As used in the sections of the Revised Code relating to elections and political communications:
(A) "General election" means the election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in each
November.
(B) "Regular municipal election" means the election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday
in November in each odd-numbered year.
(C) "Regular state election" means the election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in
November in each even-numbered year.
(D) "Special election" means any election other than those elections defined in other divisions of this
section. A special election may be held only on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May or
November, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in August in accordance with section
3501.022 of the Revised Code, or on the day authorized by a particular municipal or county charter
for the holding of a primary election, except that in any year in which a presidential primary election
is held, no special election shall be held in May, except as authorized by a municipal or county
charter, but may be held on the third Tuesday after the first Monday in March.
(E)(1) "Primary" or "primary election" means an election held for the purpose of nominating persons
as candidates of political parties for election to offices, and for the purpose of electing persons as
members of the controlling committees of political parties and as delegates and alternates to the
conventions of political parties. Primary elections shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first
Monday in May of each year except in years in which a presidential primary election is held.
(2) "Presidential primary election" means a primary election as defined by division (E)(1) of this
section at which an election is held for the purpose of choosing delegates and alternates to the
national conventions of the major political parties pursuant to section 3513.12 of the Revised Code.
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Unless otherwise specified, presidential primary elections are included in references to primary
elections. In years in which a presidential primary election is held, all primary elections shall be held
on the third Tuesday after the first Monday in March except as otherwise authorized by a municipal
or county charter.
(F) "Political party" means any group of voters meeting the requirements set forth in section 3517.01
of the Revised Code for the formation and existence of a political party.
(1) "Major political party" means any political party organized under the laws of this state whose
candidate for governor or nominees for presidential electors received not less than twenty per cent of
the total vote cast for such office at the most recent regular state election.
(2) "Minor political party" means any political party organized under the laws of this state that meets
either of the following requirements:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this division, the political party's candidate for governor or
nominees for presidential electors received less than twenty per cent but not less than three per cent
of the total vote cast for such office at the most recent regular state election. A political party that
meets the requirements of this division remains a political party for a period of four years after
meeting those requirements.
(b) The political party has filed with the secretary of state, subsequent to its failure to meet the
requirements of division (F)(2)(a) of this section, a petition that meets the requirements of section
3517.01 of the Revised Code.
A newly formed political party shall be known as a minor political party until the time of the first
election for governor or president which occurs not less than twelve months subsequent to the
formation of such party, after which election the status of such party shall be determined by the vote
for the office of governor or president.
(G) "Dominant party in a precinct" or "dominant political party in a precinct" means that political
party whose candidate for election to the office of governor at the most recent regular state election
at which a governor was elected received more votes than any other person received for election to
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that office in such precinct at such election.
(H) "Candidate" means any qualified person certified in accordance with the provisions of the
Revised Code for placement on the official ballot of a primary, general, or special election to be held
in this state, or any qualified person who claims to be a write-in candidate, or who knowingly assents
to being represented as a write-in candidate by another at either a primary, general, or special
election to be held in this state.
(I) "Independent candidate" means any candidate who claims not to be affiliated with a political
party, and whose name has been certified on the office-type ballot at a general or special election
through the filing of a statement of candidacy and nominating petition, as prescribed in section
3513.257 of the Revised Code.
(J) "Nonpartisan candidate" means any candidate whose name is required, pursuant to section
3505.04 of the Revised Code, to be listed on the nonpartisan ballot, including all candidates for judge
of a municipal court, county court, or court of common pleas, for member of any board of education,
for municipal or township offices in which primary elections are not held for nominating candidates
by political parties, and for offices of municipal corporations having charters that provide for
separate ballots for elections for these offices.
(K) "Party candidate" means any candidate who claims to be a member of a political party and who
has been certified to appear on the office-type ballot at a general or special election as the nominee
of a political party because the candidate has won the primary election of the candidate's party for
the public office the candidate seeks, has been nominated under section 3517.012, or is selected by
party committee in accordance with section 3513.31 of the Revised Code.
(L) "Officer of a political party" includes, but is not limited to, any member, elected or appointed, of
a controlling committee, whether representing the territory of the state, a district therein, a county,
township, a city, a ward, a precinct, or other territory, of a major or minor political party.
(M) "Question or issue" means any question or issue certified in accordance with the Revised Code
for placement on an official ballot at a general or special election to be held in this state.
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(N) "Elector" or "qualified elector" means a person having the qualifications provided by law to be
entitled to vote.
(O) "Voter" means an elector who votes at an election.
(P) "Voting residence" means that place of residence of an elector which shall determine the precinct
in which the elector may vote.
(Q) "Precinct" means a district within a county established by the board of elections of such county
within which all qualified electors having a voting residence therein may vote at the same polling
place.
(R) "Polling place" means that place provided for each precinct at which the electors having a voting
residence in such precinct may vote.
(S) "Board" or "board of elections" means the board of elections appointed in a county pursuant to
section 3501.06 of the Revised Code.
(T) "Political subdivision" means a county, township, city, village, or school district.
