CHAPTER 3511: ARMED SERVICES ABSENT VOTER'S BALLOTS

Any section of the Revised Code to the contrary notwithstanding, any person serving in the armed forces of the United States, or the spouse or dependent of any person serving in the armed forces of the United States who resides outside this state for the purpose of being with or near such service member, who will be eighteen years of age or more on the day of a general or special election and who is a citizen of the United States, may vote armed service absent voter’s ballots in such general or special election as follows:

(A) If the service member is the voter, he may vote only in the precinct in which he has a voting residence in the state, and that voting residence shall be that place in the precinct in which he resided immediately preceding the commencement of such service, provided that the time during which he continuously resided in the state immediately preceding the commencement of such service plus the time subsequent to such commencement and prior to the day of such general, special, or primary election is equal to or exceeds thirty days.

(B) If the spouse or dependent of a service member is the voter, he may vote only in the precinct in which he has a voting residence in the state, and that voting residence shall be that place in the precinct in which he resided immediately preceding the time of leaving the state for the purpose of being with or near the service member, provided that the time during which he continuously resided in the state immediately preceding the time of leaving the state for the purpose of being with or near the service member plus the time subsequent to such leaving and prior to the day of such general, special, or primary election is equal to or exceeds thirty days.

(C) If the service member or his spouse or dependent establishes a permanent residence in a precinct other than the precinct in which he resided immediately preceding the commencement of his service, the voting residence of both the service member and his spouse or dependent shall be the precinct of such permanent residence, provided that the time during which he continuously resided in the state immediately preceding the commencement of such service plus the time subsequent to such commencement and prior to the day of such general, special, or primary election is equal to or exceeds thirty days.

Effective Date: 10-20-1987

Notwithstanding any section of the Revised Code to the contrary, whenever any person applies for registration as a voter on a form adopted in accordance with federal regulations relating to the “Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act,” 100 Stat. 924, 42 U.S.C.A. 1973ff (1986), this application shall be sufficient for voter registration and as a request for an absent voter’s ballot. Armed service absent voter’s ballots may be obtained by any person meeting the requirements of section 3511.01 of the Revised Code by applying to the director of the board of elections of the county in which the person’s voting residence is located, in one of the following ways:

(A) That person may make written application for those ballots. The person may personally deliver the application to the director or may mail it, send it by facsimile machine, or otherwise send it to the director. The application need not be in any particular form but shall contain all of the following information:

(1) The elector’s name;

(2) The elector’s signature;

(3) The address at which the elector is registered to vote;

(4) The elector’s date of birth;

(5) One of the following:

(a) The elector’s driver’s license number;

(b) The last four digits of the elector’s social security number;

(c) A copy of the elector’s current and valid photo identification, a copy of a military identification that shows the elector’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 mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the name and address of the elector.

(6) A statement identifying the election for which absent voter’s ballots are requested;

(7) A statement that the person requesting the ballots is a qualified elector;

(8) A statement that the elector is an absent uniformed services voter as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1973ff-6;

(9) A statement of the elector’s length of residence in the state immediately preceding the commencement of service or immediately preceding the date of leaving to be with or near the service member, whichever is applicable;

(10) If the request is for primary election ballots, the elector’s party affiliation;

(11) If the elector desires ballots to be mailed to the elector, the address to which those ballots shall be mailed;

(12) If the elector desires ballots to be sent to the elector by facsimile machine, the telephone number to which they shall be so sent.

(B) A voter or any relative of a voter listed in division (C) of this section may use a single federal post card application to apply for armed service absent voter’s ballots for use at the primary and general elections in a given year and any special election to be held on the day in that year specified by division (E) of section 3501.01 of the Revised Code for the holding of a primary election, designated by the general assembly for the purpose of submitting constitutional amendments proposed by the general assembly to the voters of the state. A single federal postcard application shall be processed by the board of elections pursuant to section 3511.04 of the Revised Code the same as if the voter had applied separately for armed service absent voter’s ballots for each election.

