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Ohio Laws and Rules
Am. Sub. H.B. No. 3 of the 126th General Assembly requires the secretary of state to develop and make available through a web site of the office of the secretary of state a training program for any person who receives or expects to receive compensation for registering a voter. This chapter specifies the information to be included in the online training program, prescribe a program under which the secretary of state shall register any person who receives or expects to receive compensation for registering a voter in this state, establish content, establish registration requirements, and clarify points of interpretation required for the proper administration of sections 3503.28 and 3503.29 of the Revised Code.
Notwithstanding these rules, persons receiving or expecting to receive compensation for registering voters must comply with all applicable sections of the Ohio Revised Code.
Effective: 07/27/2006
R.C. 119.032 review dates: 07/01/2011
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 3503.29
Rule Amplifies: 3503.29, 3503.28
For purposes of this chapter and compliance with sections 3503.28 and 3503.29 of the Revised Code:
(A) “Registering a voter” and “registering voters” is any effort, for compensation, to provide voter registration forms or to assist persons in completing or returning those forms.
(B) A “person” is an individual human being, not an entity or organization.
(C) “Returning” shall include delivering a voter registration form to an Ohio county board of elections, the Ohio secretary of state or the United States postal service.
(D) “Exempt person” is an individual person, acting in an official capacity as any of the following:
(1) An election official;
(2) A county treasurer;
(3) A deputy registrar of motor vehicles;
(4) An employee of a designated agency;
(5) An employee of a public high school;
(6) An employee of a public vocational school;
(7) An employee of a public library;
(8) An employee of the office of a county treasurer;
(9) An employee of the bureau of motor vehicles;
(10) An employee of a deputy registrar of motor vehicles;
(11) An employee of an election official.
(E) “Online training program,” “training program,” and “the program” mean the online training program prescribed by section 3503.29 of the Revised Code.
(F) “Permanent Address” means the street address or location at which a person is registered to vote. If a person is not registered to vote, permanent address means the street address or location of the principal residence of a person, which shall be determined using the same criteria as that for registering a voter under section3503.02 of the Revised Code.
Effective: 07/27/2006
R.C. 119.032 review dates: 07/01/2011
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 3503.29
Rule Amplifies: 3503.29, 3503.28
(A) Any person who receives or expects to receive compensation for registering a voter shall complete the online training program specified in rule 111-12-04 of the Administrative Code before registering any voter. None of the following are required to register under these rules:
(1) exempt persons as defined in paragraph (C) of rule 111-12-02 of the Administrative Code or;
(2) employees or agents of the United States Postal Service who are acting in their official capacity.
(B) Any person that completes the online training program specified in this rule and returns the signed affirmation as required by sections 3503.28 and 3503.29 of the Revised Code shall be eligible to register voters in this state. The term of eligibility for the privilege to register voters shall be one calendar year from the date of completion of the online training program.
(C) The information contained in the online training program shall include:
(1) Eligibility standards for persons receiving compensation for registering others to vote;
(2) Eligibility standards to be an Ohio elector;
(3) The applicable deadlines for registering to vote or for returning an applicant’s completed registration form;
(4) The applicable deadlines for returning an applicant’s completed registration form if the person returning the form is being compensated for registering voters;
(5) The locations to which a person may return a completed voter registration form;
(6) The location to which a person who is compensated for registering voters may return an applicant’s completed registration form;
(7) The registration and affirmation requirements applicable to persons who are compensated for registering voters under section 3503.29 of the Revised Code;
(8) Information pertaining to voter identification requirements, including the following notice to be used in the course of registering voters: “Voters must bring identification to the polls in order to verify identity. Identification may include a current and valid photo identification, a military identification that shows the voter’s name and current address, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document, other than a notice of an election or a voter registration notification sent by a board of elections, that shows the voter’s name and current address. Voters who do not provide one of these documents will still be able to vote by providing the last four digits of the voter’s social security number and by casting a provisional ballot. Voters who do not have any of the above forms of identification, including a social security number, will still be able to vote by signing an affirmation swearing to the voter’s identity under penalty of election falsification and by casting a provisional ballot.”
Effective: 07/27/2006
R.C. 119.032 review dates: 07/01/2011
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 3503.29
Rule Amplifies: 3503.29, 3503.28
The secretary of state shall develop and deploy a website for the purpose of registering persons that expect to receive compensation for registering voters. The website shall provide an online training program to persons that expect to receive compensation for registering voters. The online registration and training program shall be the exclusive method of training or registering persons to comply with section 3503.29 of the Revised Code. Persons registering under this program shall register for each and every county in which the person expects or anticipates registering a voter.
(A) The website shall include an initial registration page, a training program, and a public disclosure page listing all persons registered under the program.
(B) The initial registration page is the web page through which any person that expects to receive compensation for registering a voter shall first register with the secretary of state.
(1) The secretary of state shall collect through an online form the following information from a registrant:
(a) Their name;
(b) Date of birth;
(c) Permanent address;
(d) The name of every Ohio county in which the registrant expects to register a voter.
(2) The online registration page shall contain a warning that whosoever shall fraudulently file a registration with the secretary of state will be prosecuted for election falsification to the fullest extent of the law.
(3) Once a person has filled out and submitted registration information through the initial online registration page, access to the online training program will be permitted.
(C) Once a person has completed the required training program, that person shall be granted access to a standard form affirmation, to be prescribed by the secretary of state, that must be printed, signed and submitted to the secretary of state by the person registering under the program. No person registering under the program may register voters for compensation without first registering, completing the training program and submitting the required affirmation.
(D) The public disclosure page shall contain a searchable listing of persons that have registered online and those that have returned required affirmations. The public disclosure page shall not display the phone number or e-mail address of any person or organization for which information was submitted.
(E) The standard form affirmation shall be an automatically generated form that contains the registration information of the person registering under this program, the identity of all counties in which the person seeks registration for the purpose of registering voters and all other information required by section 3503.29 of the Revised Code.
(1) The affirmation shall be signed by the person registering under this program and
(2) Returned to the secretary of state according to instructions to be printed on the form.
Effective: 07/27/2006
R.C. 119.032 review dates: 07/01/2011
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 3503.29
Rule Amplifies: 3503.29
(A) Each person registering to comply with sections 3503.28 and 3503.29 of the Revised Code shall notify the secretary of state of any changes to information previously submitted to the secretary of state.
(B) Amendments and changes to a person’s registration shall not require additional training during the one-year authorization period. Any amendment or change to a person’s registration that would affect the information previously submitted to the secretary of state as part of an affirmation statement will require the registrant to sign and submit a new affirmation statement that bears the current and correct information. Submission of an updated affirmation statement shall not act as a renewal or extension of registration for any period of time.
Effective: 07/27/2006
R.C. 119.032 review dates: 07/01/2011
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 3503.29
Rule Amplifies: 3503.29, 3503.28
A person registering under this program must register, receive training and sign an affirmation statement for each one-year period the person receives or expects to receive compensation for registering voters.
Effective: 07/27/2006
R.C. 119.032 review dates: 07/01/2011
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 3503.29
Rule Amplifies: 3503.29, 3503.28