(U) "Election officer" or "election official" means any of the following:
(1) Secretary of state;
(2) Employees of the secretary of state serving the division of elections in the capacity of attorney,
administrative officer, administrative assistant, elections administrator, office manager, or clerical
supervisor;
(3) Director of a board of elections;
(4) Deputy director of a board of elections;
(5) Member of a board of elections;
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(6) Employees of a board of elections;
(7) Precinct election officials;
(8) Employees appointed by the boards of elections on a temporary or part-time basis.
(V) "Acknowledgment notice" means a notice sent by a board of elections, on a form prescribed by
the secretary of state, informing a voter registration applicant or an applicant who wishes to change
the applicant's residence or name of the status of the application; the information necessary to
complete or update the application, if any; and if the application is complete, the precinct in which
the applicant is to vote.
(W) "Confirmation notice" means a notice sent by a board of elections, on a form prescribed by the
secretary of state, to a registered elector to confirm the registered elector's current address, date of
birth, or United States citizenship, the number of the elector's Ohio driver's license or state
identification card, the last four digits of the elector's social security number, or any other
information required for registration. The notice shall be sent by forwardable mail, shall be
accompanied by a postage prepaid, preaddressed return envelope containing a form on which the
elector may verify or correct the elector's registration, and shall meet the requirements of the
National Voter Registration Act of 1993.
(X) "Designated agency" means an office or agency in the state that provides public assistance or
that provides state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons with
disabilities and that is required by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to implement a
program designed and administered by the secretary of state for registering voters, or any other
public or government office or agency that implements a program designed and administered by the
secretary of state for registering voters, including the department of job and family services, the
program administered under section 3701.132 of the Revised Code by the department of health, the
department of behavioral health, the department of developmental disabilities, the opportunities for
Ohioans with disabilities agency, and any other agency the secretary of state designates. "Designated
agency" does not include public high schools and vocational schools, public libraries, or the office of
a county treasurer.
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(Y) "National Voter Registration Act of 1993" means the "National Voter Registration Act of 1993,"
107 Stat. 77, 42 U.S.C.A. 1973gg.
(Z) "Voting Rights Act of 1965" means the "Voting Rights Act of 1965," 79 Stat. 437, 42 U.S.C.A.
1973, as amended.
(AA)(1) "Photo identification" means one of the following documents that includes the individual's
name and photograph and is not expired:
(a) An Ohio driver's license, state identification card, or interim identification form issued by the
registrar of motor vehicles or a deputy registrar under Chapter 4506. or 4507. of the Revised Code;
(b) A United States passport or passport card;
(c) A United States military identification card, Ohio national guard identification card, or United
States department of veterans affairs identification card.
(2) A "copy" of an individual's photo identification means images of both the front and back of a
document described in division (AA)(1) of this section, except that if the document is a United States
passport, a copy of the photo identification means an image of the passport's identification page that
includes the individual's name, photograph, and other identifying information and the passport's
expiration date.
(BB) "Driver's license" means a license or permit issued by the registrar or a deputy registrar under
Chapter 4506. or 4507. of the Revised Code that authorizes an individual to drive. "Driver's license"
includes a driver's license, commercial driver's license, probationary license, restricted license,
motorcycle operator's license, or temporary instruction permit identification card. "Driver's license"
does not include a limited term license issued under section 4506.14 or 4507.09 of the Revised Code.
(CC) "State identification card" means a card issued by the registrar or a deputy registrar under
sections 4507.50 to 4507.52 of the Revised Code.
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(DD) "Interim identification form" means the document issued by the registrar or a deputy registrar
to an applicant for a driver's license or state identification card that contains all of the information
otherwise found on the license or card and that an applicant may use as a form of identification until
the physical license or card arrives in the mail.
(EE)(1) "Proof of citizenship" means evidence that an individual is a United States citizen, in the
form of one of the following:
(a) The number of the individual's current Ohio driver's license or state identification card, if the
secretary of state verifies using information obtained from the bureau of motor vehicles that the
individual has submitted documentation to the bureau that indicates that the individual is a United
States citizen;
(b) The individual's current Ohio driver's license, state identification card, or interim identification
form issued on or after April 7, 2023, or a copy of the front and back of that license, card, or form, if
the license, card, or form does not include a notation designating that the individual is a noncitizen of
the United States;
(c) The individual's birth certificate, certification of report of birth, or consular report of birth abroad,
or a copy of one of those documents;
(d) The individual's current United States passport or passport card, a copy of the identification page
of the passport, or a copy of the front and back of the passport card;
(e) The individual's certificate of naturalization or certificate of citizenship or a copy of one of those
documents;
(f) The individual's I-797 notice of action for form N-565, application for replacement
naturalization/citizenship document issued by United States citizenship and immigration services, if
the notice indicates that the application has been approved; a copy of that notice; or an original or
copy of the successor form of that notice issued by the federal agency that is responsible for fulfilling
requests for replacement naturalization or citizenship documents.
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(2) If an individual's current legal name is different from the name on the individual's proof of
citizenship, the individual also shall provide proof of the change of name, such as a copy of a
marriage license or court order.
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Primary source. The text above is the canonical statute body as it appears in this revision of the atlas. Verify against the official gazette before quoting in litigation or formal advice. Spot an error? Suggest a correction.