(C) Application to have armed service absent voter’s ballots mailed or sent by facsimile machine to such a person may be made by the spouse when the person is a service member, or by the father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, grandfather, grandmother, brother or sister of the whole blood or half blood, son, daughter, adopting parent, adopted child, stepparent, stepchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece of such a person. The application shall be in writing upon a blank form furnished only by the director or on a single federal post card as provided in division (B) of this section. The form of the application shall be prescribed by the secretary of state. The director shall furnish that blank form to any of the relatives specified in this division desiring to make the application, only upon the request of such a relative made in person at the office of the board or upon the written request of such a relative mailed to the office of the board. The application, subscribed and sworn to by the applicant, shall contain all of the following:

(1) The full name of the elector for whom ballots are requested;

(2) A statement that the elector is an absent uniformed services voter as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1973ff-6;

(3) The address at which the elector is registered to vote;

(4) A statement identifying the elector’s length of residence in the state immediately preceding the commencement of service, or immediately preceding the date of leaving to be with or near a service member, as the case may be;

(5) The elector’s date of birth;

(6) One of the following:

(a) The elector’s driver’s license number;

(b) The last four digits of the elector’s social security number;

(c) A copy of the elector’s current and valid photo identification, a copy of a military identification that shows the elector’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 mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the name and address of the elector.

(7) A statement identifying the election for which absent voter’s ballots are requested;

(8) A statement that the person requesting the ballots is a qualified elector;

(9) If the request is for primary election ballots, the elector’s party affiliation;

(10) A statement that the applicant bears a relationship to the elector as specified in division (C) of this section;

(11) The address to which ballots shall be mailed or the telephone number to which ballots shall be sent by facsimile machine;

(12) The signature and address of the person making the application.

Each application for armed service absent voter’s ballots shall be delivered to the director not earlier than the first day of January of the year of the elections for which the armed service absent voter’s ballots are requested or not earlier than ninety days before the day of the election at which the ballots are to be voted, whichever is earlier, and not later than twelve noon of the third day preceding the day of the election, or not later than the close of regular business hours on the day before the day of the election at which those ballots are to be voted if the application is delivered in person to the office of the board.

(D) If the voter for whom the application is made is entitled to vote for presidential and vice-presidential electors only, the applicant shall submit to the director in addition to the requirements of divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section, a statement to the effect that the voter is qualified to vote for presidential and vice-presidential electors and for no other offices.

Effective Date: 08-22-1995; 01-27-2006; 05-02-2006

The board of elections of each county shall provide armed service absent voter’s ballots for use at each election. Such ballots for general or primary elections shall be prescribed on the sixtieth day before the day of such elections and shall be the same as provided for absent voters in section 3509.01 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 10-20-1987

(A) If a director of a board of elections receives an application for armed service absent voter’s ballots that does not contain all of the required information, the director promptly shall notify the applicant of the additional information required to be provided by the applicant to complete that application.

(B) Not later than the twenty-fifth day before the day of each presidential primary election and not later than the thirty-fifth day before the day of each general or other primary election, and at the earliest possible time before the day of a special election held on a day other than the day on which a general or primary election is held, the director of the board of elections shall mail or send by facsimile machine armed service absent voter’s ballots then ready for use as provided for in section 3511.03 of the Revised Code and for which the director has received valid applications prior to that time. Thereafter, and until twelve noon of the third day preceding the day of election, the director shall promptly, upon receipt of valid applications for them, mail or send by facsimile machine to the proper persons all armed service absent voter’s ballots then ready for use.

If, after the sixtieth day before the day of a general or primary election, any other question, issue, or candidacy is lawfully ordered submitted to the electors voting at the general or primary election, the board shall promptly provide a separate official issue, special election, or other election ballot for submitting the question, issue, or candidacy to those electors, and the director shall promptly mail or send by facsimile machine each such separate ballot to each person to whom the director has previously mailed or sent by facsimile machine other armed service absent voter’s ballots.

In mailing armed service absent voter’s ballots, the director shall use the fastest mail service available, but the director shall not mail them by certified mail.

Effective Date: 08-22-1995; 01-27-2006

(A) The director of the board of elections shall place armed service absent voter’s ballots sent by mail in an unsealed identification envelope, gummed ready for sealing. The director shall include with armed service absent voter’s ballots sent by facsimile machine an instruction sheet for preparing a gummed envelope in which the ballots shall be returned. The envelope for returning ballots sent by either means shall have printed or written on its face a form as follows:

“IDENTIFICATION ENVELOPE

Armed Service Absent Voter’s Ballots —

Election …..............................................................

(Day of week and date)

Information Concerning Voter

1. What is your full name? .....................................................

(Name must be printed)

2. What is the date of your birth? .....................................................

3. Are you a citizen of the United States? .........................................

4. Where were you born? .....................................................

5. If a naturalized citizen, when and in what court were you naturalized? ...............................

6. Are you serving in the armed forces of the United States, or are you the spouse of a person serving in the armed forces of the United States?

(Indicate which one) .....................................................

