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JENNIFERBRUNNER
OHIO
SECRETARYOFSTATE
180
EASTBROAD
STREET,16TH
FLOOR
COLUMBUS,
OHIO
43215
USA
TEL:
1-877-767-6446
FAX:
1-614-644-0649
WWW.SOS.STATE.OH.US
DIRECTIVE
2010-23
February22,2010
To:
ALL
COUNTI
BOARDS
OFELECTIONS
Re:
Petition
of
SteveChristopher
fm'
AttorneyGeneral
Enclosed
for
yourreviewandverification
is
SteveChristopher'sdeclarationofcandidacyandpetition
for
statewideoffice
of
AttorneyGeneralthatwasfiledin
the
SecretaryofState'sofficeon
February
18,
2010.
Thefacts
of
qualificationforsignersandcirculators
of
thepartpetitionsaredetermined
as
of
the
date
the
petition
was
filed
intheSecretary
of
State'soffice,that
is:
February
18,
2010.
Pleasenote
that
thisdiffersfromthestandardusedforthestateissuepartpetitionsyourecentlyexamined,forwhichthosequalificationsweredeterminedbasedonthedateapartpetitionwasexaminedbytheboard,notthedatethepetitionwasfiled.
You
mustexaminethepetitionsaccordingtotherequirementsof
R.C.
3513.05(requirementsofdeclarationsofcandidacy),
R.C.
3501.38(rulesgoverningpetitions),
R.C.
3501.011(definitionof"signature"),andtheenclosedinstructions.Yourboardmustcertify
the
validityandsufficiencyofthepetitionpapersby
March
1,
2010.
All
petitionpapersandcertificationformsmustbereturnedtothisofficeby
March
3,
2010,
via
amethod
that
providesarecord
of
sending.trackingwhileintransit,andreceiptupondelivew.(Examples:Certified
U.S.
Mail,UPS.FedEx.)
You
alsomayreturntheminperson.Whenexaminingeachpart-petition,pleaserememberthat:oA
signer
of
thesubjectdeclarationofcandidacymustbeaqualifiedelectorwhosequalifyingvotingaddressislocated
in
theState
of
Ohioandmust
be
affiliatedwiththe
Republican
Pal-ty
(seebelowformoredetailsonthisissue).oAfederalcourthasruledunconstitutionaltheprovision
of
R.C.
3503.06(A)thatrequiredacirculatorofadeclaration
of
candidacyornominatingpetitiontobearesidentofOhio.Consequently,a
circulatm'
of
thesubjectdeclaration
of
candidacyisnotrequiredto
be
aqualifiedelector
of
Ohio.However,ifthecirculatorisaqualifiedelector
of
Ohio,thecirculatormustbeaffiliatedwiththe
Republican
Party,
unless
thecirculator
is
thecandidatenamed
in
the
petition'sdeclarationofcandidacy
and
isexemptedby
R.C.
3513.191(C)(4)fromthepartyaffiliationrulecontained
in
the
seventhparagraphof
R.C.
35
13.0
5.
Forpurposesof
signing
or
circulating
apetitionofcandidacyformajorpoliticalpartynominationorelectionunder
R.C.
3513.05,anelector
is
consideredtobeamember
of
apoliticalparty
of
thecandidateif
the
signer
or
circulator
either:
oVotedinthatparty'sprimaryelectionwithintheprecedingtwocalendaryears
(2008-
2009),oro
Did
notvoteinany
other
party'sprimaryelectionwithin
the
precedingtwocalendaryears(2008-2009)·
.
"
Directive2010-23MajorPartyCandidatePetition-ChristopherPage
2
of
2
We
remindyouthat,although
R.C.
3501.38(C)providesthata
sign.er's
addressonapetitionmustmatchthesigner'saddressonfilewiththeboardofelections,nosuchrequirementextendstotheaddressesof
can.didates
or
cil·culators.
(Whilethisdoesnotseemtobewhatwouldbethespiritofthelaw,itistheletterofthelaw,anduntilchangedbythestatelegislature,
we
mustfollowthisresult.)This
is
becausestatelawmerelyrequiresthatacandidateforAttorneyGeneralmustbeaqualifiedelector
ofthe
StateofOhio.Consequently,thereisnobasis
in
lawforinvalidatingapartpetitionsolelybecausetheaddressofthecandidate
and/or
circulatoronthatpartpetitiondiffersfromtheaddressonfilewithaboardofelections.Ifyoureceiveoneormorepartpetitionpaperssignedbyacirculatorwho
is
anOhioelectorfromanothercounty,pleasecontactthatcounty'sboardofelectionstocontiI'mthecirculator'sregistrationandpartyaffiliation.
