As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session H. B. No. 761

2025-2026

To amend sections 3505.18, 3505.31, 3509.05, 3511.09, and 3511.11 of the Revised Code to allow marked absent voter's ballots to be returned to any polling place in the county.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That sections 3505.18, 3505.31, 3509.05, 3511.09, and 3511.11 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 3505.18. (A)(1) When an elector appears in a polling place to vote, the elector shall announce to the precinct election officials the elector's full name and current address and provide photo identification.

(2) If an elector does not have or is unable to provide photo identification to the precinct election officials, the elector may cast a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code.

(3) If the elector provides photo identification in the form of the elector's Ohio driver's license, state identification card, or interim identification form and the photo identification includes a notation designating that the individual is a noncitizen of the United States, the election officials shall challenge the elector's right to vote under division (A) of section 3505.20 of the Revised Code.

(B) After the elector has announced the elector's full name and current address and provided photo identification, the elector shall confirm the elector's name and address by signing the elector's name at the proper place in the poll list or signature pollbook provided for the purpose, except that if, for any reason, an elector is unable to sign the elector's name in the poll list or signature pollbook, the elector may make the elector's mark at the place intended for the elector's name, and a precinct election official shall write the name of the elector at the proper place on the poll list or signature pollbook following the elector's mark. The making of such a mark shall be attested by the precinct election official, who shall evidence the same by signing the precinct election official's name on the poll list or signature pollbook as a witness to the mark. Alternatively, if applicable, an attorney in fact acting pursuant to section 3501.382 of the Revised Code may sign the elector's signature in the poll list or signature pollbook in accordance with that section.

The elector's signature in the poll list or signature pollbook then shall be compared with the elector's signature on the elector's registration form or a digitized signature list as provided for in section 3503.13 of the Revised Code, and if, in the opinion of a majority of the precinct election officials, the signatures are the signatures of the same person, the election officials shall enter the date of the election on the registration form or shall record the date by other means prescribed by the secretary of state. The validity of an attorney in fact's signature on behalf of an elector shall be determined in accordance with section 3501.382 of the Revised Code.

If the right of the elector to vote is not then challenged, or, if being challenged, the elector establishes the elector's right to vote, the elector shall be allowed to proceed to use the voting machine. If voting machines are not being used in that precinct, the precinct election official in charge of ballots shall then detach the next ballots to be issued to the elector from Stub B attached to each ballot, leaving Stub A attached to each ballot, hand the ballots to the elector, and call the elector's name and the stub number on each of the ballots. The precinct election official shall enter the stub numbers opposite the signature of the elector in the pollbook. The elector shall then retire to one of the voting compartments to mark the elector's ballots. No mark shall be made on any ballot which would in any way enable any person to identify the person who voted the ballot.

(C)(1) When an elector or a person who is authorized under division (C)(1)(a) of section 3509.05 of the Revised Code to do so delivers the elector's marked absent voter's ballots in a return envelope to the precinct election officials during the time that the polls are open, the precinct election officials shall place the return envelope in a secure container designated solely for the purpose of collecting marked absent voter's ballots and shall deliver the container to the board of elections after the close of the polls along with the sealed pollbook, poll list, and tally sheet, as described in section 3505.31 of the Revised Code.

(2) In a prominent location at or near the entrance to the polling place, there shall be displayed a sign indicating that marked absent voter's ballots cast by electors of the county are accepted at the polling place and that a person is not required to wait in the voting line in order to deliver those ballots to the precinct election officials.

(3) The precinct election officials shall not require a person delivering marked absent voter's ballots to sign in or to complete any form in order to do so.

(4) In the area of the polling place in which persons may deliver marked absent voter's ballots to the precinct election officials, there shall be prominently displayed a sign indicating that only absent voter's ballots cast by electors of the relevant county are accepted and that absent voter's ballots cast by electors of any other county are not accepted.

Sec. 3505.31. When the results of the voting in a polling place on the day of an election have been determined and entered upon the proper forms and the certifications of those results have been signed by the precinct officials, those officials, before leaving the polling place, shall place all ballots that they have counted in containers provided for that purpose by the board of elections, and shall seal each container in a manner that it cannot be opened without breaking the seal or the material of which the container is made. They shall also seal the pollbook, poll list or signature pollbook, and tally sheet in a manner that the data contained in these items cannot be seen without breaking the seals. On the outside of these items shall be a plain indication that they are to be filed with the board. The voting location manager and an employee or appointee of the board of elections who has taken an oath to uphold the laws and constitution of this state, including an oath that the person will promptly and securely perform the duties required under this section and who is a member of a different political party than the voting location manager, shall then deliver to the board the containers of ballots and the sealed pollbook, poll list, and tally sheet, together with all other election reports, materials, and supplies required to be delivered to the board, including the container of marked absent voter's ballots described in division (C) of section 3505.18 of the Revised Code.