7. What was the date at the commencement of your service, or the date you left the state of Ohio to be with or near your service member spouse? ........................................

8. Did you reside in the state of Ohio at the time of the commencement of your service, or the time you left the state of Ohio to be with or near your service member spouse? ...........

If so: What street and street number?..............................................

What city or village?.....................................................

What township?.....................................................

What county?.....................................................

What is your present Ohio address? .....................................................

9. How long had you continuously resided in Ohio immediately preceding the commencement of your service, or immediately preceding the date you left the state of Ohio to be with or near your service member spouse? .....................................................

10. Will you be outside the United States on the day of the election? .....................

(Applicants who answer “yes” to this question must also check the appropriate box on the return envelope to indicate that they will be outside the United States.)

I hereby declare, under penalty of election falsification, that the answers to the questions above set out are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief, and that I am not claiming, for the purpose of voting, a voting residence in any other state.

WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS GUILTY OF A FELONY OF THE FIFTH DEGREE.

.................................................................................

(Voter must WRITE the voter’s usual signature here.)”

If the identification envelope is for use in a primary election, it shall contain an additional question as follows:

“11. With what political party are you affiliated?”

(B) The director shall also mail with the ballots and the unsealed identification envelope sent by mail an unsealed return envelope, gummed, ready for sealing, for use by the voter in returning the voter’s marked ballots to the director. The director shall send with the ballots and the instruction sheet for preparing a gummed envelope sent by facsimile machine an instruction sheet for preparing a second gummed envelope as described in this division, for use by the voter in returning that voter’s marked ballots to the director. The return envelope shall have two parallel lines, each one quarter of an inch in width, printed across its face paralleling the top, with an intervening space of one quarter of an inch between such lines. The top line shall be one and one-quarter inches from the top of the envelope. Between the parallel lines shall be printed: “OFFICIAL ELECTION ARMED SERVICE ABSENT VOTER’S BALLOTS — VIA AIR MAIL.” Three blank lines shall be printed in the upper left corner on the face of the envelope for the use by the voter in placing the voter’s complete military, naval, or mailing address on these lines, and beneath these lines there shall be printed a box beside the words “check if out-of-country.” The voter shall check this box if the voter will be outside the United States on the day of the election. The official title and the post-office address of the director to whom the envelope shall be returned shall be printed on the face of such envelope in the lower right portion below the bottom parallel line.

(C) On the back of each identification envelope and each return envelope shall be printed the following:

“Instructions to voter:

If the flap on this envelope is so firmly stuck to the back of the envelope when received by you as to require forcible opening in order to use it, open the envelope in the manner least injurious to it, and, after marking your ballots and enclosing same in the envelope for mailing them to the director of the board of elections, reclose the envelope in the most practicable way, by sealing or otherwise, and sign the blank form printed below.

The flap on this envelope was firmly stuck to the back of the envelope when received, and required forced opening before sealing and mailing.

...................................................................

(Signature of voter)”

(D) Division (C) of this section does not apply when absent voter’s ballots are sent by facsimile machine.

Effective Date: 08-28-2001

All identification envelopes containing absent voter’s ballots for voters who are entitled to vote for presidential and vice-presidential electors only shall have printed or stamped thereon the words, “Presidential Ballots Only.”

Effective Date: 03-23-1972

The identification envelope provided for in section 3511.05 of the Revised Code shall be a No. 10, 24-lb. white official envelope, four and one-eighth inches by nine and one-half inches in size. The return envelope provided for in such section shall be a No. 11, 24-lb. white official envelope, four and one-half inches by ten and three-eighths inches in size. The envelope in which the two envelopes and the armed service absent voter’s ballots are mailed to the elector shall be a No. 12, 24-lb. white official envelope, four and three-quarter inches by eleven inches in size, and it shall have two parallel lines, each one quarter of an inch in width, printed across its face, paralleling the top, with an intervening space of one-quarter of an inch between such lines. The top line shall be one and one-quarter inches from the top of the envelope. Between the parallel lines shall be printed: “OFFICIAL ARMED SERVICE ABSENT VOTER’S BALLOTING MATERIAL-VIA AIR MAIL.” The appropriate return address of the director of the board of elections shall be printed in the upper left corner on the face of such envelope. Several blank lines shall be printed on the face of such envelope in the lower right portion, below the bottom parallel line, for writing in the name and address of the elector to whom such envelope is mailed. All printing on such envelope shall be in red ink.

