ensuring that there is equal
access to polling places for persons with disabilities;
(2)
Assist the secretary of state with ensuring that each voter may cast
the voter's ballot in a manner that provides the same opportunity for
access and participation, including privacy and independence, as for
other voters;
(3)
Advise the secretary of state in the development of standards for the
certification of voting machines, marking devices, and automatic
tabulating equipment.
(W)
Establish and maintain a computerized statewide database of all
legally registered voters under section 3503.15 of the Revised Code
that complies with the requirements of the "Help America Vote
Act of 2002," Pub. L. No. 107-252, 116 Stat. 1666, and provide
training in the operation of that system;
(X)
Ensure that all directives, advisories, other instructions, or
decisions issued or made during or as a result of any conference or
teleconference call with a board of elections to discuss the proper
methods and procedures for conducting elections, to answer questions
regarding elections, or to discuss the interpretation of directives,
advisories, or other instructions issued by the secretary of state
are posted on a web site of the office of the secretary of state as
soon as is practicable after the completion of the conference or
teleconference call, but not later than the close of business on the
same day as the conference or teleconference call takes place.
(Y)
Publish a report on a web site of the office of the secretary of
state not later than one month after the completion of the canvass of
the election returns for each primary and general election,
identifying, by county, the number of absent voter's ballots cast and
the number of those ballots that were counted, and the number of
provisional ballots cast and the number of those ballots that were
counted, for that election. The secretary of state shall maintain the
information on the web site in an archive format for each subsequent
election.
(Z)
Conduct voter education outlining voter identification, absent voters
ballot, provisional ballot, and other voting requirements;
(AA)
Establish a procedure by which a registered elector may make
available to a board of elections a more recent signature to be used
in the poll list or signature pollbook produced by the board of
elections of the county in which the elector resides;
(BB)
Disseminate information, which may include all or part of the
official explanations and arguments, by means of direct mail or other
written publication, broadcast, or other means or combination of
means, as directed by the Ohio ballot board under division (F) of
section 3505.062 of the Revised Code, in order to inform the voters
as fully as possible concerning each proposed constitutional
amendment, proposed law, or referendum;
(CC)
Be the single state office responsible for the implementation of the
"Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act," Pub.
L. No. 99-410, 100 Stat. 924, 42 U.S.C. 1973ff, et seq., as amended,
in this state. The secretary of state may delegate to the boards of
elections responsibilities for the implementation of that act,
including responsibilities arising from amendments to that act made
by the "Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act,"
Subtitle H of the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2010," Pub. L. No. 111-84, 123 Stat. 3190.
(DD)
Adopt rules, under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, to establish
procedures and standards for determining when a board of elections
shall be placed under the official oversight of the secretary of
state, placing a board of elections under the official oversight of
the secretary of state, a board that is under official oversight to
transition out of official oversight, and the secretary of state to
supervise a board of elections that is under official oversight of
the secretary of state.
(EE)
Perform other duties required by law.
Whenever
a primary election is held under section 3513.32 of the Revised Code
or a special election is held under section 3521.03 of the Revised
Code to fill a vacancy in the office of representative to congress,
the secretary of state shall establish a deadline, notwithstanding
any other deadline required under the Revised Code, by which any or
all of the following shall occur: the filing of a declaration of
candidacy and petitions or a statement of candidacy and nominating
petition together with the applicable filing fee; the filing of
protests against the candidacy of any person filing a declaration of
candidacy or nominating petition; the filing of a declaration of
intent to be a write-in candidate; the filing of campaign finance
reports; the preparation of, and the making of corrections or
challenges to, precinct voter registration lists; the receipt of
applications for absent voter's ballots or uniformed services or
overseas absent voter's ballots; the supplying of election materials
to precincts by boards of elections; the holding of hearings by
boards of elections to consider challenges to the right of a person
to appear on a voter registration list; and the scheduling of
programs to instruct or reinstruct election officers.
