CONTENTS:

To make specified election reforms

State Fiscal Highlights

State GOVERNMENT		FY 2006	FY 2007	FUTURE YEARS
Secretary of State
Revenues	- 0 -		- 0 -	- 0 -
Expenditures	Potential increase in costs for voter registration database training and informational pamphlet creation		Potential increase in costs for voter registration database training and informational pamphlet creation	Potential increase in costs for voter registration database training and informational pamphlet creation
Victims of Crime/Reparations Fund (Fund 402)
Revenues	Potential negligible gain		Potential negligible gain	Potential negligible annual gain
Expenditures	- 0 -		- 0 -	- 0 -
Attorney General
Revenues	- 0 -		- 0 -	- 0 -
Expenditures	Potential increase in costs for challenges of AG ballot referendums, and prosecution costs		Potential increase in costs for challenges of AG ballot referendums, and prosecution costs	Potential increase in costs for challenges of AG ballot referendums, and prosecution costs

· Voter Registration Database. Requires that the Secretary of State complete a voter registration database as required by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). The Secretary of State must also annually audit the information in the database. The cost of this would presumably be covered by existing resources, as the Secretary of State's office has received $5 million in federal funding to fulfill this requirement. The Secretary of State must provide training to users of this database.

· Updating of Voter Signatures. This provision requires the Secretary of State to establish a procedure by which a registered elector may update the elector's signature used in the poll list or signature pollbook. The cost of adding this feature is unknown.

· Precinct Identification Web site. This provision requires as a part of the voter registration database, that the Secretary of State make available online 30 days prior to an election a web site interface that allows a voter to search for the polling location at which a voter may cast a ballot. There will be start-up and site maintenance costs for this web site application.

· New Pamphlet Cost. The Secretary of State must create an informational pamphlet for county boards of elections to distribute to anyone requesting two or more voter registration forms. There would be some new costs associated with this requirement.

· Party Affiliation Change Form. Requires the Secretary of State to prescribe a form that permits electors to select or change political party affiliation. There will be some costs associated with the production of this form as well as a potential increase in workload in updating the voter registration database.

· Web Site Postings of Directives. Requires the Secretary of State to maintain on its web site a list of directives to counties for election administration, as well as the number of absentee and provisional ballots cast and counted.

· Penalty Enhancement – Petition Circulation Fraud. Increases the penalties for circulators who violate the provisions of R.C. section 3599.14 from an M1 misdemeanor to an F5 felony in certain instances. Such examples of violations include misrepresentation of contents or purpose of the petition and payment or promises of anything of value in return for signing a petition.

· Ballot Language Challenge. Creates a procedure for challenging the Attorney General's determination that an initiative or ballot referendum's summary language is fair and accurate. The challenge would go directly to the Supreme Court. The Attorney General would be responsible for any litigation costs incurred for defending the determination.

· Initiation of Criminal Proceedings. Permits the Attorney General to initiate criminal proceedings for election fraud. The Attorney General may prosecute such offenses if the prosecuting attorney in the county in which the violation occurs refuses to do so, or requests that the Attorney General do so.

Local Fiscal Highlights

LOCAL GOVERNMENT		FY 2006	FY 2007	FUTURE YEARS
County Boards of Elections
Revenues	- 0 -		- 0 -	- 0 -
Expenditures	Potential substantial increase or decrease in costs		Potential substantial increase or decrease in costs	Potential substantial increase or decrease in costs
County Courts
Revenues	Potential gain, likely to be no more than minimal		Potential gain, likely to be no more than minimal	Potential gain, likely to be no more than minimal
Expenditures	Potential increase, likely to be no more than minimal		Potential increase, likely to be no more than minimal	Potential increase, likely to be no more than minimal

Local Health Boards
Revenues	- 0 -	- 0 -	- 0 -
Expenditures	Potential minimal increase in costs	Potential minimal increase in costs	Potential minimal increase in costs

Note: For most local governments, the fiscal year is the calendar year. The school district fiscal year is July 1 through June 30.

· Reminder Mailings. Requires that county boards of elections distribute a reminder mailing, including precinct and day of the election to all registered voters who are registered no later than 60 days before the registration deadline. This shall be done four times: before the August and November elections of 2006, and before the primary and general elections in 2008. This cost could be substantial for any counties that currently do not send out such reminder mailings.

