2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 35 | Elections › Chapter 3503 | Voters - Qualifications; Registration › Section 3503.14 | Form and Content of Forms - Inability of Registrant to Sign Name.

Effective:
April 7, 2023
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 458 - 134th General Assembly
(A) The secretary of state shall prescribe the form and content of the registration, change of residence, and change of name forms used in this state. The forms shall meet the requirements of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and shall include spaces for all of the following:
(1) The voter's name;
(2) The voter's address;
(3) The current date;
(4) The voter's date of birth;
(5) The voter to provide at least one of the following forms of identification:
(a) The voter's Ohio driver's license or state identification card number;
(b) The last four digits of the voter's social security number.
(6) The voter's signature.
The registration form shall include a space on which the person registering an applicant shall sign the person's name and provide the person's address and a space on which the person registering an applicant shall name the employer who is employing that person to register the applicant.
Except for forms prescribed by the secretary of state under section 3503.11 of the Revised Code, the secretary of state shall permit boards of elections to produce forms that have subdivided spaces for each individual alphanumeric character of the information provided by the voter so as to accommodate the electronic reading and conversion of the voter's information to data and the subsequent electronic transfer of that data to the statewide voter registration database established under section 3503.15 of the Revised Code.
(B) None of the following persons who are registering an applicant in the course of that official's or employee's normal duties shall sign the person's name, provide the person's address, or name the employer who is employing the person to register an applicant on a form prepared under this section:
(1) An election official;
(2) A county treasurer;
(3) A deputy registrar of motor vehicles;
(4) An employee of a designated agency;
(5) An employee of a public high school;
(6) An employee of a public vocational school;
(7) An employee of a public library;
(8) An employee of the office of a county treasurer;
(9) An employee of the bureau of motor vehicles;
(10) An employee of a deputy registrar of motor vehicles;
(11) An employee of an election official.
(C) Except as provided in section 3501.382 of the Revised Code, any applicant who is unable to sign the applicant's own name shall make an "X," if possible, which shall be certified by the signing of the name of the applicant by the person filling out the form, who shall add the person's own signature. If an applicant is unable to make an "X," the applicant shall indicate in some manner that the applicant desires to register to vote or to change the applicant's name or residence. The person registering the applicant shall sign the form and attest that the applicant indicated that the applicant desired to register to vote or to change the applicant's name or residence.
(D) No registration, change of residence, or change of name form shall be rejected solely on the basis that a person registering an applicant failed to sign the person's name or failed to name the employer who is employing that person to register the applicant as required under division (A) of this section.
(E) A voter registration application submitted online through the internet pursuant to section 3503.20 of the Revised Code is not required to contain a signature to be considered valid. The signature obtained under division (B) of that section shall be considered the applicant's signature for all election and signature-matching purposes.
(F) As used in this section, "registering an applicant" includes any effort, for compensation, to provide voter registration forms or to assist persons in completing or returning those forms.
Last updated January 19, 2023 at 10:31 AM