Effective Date: 03-23-1981

When mailing unsealed identification envelopes and unsealed return envelopes to persons, the director of the board of elections shall insert a sheet of waxed paper or other appropriate insert between the gummed flap and the back of each of such envelopes to minimize the possibility that the flap may become firmly stuck to the back of the envelope by reason of moisture, humid atmosphere, or other conditions to which they may be subjected. If the flap on either of such envelopes should be so firmly stuck to the back of the envelope when it is received by the voter as to require forcible opening of the envelope in order to use it, the voter shall open such envelope in the manner least injurious to it, and, after marking his ballots and enclosing them in the envelope for mailing to the director, he shall reclose such envelope in the most practicable way, by sealing it or otherwise, and shall sign the blank form printed on the back of such envelope.

Effective Date: 03-23-1981

The director of the board of elections shall keep a record of the name and address of each person to whom he mails or delivers armed service absent voter’s ballots, the kinds of ballots so mailed or delivered, and the name and address of the person who made the application for such ballots. After he has mailed or delivered such ballots he shall not mail or deliver additional ballots of the same kind to such person pursuant to a subsequent request unless such subsequent request contains the statement that an earlier request had been sent to the director prior to the thirtieth day before the election and that the armed service absent voter’s ballots so requested had not been received by such person prior to the fifteenth day before the election, and provided that the director has not received an identification envelope purporting to contain marked armed service absent voter’s ballots from such person.

Effective Date: 03-23-1981

Upon receiving armed service 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 then shall cause the identification envelope to be placed within the return envelope, sealed in the return envelope, and mailed to the director of the board of elections to whom it is addressed. If the elector does not provide the elector’s driver’s license number or the last four digits of the elector’s social security number on the statement of voter on the identification envelope, the elector also shall include in the return envelope with the identification envelope a copy of the elector’s current valid photo identification, a copy of a military identification that shows the elector’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 mailed by a board of elections under section 3501.19 of the Revised Code or a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections under section 3503.19 of the Revised Code, that shows the name and address of the elector. Each elector who will be outside the United States on the day of the election shall check the box on the return envelope indicating this fact and shall mail the return envelope to the director prior to the close of the polls on election day.

Every armed services 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.

Effective Date: 08-28-2001; 01-27-2006; 05-02-2006

If, after the thirty-fifth day and before the close of the polls on the day of a general or primary election, a valid application for armed service absent voter’s ballots is delivered to the director of the board of elections at the office of the board by a person making the application in his own behalf, the director shall forthwith deliver to the person all armed service absent voter’s ballots then ready for use, together with an identification envelope. The person shall then immediately retire to a voting booth in the office of the board, and mark the ballots. He shall then fold each ballot separately so as to conceal his markings thereon, and deposit all of the ballots in the identification envelope and securely seal it. Thereupon he shall fill in answers to the questions on the face of the identification envelope, and by writing his usual signature in the proper place thereon, he shall declare under penalty of election falsification that the answers to those questions are true and correct to the best of his knowledge and belief. He shall then deliver the identification envelope to the director. If thereafter, and before the third day preceding such election, the board provides additional separate official issue or special election ballots, as provided for in section 3511.04 of the Revised Code, the director shall promptly, and not later than twelve noon of the third day preceding the day of election, mail such additional ballots to such person at the address specified by him for that purpose.

In the event any person serving in the armed forces of the United States is discharged after the closing date of registration, and he or his spouse, or both, meets all the other qualifications set forth in section 3511.01 of the Revised Code, he or she shall be permitted to vote prior to the date of the election in the office of the board in his county, as set forth in this section.

Effective Date: 03-23-1981

(A) Upon receipt of any return envelope bearing the designation “Official Election Armed Service Absent Voter’s Ballot” prior to the twenty-first day after the day of a presidential primary election or prior to the eleventh day after the day of any other election, the director of the board of elections shall open it but shall not open the identification envelope contained in it. If, upon so opening the return envelope, the director finds ballots in it that are not enclosed in and properly sealed in the identification envelope, the director shall not look at the markings upon the ballots and shall promptly place them in the identification envelope and promptly seal it. If, upon so opening the return envelope, the director finds that ballots are enclosed in the identification envelope but that it is not properly sealed, the director shall not look at the markings upon the ballots and shall promptly seal the identification envelope.

(B) Armed service absent voter’s ballots delivered to the director not later than the close of the polls on election day shall be counted in the manner provided in section 3509.06 of the Revised Code.