· Precinct Identification Web site. Requires boards of elections to provide to the Secretary of State updated locations of polling places within one business day. County boards of elections may experience one-time costs for the production of this information and distribution to the Secretary of State.

· Proof of Identity. Requires all electors to show proof of identity at a polling place before voting in all nonfederal elections.

· Nonautomatic Recount Costs. Requires that applicants for a nonautomatic recount pay the entire cost of the recount if the results do not change the outcome of the election. Potential savings for boards of elections depending upon the number of precincts included in the recount. Although highly unlikely, if the outcome of an election were to be changed as a result of a requested recount, the county would then bear the cost, which would be substantial.

· Optical Scan Ballot Counting Procedure. Requires teams of employees of a county board of elections to remake and count as valid ballots, optical scan ballots that were improperly marked and rejected, if those teams are able to determine that specified marks demonstrate the intent of the voter. This is a potential new cost

· Provisional Balloting Procedure. Removes language that requires poll workers to refuse a person a ballot, and instead lets those individuals vote provisionally. This could lead to a minimal increase in costs if the production of additional provisional ballots is necessary. There could also be increased costs for the verification of additional provisional ballots.

· Precinct Location Web sites. Permits county boards of elections to operate web sites on which persons input their addresses and determine their precinct numbers and polling places. There could be web site start-up and maintenance costs for any county boards of elections that do not currently operate such a web site.

· Penalty Enhancement – Circulator Fraud. Increases the penalties for circulators who violate the provisions of R.C. section 3599.14 from an M1 misdemeanor to an F5 felony in certain instances. It is possible that county criminal justice system costs related to prosecuting, adjudicating, defending (if the offender is indigent), and sanctioning certain offenders might increase. It appears though that the number of new felony cases that could be created as a result of the bill annually in any given county will be relatively small.

· Voter Lists Updates. Requires local boards of health to send lists of deceased citizens once a month to boards of elections so these individuals can be promptly removed from the voter file. There could be some minimal costs since under current practice, such lists are not sent as frequently.

· Local Elected Officers – Campaign Contributions. Prohibits county municipal and township elective officers from soliciting or accepting donations from their employees. Violation of this prohibition is a first-degree misdemeanor.

· Advertising Requirements. Changes advertising requirements for statewide questions appearing on ballots. Current law requires notice be made in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for four weeks prior to the election. The bill alters this requirement to once a week for two weeks. After such time, the language shall be posted on each board of election's web site. The change would result in a cost savings for ballot advertising costs. Since counties pay advertising costs for local issues, they would realize some savings. As the state reimburses counties for statewide ballot advertising cost, the state would also save some expense.

Detailed Fiscal Analysis

State Fiscal Effects

Voter Registration Database

The bill requires the Secretary of State to establish a statewide-computerized voter registration database as stated in HAVA. The Secretary of State must also annually audit the information in the database. This requirement is fully funded by federal money issued pursuant to the guidelines listed in HAVA, as the Secretary of State's office has received approximately $5 million for the completion of this requirement. The bill also requires that the Secretary of State provide training for users of the statewide voter registration database. The Secretary of State will be required to pay the costs associated with conducting such training, which would presumably be covered by the $5 million in federal funds.

Precinct Identification Web site. This provision requires, as a part of the voter registration database, that the Secretary of State make available online 30 days prior to an election, a web site interface that allows a voter to search for the polling location at which a voter may cast a ballot. The effective date of this provision would be one day before this web site would be required to function, which is before the May primary election on May 2, 2006. Given this timeframe, there can be some expected costs associated with implementing this web site in the required timeframe. No cost estimate was available for LSC.

Updating of Voter Signatures. This provision requires the Secretary of State to establish a procedure by which a registered elector may update the elector's signature used in the poll list or signature pollbook. The costs of implementing this requirement is unknown and will be dependent upon the procedure created by the Secretary of State's office.

Voter Registration Pamphlets

The Secretary of State is required to create informational pamphlets to be distributed by the county boards of elections to any person who requests more than two voter registration forms. The Secretary of State will bear the costs of the production of these pamphlets as well as the cost for distribution of these pamphlets to the county boards of elections.