The board shall carefully preserve all ballots prepared and provided by it for use in an election, whether used or unused, including any electronic images of ballots, for at least eighty-one days after the day of the election, except that, if an election includes the nomination or election of candidates for any of the offices of president, vice-president, presidential elector, member of the senate of the congress of the United States, or member of the house of representatives of the congress of the United States, the board shall carefully preserve all ballots prepared and provided by it for use in that election, whether used or unused, for twenty-two months after the day of the election. If an election is held within that eighty-one-day period, the board shall have authority to transfer those ballots to other containers to preserve them until the eighty-one-day period has expired. After that eighty-one-day period, the ballots shall be disposed of by the board in a manner that the board orders, or where voting machines have been used the counters may be turned back to zero; provided that the secretary of state, within that eighty-one-day period, may order the board to preserve the ballots or any part of the ballots for a longer period of time, in which event the board shall preserve those ballots for that longer period of time.

In counties where voting machines are used, if an election is to be held within the eighty-one days immediately following a primary, general, or special election or within any period of time within which the ballots have been ordered preserved by the secretary of state or a court of competent jurisdiction, the board, after giving notice to all interested parties and affording them an opportunity to have a representative present, shall open the compartments of the machines and, without unlocking the machines, shall recanvass the vote cast in them as if a recount were being held. The results shall be certified by the board, and this certification shall be filed in the board's office and retained for the remainder of the period for which ballots must be kept. After preparation of the certificate, the counters may be turned back to zero, and the machines may be used for the election.

The board shall carefully preserve the pollbook, poll list or signature pollbook, and tally sheet delivered to it from each polling place until it has completed the official canvass of the election returns from all precincts in which electors were entitled to vote at an election, and has prepared and certified the abstracts of election returns, as required by law. The board shall not break, or permit anyone to break, the seals upon the pollbook, poll list or signature pollbook, and tally sheet, or make, or permit any one to make, any changes or notations in these items, while they are in its custody, except as provided by section 3505.32 of the Revised Code.

Pollbooks and poll lists or signature pollbooks of a party primary election delivered to the board from polling places shall be carefully preserved by it for two years after the day of election in which they were used, and shall then be disposed of by the board in a manner that the board orders.

Pollbooks, poll lists or signature pollbooks, tally sheets, summary statements, and other records and returns of an election delivered to it from polling places shall be carefully preserved by the board for two years after the day of the election in which they were used, and shall then be disposed of by the board in a manner that the board orders.

Sec. 3509.05. (A) When an elector receives an absent voter's ballot pursuant to the elector's application or request, the elector shall, before placing any marks on the ballot, note whether there are any voting marks on it. 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 in a manner that the stub on it and the indorsements and facsimile signatures of the members of the board of elections on the back of it are visible, and placed and sealed within the identification envelope received from the board of elections for that purpose. Then, the elector shall cause the statement of voter on the outside of the identification envelope to be completed and signed, under penalty of election falsification.

(B) The elector shall provide one of the following:

(1) The elector's Ohio driver's license or state identification card number on the statement of voter on the identification envelope;

(2) The last four digits of the elector's social security number on the statement of voter on the identification envelope;

(3) A copy of the elector's photo identification in the return envelope with the identification envelope.

~~(C)(1)~~ (C)(1)(a) The elector shall ~~mail~~ return the identification envelope to ~~the office of~~ the board of elections in the return envelope by one of the following methods:

(i) The elector may mail it to the office of the board, postage prepaid~~, or the~~ .

(ii) The elector may personally deliver it to the office of the board, or ~~the~~ , on the day of the election, to the precinct election officials at a polling place located in the county in which the elector resides.

(iii) The spouse of the elector, the father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, grandfather, grandmother, brother, or sister of the whole or half blood, or the son, daughter, adopting parent, adopted child, stepparent, stepchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece of the elector may deliver it to the office of the board or, on the day of the election, to the precinct election officials at a polling place located in the county in which the elector resides.

(iv) If the elector requires assistance to vote by reason of a disability, any person of the elector's choice, other than the elector's employer, an agent of the elector's employer, or an officer or agent of the elector's union, may deliver it to the office of the board or, on the day of the election, to the precinct election officials at a polling place located in the county in which the elector resides. ~~The~~

(b) The return envelope shall be returned by no other person, in no other manner, and to no other location, except as otherwise provided in section 3509.08 of the Revised Code.