(C) A return envelope that indicates that the voter will be outside of the United States on the day of an election is not required to be postmarked in order for an armed service 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 or contains an illegible postmark, an armed service absent voter’s ballot that is received after the close of the polls on election day through the tenth day after the election day or, if the election was a presidential primary election, through the twentieth day after the election day, and that is delivered in a return envelope that indicates that the voter will be outside the United States on the day of the election shall be counted on the eleventh day after the election day or, if the election was a presidential primary election, on the twenty-first day after the election day, at the office of the board of elections in the manner provided in divisions (C) and (D) of section 3509.06 of the Revised Code. However, if a return envelope containing an armed service absent voter’s ballot is so received and so indicates, but it is postmarked, or the identification envelope in it is signed, after the close of the polls on election day, the armed service absent voter’s ballot shall not be counted.

(D) Armed service absent voter’s ballots contained in return envelopes that bear the designation “Official Election Armed Service Absent Voter’s Ballots,” that are received by the director after the close of the polls on the day of the election, and that do not indicate they are from voters who will be outside the United States on the day of the election, armed service absent voter’s ballots contained in return envelopes that bear that designation, that indicate that the voter will be outside the United States on the day of the election, and that either are postmarked, or contain an identification envelope that is signed, after the close of the polls on the day of election, and armed service absent voter’s ballots contained in return envelopes that bear that designation, that so indicate, and that are received after the tenth day following the election or, if the election was a presidential primary election, after the twentieth day following the election, shall not be counted, but 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.

Effective Date: 08-28-2001

In counting armed service absent voter’s ballots pursuant to section 3511.11 of the Revised Code, the name of each voter, followed by “Armed Service Absent Voter’s Ballot,” shall be written in the poll book or poll list together with such notations as will indicate the kinds of ballots the envelope contained. If any challenge is made and sustained, the identification envelope of such voter shall not be opened and shall be indorsed “not counted” with the reasons therefor.

Effective Date: 07-04-1984

(A) The poll list or signature pollbook for each precinct shall identify each registered elector in that precinct who has requested an armed service absent voter’s ballot for that election.

(B)(1) If a registered elector appears to vote in that precinct and that elector has requested an armed service absent voter’s ballot for that election but the director has not received a sealed identification envelope purporting to contain that elector’s voted armed service absent voter’s ballots for that election, the elector shall be permitted to cast a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code in that precinct on the day of that election.

(2) If a registered elector appears to vote in that precinct and that elector has requested an armed service absent voter’s ballot for that election and the director has received a sealed identification envelope purporting to contain that elector’s voted armed service absent voter’s ballots for that election, the elector shall be permitted to cast a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code in that precinct on the day of that election.

(C)(1) In counting armed service absent voter’s ballots under section 3511.11 of the Revised Code, the board of elections shall compare the signature of each elector from whom the director has received a sealed identification envelope purporting to contain that elector’s voted armed service absent voter’s ballots for that election to the signature on the elector’s registration form. Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(3) of this section, if the board of elections determines that the armed service absent voter’s ballot in the sealed identification envelope is valid, it shall be counted. If the board of elections determines that the signature on the sealed identification envelope purporting to contain the elector’s voted armed service absent voter’s ballot does not match the signature on the elector’s registration form, the ballot shall be set aside and the board shall examine, during the time prior to the beginning of the official canvass, the poll list or signature pollbook from the precinct in which the elector is registered to vote to determine if the elector also cast a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code in that precinct on the day of the election.

(2) The board of elections shall count the provisional ballot , instead of the armed service absent voter’s ballot, of an elector from whom the director has received an identification envelope purporting to contain that elector’s voted armed service absent voter’s ballots, if both of the following apply:

(a) The board of elections determines that the signature of the elector on the outside of the identification envelope in which the armed service absent voter’s ballots are enclosed does not match the signature of the elector on the elector’s registration form;

(b) The elector cast a provisional ballot in the precinct on the day of the election.

(3) If the board of elections does not receive the sealed identification envelope purporting to contain the elector’s voted armed service absent voter’s ballot by the applicable deadline established under section 3511.11 of the Revised Code, the provisional ballot cast under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code in that precinct on the day of the election shall be counted as valid, if that provisional ballot is otherwise determined to be valid pursuant to section 3505.183 of the Revised Code.

(D) If the board of elections counts a provisional ballot under division (C)(2) or (3) of this section, the returned identification envelope of that elector shall not be opened, and the ballot within that envelope shall not be counted. The identification envelope shall be endorsed “Not Counted” with the reason the ballot was not counted.

Effective Date: 01-27-2006; 05-02-2006