Political Party Affiliation Form

The bill requires that the Secretary of State create a form that would allow electors to select or change political party affiliation. There could be some minimal costs associated with the production of this form as well as a potential increase in workload in updating the voter registration database.

Secretary of State Directives

The Secretary of State is required to maintain on its web site a list of directives issued to counties for the administration of an upcoming election as well as the number of absentee and provisional ballots cast and counted in the last election. There will be minimal costs associated with uploading and maintaining this information on the Secretary of State's web site.

Attorney General Determination Challenges and Initiation of Criminal Proceedings

The bill creates a procedure for challenging the Attorney General's determination that an initiative or ballot referendum's summary language is fair and accurate. The challenge would go directly to the Supreme Court. The Attorney General would be responsible for any litigation costs incurred for defending the determination.

The bill permits the Attorney General to initiate criminal proceedings for election fraud. The Attorney General may prosecute such offenses if the prosecuting attorney in the county in which the violation occurs refuses to do so, or requests that the Attorney General do so. The costs for such prosecutions will be paid by the Attorney General's Office.

Local Fiscal Effects

County Reminder Mailings

The bill requires county boards of elections to send a reminder mailing to all registered voters who are registered no later than 60 days before the registration deadline. This mailing must include the precinct of that voter and the date of the election. This provision could result in a substantial cost increase for county boards of elections that currently do not send out such reminder mailings.

However, the bill limits this requirement to four specific instances, somewhat limiting new costs imposed by the mailing requirement: for the August and November elections in 2006, and the primary and general elections of 2008. After this time, counties will no longer be required to send such mailings.

Voter Identification Requirements

The bill requires that all electors who have registered to vote by mail, and have not previously voted in an election for federal office in Ohio, that intend to vote in a federal election, show proof of the elector's identity before voting. If the elector has no such proof, they may be permitted to cast a provisional ballot. If the elector intends to vote in a nonfederal election, and has registered by mail and has not previously voted in a nonfederal election in Ohio, the elector must show proof of identification. If no such proof is given, the elector may cast a provisional ballot. If qualified electors fail to show proper identification, they will have to cast a provisional ballot. There could be a minimal cost increase to boards of elections if they would have to verify the provisional ballots of such qualified electors due to the elector's failure to produce identification.

Provisional Ballot Process

The bill establishes a process through which provisional ballots may be cast. An election official must notify the individual that the individual may cast a provisional ballot. The elector may then cast the provisional ballot upon the execution of a written affirmation stating that the elector is a registered voter in that jurisdiction, and is eligible to vote in that election. The election official must then transmit the ballot cast, or the written affirmation to an appropriate state or local election official for prompt verification. If this election official determines that the individual is eligible to vote, the provisional ballot must be counted in the election.

Once the provisional ballot is cast, the appropriate state or local election official must give the individual written information that states that any individual who casts a provisional ballot will be able to ascertain whether or not the vote was counted, and if not, the reason. The election official is required to establish a free access system such as a toll-free telephone number or an Internet web site for this purpose. The bill also requires additional information such as name, address, and date of birth, to be provided on provisional ballot envelopes, absentee ballot envelopes, and voter registration. There could be an increase in costs to counties if any new forms would need to be created to list this additional information.

The bill also allows provisional voters to provide necessary additional information to county boards of elections within ten days after the election. This would possibly extend the time necessary for counting provisional ballots, which may result in cost increases if staff overtime or additional staff is required to verify these provisional ballots.

Next, the bill removes all language that requires poll workers to refuse a person a ballot. These individuals are instead permitted to vote provisionally. Counties may experience increased costs if a greater number of provisional ballots are needed, or if additional staff or staff overtime is needed to verify these additional provisional ballots.

Currently, the Secretary of State's office operates a toll-free system that those casting a provisional ballot may call. This number then directs the caller to the appropriate county board of elections. The county must then tell the elector whether his or her vote was counted, and if it was not, the reason. Some counties may be able to fulfill this requirement with current staff. However, this requirement could cause a county board of elections to hire additional staff temporarily due to a high volume of requests immediately following an election. This would lead to increased costs for such counties.