If
youhaveanyquestionsconcerningthepetitionoranypartpetition,pleasecall
the
ElectionsDi\isionat614-466-2585.Weappreciateyourcooperation.Sincerely,JenniferBrunnerEnclosure
Ohio
Secretaryof
State's
Instructionsto
County
Boards
of
Elections
l'egardingExamination
of
2010
State
MAJOR
Political
Party
Candidate
Petitions
(RevisedCodeChapters3501,3503,
and
3513)
CIRCULATORS
A.
Qualifications
Afederalcourthasruledunconstitutionaltheprovisionof
R.C.
3503.06(A)thatrequiredacirculatorofadeclarationofcandidacy
or
nominatingpetition
to
beanelector
or
residentofOhio.
(See
Advisory200904
).
However,under
R.C.
3513.07,circulatorsofcandidatepetitionsmustlistthecirculator'spermanentaddress.However,unlikesignersofpetitions,there
is
nobasisinlawforinvalidatingapart-petitioniftheaddressofacirculatorwho
is
anOhioelectordiffersfromtheaddresson
file
withaboardofelections.OhioAttorneyGeneralOpinion2010-002(issuedJanualY
15,
2010)interpreted
R.C.
2961.01(B)and
R.C.
2967.16(C)
to
conclude
that
personswhowereconvicted
of
felonyoffensesprior
toMay
2,2006
areeligible
to
circulatepetitionsinOhio.Additionally,personswhowereconvictedoffelonyoffensesonorafter
May
2,2006,
whohaveservedtheirentiresentencewithoutanypost-releasecontrolsanctions,
who
havebeengrantedfinalrelease
by
theOhiooranotherstate'sAdultParoleAuthority,orwhohavecompletedtheirperiodofanycommunitycontrolsanctions(probation)mayalsocirculatepetitions
in
Ohio.
You
mayseektheassistanceofyourcountyprosecutor
and/or
clerkofcourts
to
determinewhetheracirculatorwhowasconvictedofafelonyoffenseafterMay
2,
2006
is
eligible
to
circulateapetition.Additionally,ifyoudeterminethatapersonwhowasconvictedofafelonyoffenseafter
May
2,
2006
is
noteligibletocirculateapetition,pleasereportthisinformation
to
theElectionsDivisionoftheSecretaryofState'soffice.This
, , ~ 1 1
assistotherboardsofelections
in
determiningthequalificationsofcirculatorsintheircounties.Whilecirculatorsofanydeclarationofcandidacy
for
apartisancandidatearenotrequired
to
beOhioelectors,ifthecirculator
is
anOhioelectorhe/shemustbeaffiliatedwiththepoliticalpartyofthecandidatenamedonthatdeclarationofcandidacyorbeunaffiliated,
unless
thecirculator
is
thecandidatenamedinthatpetitionand
is
exemptedby
R.C.
3513.191(C)(4)fromthepartyaffiliationrulecontainedintheseventhparagraphof
R.C.
3513.05.Forpurposesofcirculatingadeclarationofcandidacy,anelector
is
consideredaffiliatedwithapoliticalpartyofthecandidateifthecirculator
either:
1.
Voted
in
thatparty'sprimaryelectionwithintheprecedingtwocalendaryears
(2008
or2009),or
2.
Did
notvoteinany
other
party'sprimmyelectionwithinthepreceding
t."vo
calendaryears.B.
Circulator's
Statement
Eachpartpetitionmustcontainacirculator'sstatementthat
is
completedasrequiredby
law.
Thecirculator'sstatementmustincludethefollowinginformation:
1.
Thenumberofsignatures
\ \ ~ t n e s s e d
bythatcirculator,
2.
Thesignatureofthecirculator,
3.
Thecirculator'spermanentresidenceaddress(does
not
havetobeanaddressinOhio),and
4.
Thename
and
address--e.g.,streetnameandnumber,city,andstate;orpostofficeboxnumber,city,andstate;orstreetname
and
number,and
zip
code;
or
postofficeboxnumberandzipcode-oftheemployerofthecirculatorwhohasemployedthecirculatortocirculatethepartpetition,butonly
ifthe
circulator
is
beingemployed
to
circulatethepetition.
In
the
absence
of
inconsistencies
on
or
between
the
eiI'eulatOl'
statements
on
part
petitions
circulatedby
thesame
individual
or
a
protest
filed
l'eg31'ding
part
petitions
cil'eulated
by
paid
circulators,
theboardmust
accept
theinformationcontained
in
the
part
petition
as
it
appeal'S
onits
face.
Whenthenumberofsignaturesonapartpetitionappearstodifferfromthenumberentered
in
thecirculator'sstatement,theboardmustexaminethatpartpetition
to
determinethenatureofthe
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