In
the performance of the secretary of state's duties as the chief
election officer, the secretary of state may administer oaths, issue
subpoenas, summon witnesses, compel the production of books, papers,
records, and other evidence, and fix the time and place for hearing
any matters relating to the administration and enforcement of the
election laws.
In
any controversy involving or arising out of the adoption of
registration or the appropriation of funds for registration, the
secretary of state may, through the attorney general, bring an action
in the name of the state in the court of common pleas of the county
where the cause of action arose or in an adjoining county, to
adjudicate the question.
In
any action involving the laws in Title XXXV of the Revised Code
wherein the interpretation of those laws is in issue in such a manner
that the result of the action will affect the lawful duties of the
secretary of state or of any board of elections, the secretary of
state may, on the secretary of state's motion, be made a party.
The
secretary of state may apply to any court that is hearing a case in
which the secretary of state is a party, for a change of venue as a
substantive right, and the change of venue shall be allowed, and the
case removed to the court of common pleas of an adjoining county
named in the application or, if there are cases pending in more than
one jurisdiction that involve the same or similar issues, the court
of common pleas of Franklin county.
Public
high schools and vocational schools, public libraries, and the office
of a county treasurer shall implement voter registration programs as
directed by the secretary of state pursuant to this section.
Sec.
3501.055.
(A)
There is in the office of the secretary of state the election
integrity unit.
(B)
Under the direction of the secretary of state, the election integrity
unit shall do all of the following:
(1)
Investigate allegations of election fraud and voter suppression,
including any alleged violation of Chapter 3599. of the Revised Code,
other than an alleged violation of section 3599.03 or 3599.031 of the
Revised Code, on the unit's own initiative or upon receiving a
complaint;
(2)
Allow the public to submit allegations of election fraud and voter
suppression to the unit;
(3)
Refer allegations submitted to the unit or otherwise investigated by
the unit under this section to a prosecutor, a law enforcement
agency, or another state or federal agency for further investigation
or prosecution, as appropriate;
(4)
Submit a report to the governor and the general assembly not later
than the fifteenth day of January of each year. The report shall
include all of the following with respect to the previous calendar
year:
(a)
The number of allegations the unit received from members of the
public;
(b)
The number of allegations the unit investigated on its own
initiative;
(c)
The number of allegations the unit referred to another agency for
further investigation or prosecution;
(d)
All of the following concerning each allegation:
(i)
The general nature of the allegation;
(ii)
The county in which the violation is alleged to have occurred;
(iii)
Whether the allegation has been referred to another agency for
further investigation or prosecution, and if so, to which agency;
(iv)
The current status of the investigation or any resulting criminal or
civil proceeding.
(C)
In performing its duties, the election integrity unit may administer
oaths, issue subpoenas, summon witnesses, compel the production of
books, papers, records, and other evidence, and hold hearings.
(D)
Within one year after receiving a referral for further investigation
or prosecution from the election integrity unit, the prosecuting
attorney shall either prosecute the violation or provide to the
election integrity unit a written statement explaining the reason for
declining to prosecute the referral or requesting any additional
evidence needed to meet the prima facie standard established under
section 3599.42 of the Revised Code. If the prosecuting attorney
declines to prosecute the violation within one year after receiving
the referral, the election integrity unit may refer the violation to
the attorney general for further investigation or prosecution. If the
prosecuting attorney or the attorney general requests additional
evidence, the election integrity unit shall provide such evidence, if
available, within ninety days after receiving the request. Within one
hundred eighty days after receiving the additional evidence, the
prosecuting attorney either shall prosecute the violation or provide
a written statement to the election integrity unit explaining a
reason for declining to prosecute. If the prosecuting attorney fails
to provide this statement or prosecute within one hundred eighty days
after receiving the additional evidence, the election integrity unit
may refer the violation to the attorney general for further
investigation or prosecution.
Section
2.
That
existing
section
3501.05
of the Revised Code
is
hereby
repealed.