Optical Scan Ballot Standards

The bill requires teams of employees of a county board of elections to remake and count as valid ballots, optical scan ballots that were improperly marked and rejected, if those teams are able to determine that specified marks demonstrate the intent of the voter. This provision may result in an increase in costs to county boards of elections. There may be cost increases for a greater number of ballots being used by a board of elections. If election officials must fill out another ballot after determining voter intent, a greater number of ballots will be used. There may also be a need for more poll workers or election officials to complete this task, which may also increase costs.

Nonautomatic Recount Costs

Existing law states that a person applying for a nonautomatic recount must deposit $50 in currency with the board of elections in which the person is requesting the recount. The board of elections must determine the charges for making the recount. These charges include all expenses the board incurred due to the application for recount, outside of the normal operating costs the board would have incurred had no such application been made. These total costs are divided by the number of precincts listed in the application for a recount. This number is the per precinct charge. The per precinct charge is statutorily capped at $50. This charge is then deducted by the board of elections from the money deposited. The remainder of the balance, if any, is returned to the person requesting a recount.

The bill removes the existing law provisions that require the fixing of a charge per precinct. Under the bill, the applicant is responsible for paying the entire costs of the recount as determined by the board. This provision eliminates any costs of conducting a recount for county boards of elections, provided this recount does not change the outcome of the election. Although highly unlikely, under these circumstances, if a nonautomatic recount were to change the result of an election, the county would bear the cost.

County board of elections web sites

The bill permits county boards of elections to operate web sites on which persons input their addresses and determine their precinct numbers and polling places. The Secretary of State has software that the counties may obtain that can provide this service. The cost to county boards of elections that currently operate web sites to provide this service is minimal. However, those county boards of elections that do not operate a web site would experience a greater cost to implement this service. According to the Secretary of State's web site, 55 counties currently operate a web site through which this service could be provided.

Local Health Boards

The bill requires local health boards to send lists of deceased citizens once a month to boards of elections so that these individuals can be promptly removed from the voter file. There could be some minimal costs to these local health boards to send this information on a monthly basis. Currently, such updated lists are not sent as frequently.

Advertising Requirements. The bill changes advertising requirements for statewide questions appearing on ballots. Current law requires notice be made in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for four weeks prior to the election. The bill alters this requirement for once a week for two weeks. After such time, the language shall be posted on each board of election's web site. If the board does not operate its own web site, the language shall appear on the web site it operates and maintains for 30 days prior to the election. Changing the required time that such an issue must appear in a newspaper of general circulation will likely decrease the advertising costs for county boards of elections. Any costs for posting and maintaining the language on the board's web site is negligible. There is also the possibility of state savings, as the state reimburses counties for the cost of advertising statewide issues.

Penalties

Petition Circulator Penalties

The bill increases the penalties for circulators who violate the provisions of R.C. section 3599.14 from an M1 misdemeanor to an F5 felony in certain instances. However, if the following apply, the penalty will be a misdemeanor of the first degree instead of a felony of the fifth degree: the person has not previously violated any of the applicable provisions, the violation does not cause any person to miss any voter registration deadlines with regard to any election, and the number of voter registration forms that the person has filed properly does not exceed 49. Such examples of violations include misrepresentation of contents or purpose of the petition and payment or promises of anything of value in return for signing a petition. It is possible that county criminal justice system costs related to prosecuting, adjudicating, defending (if the offender is indigent), and sanctioning certain offenders might increase. It appears though that the number of new felony cases that could be created as a result of the bill annually in any given county will be relatively small.

Donation Prohibitions

The bill prohibits county municipal and township elective officers from soliciting or accepting donations from their employees. Violation of this prohibition is a first-degree misdemeanor. The likelihood of such cases is minimal. Therefore, any additional costs related to prosecuting, adjudicating, defending (if the offender is indigent), and sanctioning certain offenders are likely to be minimal, as are any gains in fine revenue resulting from prosecuting any violators.

LSC fiscal staff: Terry Steele, Budget Analyst

HB0003EN/arc

BILL:	Am. Sub. H.B. 3		DATE:	January 31, 2006
STATUS:	As Enacted – Effective May 2, 2006 (certain provisions effective June 1, 2006 and January 1, 2006)		SPONSOR:	Rep. DeWine
LOCAL IMPACT STATEMENT REQUIRED:		No —	However, the "As Enacted" bill appears to include new local costs not in "As Introduced" version