(A) Except as otherwise provided in this section and section 3517.012 of the Revised Code, primary
elections shall be held as provided in division (E) of section 3501.01 of the Revised Code for the
purpose of nominating persons as candidates of political parties for election to offices to be voted for
at the succeeding general election.
(B) The manner of nominating persons as candidates for election as officers of a municipal
corporation having a population of two thousand or more, as ascertained by the most recent federal
census, shall be the same as the manner in which candidates were nominated for election as officers
in the municipal corporation in 1989 unless the manner of nominating such candidates is changed
under division (C), (D), or (E) of this section.
(C) Primary elections shall not be held for the nomination of candidates for election as officers of
any township, or any municipal corporation having a population of less than two thousand, unless a
majority of the electors of any such township or municipal corporation, as determined by the total
number of votes cast in such township or municipal corporation for the office of governor at the most
recent regular state election, files with the board of elections of the county within which such
township or municipal corporation is located, or within which the major portion of the population
thereof is located, if the municipal corporation is situated in more than one county, not later than one
hundred twenty days before the day of a primary election, a petition signed by such electors asking
that candidates for election as officers of such township or municipal corporation be nominated as
candidates of political parties, in which event primary elections shall be held in such township or
municipal corporation for the purpose of nominating persons as candidates of political parties for
election as officers of such township or municipal corporation to be voted for at the succeeding
regular municipal election. In a township or municipal corporation where a majority of the electors
have filed a petition asking that candidates for election as officers of the township or municipal
corporation be nominated as candidates of political parties, the nomination of candidates for a
nonpartisan election may be reestablished in the manner prescribed in division (E) of this section.
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(D)(1) The electors in a municipal corporation having a population of two thousand or more, in
which municipal officers were nominated in the most recent election by nominating petition and
elected by nonpartisan election, may place on the ballot in the manner prescribed in division (D)(2)
of this section the question of changing to the primary-election method of nominating persons as
candidates for election as officers of the municipal corporation.
(2) The board of elections of the county within which the municipal corporation is located, or, if the
municipal corporation is located in more than one county, of the county within which the major
portion of the population of the municipal corporation is located, shall, upon receipt of a petition
signed by electors of the municipal corporation equal in number to at least ten per cent of the vote
cast at the most recent regular municipal election, submit to the electors of the municipal corporation
the question of changing to the primary-election method of nominating persons as candidates for
election as officers of the municipal corporation. The ballot language shall be substantially as
follows:
"Shall candidates for election as officers of ____________ (name of municipal corporation) in the
county of ____________ (name of county) be nominated as candidates of political parties?
________ yes
________ no"
The question shall be placed on the ballot at the next general election in an even-numbered year
occurring at least ninety days after the petition is filed with the board. If a majority of the electors
voting on the question vote in the affirmative, candidates for election as officers of the municipal
corporation shall thereafter be nominated as candidates of political parties in primary elections,
under division (A) of this section, unless a change in the manner of nominating persons as candidates
for election as officers of the municipal corporation is made under division (E) of this section.
(E)(1) The electors in a township or municipal corporation in which the township or municipal
officers are nominated as candidates of political parties in a primary election may place on the ballot,
in the manner prescribed in division (E)(2) of this section, the question of changing to the
nonpartisan method of nominating persons as candidates for election as officers of the township or
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municipal corporation.
(2) The board of elections of the county within which the township or municipal corporation is
located, or, if the municipal corporation is located in more than one county, of the county within
which the major portion of the population of the municipal corporation is located, shall, upon receipt
of a petition signed by electors of the township or municipal corporation equal in number to at least
ten per cent of the vote cast at the most recent regular township or municipal election, as appropriate,
submit to the electors of the township or municipal corporation, as appropriate, the question of
changing to the nonpartisan method of nominating persons as candidates for election as officers of
the township or municipal corporation. The ballot language shall be substantially as follows:
"Shall candidates for election as officers of ____________ (name of the township or municipal
corporation) in the county of ____________ (name of county) be nominated as candidates by
nominating petition and be elected only in a nonpartisan election?
________ yes
________ no"
The question shall appear on the ballot at the next general election in an even-numbered year
occurring at least ninety days after the petition is filed with the board. If a majority of electors voting
on the question vote in the affirmative, candidates for officer of the township or municipal
corporation shall thereafter be nominated by nominating petition and be elected only in a nonpartisan
election, unless a change in the manner of nominating persons as candidates for election as officers
of the township or municipal corporation is made under division (C) or (D) of this section.
Page 3§ 3513.01Primary elections
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