(2) If the board maintains multiple offices in the county, as permitted under division (C) of section 3501.10 of the Revised Code, the board may designate any of its offices for the return of absent voter's ballots under this section, provided that the board shall designate only one office to which absent voter's ballots shall be returned under this section.

(3)(a) The board of elections may place not more than one secure receptacle outside the office of the board, on the property on which the office of the board is located, for the purpose of receiving absent voter's ballots under this section.

(b) A secure receptacle shall be open to receive ballots only during the period beginning on the first day after the close of voter registration before the election and ending at seven-thirty p.m. on the day of the election. The receptacle shall be open to receive ballots at all times during that period.

(c) A secure receptacle shall be monitored by recorded video surveillance at all times. The video recordings are a public record. The board shall do one of the following:

(i) Make the video recordings available for inspection upon request in accordance with section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

(ii) Make each day's video recording available to the public on the internet for streaming or download without charge within seventy-two hours after the recording ends and make the video recordings available to the public upon request in accordance with section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

(d) Only a bipartisan team of election officials may open a secure receptacle or handle its contents. A bipartisan team of election officials shall collect the contents of each secure receptacle and deliver them to the board for processing at least once each day and at seven-thirty p.m. on the day of the election. If, at seven-thirty p.m. on the day of the election, there are persons waiting in line to deposit absent voter's ballots in a receptacle, those persons shall be permitted to deposit the ballots.

(4)(a) During the period beginning on the forty-fifth day before election day and ending on the day after election day, on each day the office of the board of elections is open for business, the board shall report to the secretary of state all of the following information concerning the previous business day:

(i) The number of return envelopes purporting to contain absent voter's ballots or uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballots the board received by personal delivery, other than to a receptacle described in division (C)(3) of this section;

(ii) If the board has placed a secure receptacle outside the office of the board under division (C)(3) of this section, the number of return envelopes purporting to contain absent voter's ballots or uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballots the board received in the receptacle.

(b) As soon as practicable after receiving a report under division (C)(4)(a) of this section, the secretary of state shall make the information in the report available to the public on the secretary of state's official web site.

(D) Except as otherwise provided in section 3511.11 of the Revised Code, all envelopes containing marked absent voter's ballots shall be delivered to the office of the board or to a polling place in the county not later than the close of the polls on the day of an election. Absent voter's ballots delivered to the office of the board or to a polling place in the county later than the times specified shall not be counted, but shall be kept by the board in the sealed identification envelopes in which they are delivered, 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.

Sec. 3511.09. (A) Upon receiving uniformed services or overseas 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 shall sign the identification envelope not later than the close of the polls on the day of the election. The elector then shall cause the identification envelope to be placed within the return envelope, sealed in the return envelope, and mailed to the board of elections to which it is addressed.

(B) The elector shall provide one of the following:

(1) The elector's Ohio driver's license or state identification card number on the statement of voter on the identification envelope;

(2) The last four digits of the elector's social security number on the statement of voter on the identification envelope;

(3) A copy of the elector's photo identification in the return envelope with the identification envelope.

(C) Every uniformed services or overseas 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.

(D) The elector shall cause the uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballots to be returned ~~to the office of the board of elections~~ in a manner described in division (C) of section 3509.05 of the Revised Code, provided that the elector shall not be required to prepay the postage on the return envelope if, under 39 U.S.C. 3406, no postage is required.

Sec. 3511.11. (A) Uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballots delivered to the office of the board of elections not later than the close of the polls on election day shall be processed and counted in the manner provided in section 3509.06 of the Revised Code.

(B) A return envelope is not required to be postmarked in order for a uniformed services or overseas 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, contains a late postmark, or contains an illegible postmark, a uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballot that is received by mail after the close of the polls on election day through the fourth day after the election day shall be processed and counted on the fifth day after the election day at the office of the board of elections in the manner provided in section 3509.06 of the Revised Code if the voter signed the identification envelope by the close of the polls on election day. However, if a return envelope containing a uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballot is so received, but the identification envelope in it is signed after the close of the polls on election day, the uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballot shall not be counted.

(1) Uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballots that are received by the board of elections by mail after the close of the polls on the day of the election, and that contain an identification envelope that is signed after the close of the polls on election day;

(2) Uniformed services or overseas absent voter's ballots that are received by mail after the fourth day following the election.

The uncounted ballots 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.

Section 2. That existing sections 3505.18, 3505.31, 3509.05, 3511.09, and 3511.11 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.