2006 Ohio Revised Code - 3501.17. Expenses and apportionment of costs.

§ 3501.17. Expenses and apportionment of costs.
 

(A)  The expenses of the board of elections shall be paid from the county treasury, in pursuance of appropriations by the board of county commissioners, in the same manner as other county expenses are paid. If the board of county commissioners fails to appropriate an amount sufficient to provide for the necessary and proper expenses of the board of elections pertaining to the conduct of elections, the board of elections may apply to the court of common pleas within the county, which shall fix the amount necessary to be appropriated and the amount shall be appropriated. Payments shall be made upon vouchers of the board of elections certified to by its chairperson or acting chairperson and the director or deputy director, upon warrants of the county auditor. 
 

The board of elections shall not incur any obligation involving the expenditure of money unless there are moneys sufficient in the funds appropriated therefor to meet the obligation. If the board of elections requests a transfer of funds from one of its appropriation items to another, the board of county commissioners shall adopt a resolution providing for the transfer except as otherwise provided in section 5705.40 of the Revised Code. The expenses of the board of elections shall be apportioned among the county and the various subdivisions as provided in this section, and the amount chargeable to each subdivision shall be withheld by the auditor from the moneys payable thereto at the time of the next tax settlement. At the time of submitting budget estimates in each year, the board of elections shall submit to the taxing authority of each subdivision, upon the request of the subdivision, an estimate of the amount to be withheld from the subdivision during the next fiscal year. 

(B)  Except as otherwise provided in division (F) of this section, the entire compensation of the members of the board of elections and of the director, deputy director, and other employees in the board's offices; the expenditures for the rental, furnishing, and equipping of the office of the board and for the necessary office supplies for the use of the board; the expenditures for the acquisition, repair, care, and custody of the polling places, booths, guardrails, and other equipment for polling places; the cost of pollbooks, tally sheets, maps, flags, ballot boxes, and all other permanent records and equipment; the cost of all elections held in and for the state and county; and all other expenses of the board which are not chargeable to a political subdivision in accordance with this section shall be paid in the same manner as other county expenses are paid. 

(C)  The compensation of judges and clerks of elections; the cost of renting, moving, heating, and lighting polling places and of placing and removing ballot boxes and other fixtures and equipment thereof; the cost of printing and delivering ballots, cards of instructions, and other election supplies; and all other expenses of conducting primaries and elections in the odd-numbered years shall be charged to the subdivisions in and for which such primaries or elections are held. The charge for each primary or general election in odd-numbered years for each subdivision shall be determined in the following manner: first, the total cost of all chargeable items used in conducting such elections shall be ascertained; second, the total charge shall be divided by the number of precincts participating in such election, in order to fix the cost per precinct; third, the cost per precinct shall be prorated by the board of elections to the subdivisions conducting elections for the nomination or election of offices in such precinct; fourth, the total cost for each subdivision shall be determined by adding the charges prorated to it in each precinct within the subdivision. 

(D)  The entire cost of special elections held on a day other than the day of a primary or general election, both in odd-numbered or in even-numbered years, shall be charged to the subdivision. Where a special election is held on the same day as a primary or general election in an even-numbered year, the subdivision submitting the special election shall be charged only for the cost of ballots and advertising. Where a special election is held on the same day as a primary or general election in an odd-numbered year, the subdivision submitting the special election shall be charged for the cost of ballots and advertising for such special election, in addition to the charges prorated to such subdivision for the election or nomination of candidates in each precinct within the subdivision, as set forth in the preceding paragraph. 

(E)  Where a special election is held on the day specified by division (E) of section 3501.01 of the Revised Code for the holding of a primary election, for the purpose of submitting to the voters of the state constitutional amendments proposed by the general assembly, and a subdivision conducts a special election on the same day, the entire cost of the special election shall be divided proportionally between the state and the subdivision based upon a ratio determined by the number of issues placed on the ballot by each, except as otherwise provided in division (G) of this section. Such proportional division of cost shall be made only to the extent funds are available for such purpose from amounts appropriated by the general assembly to the secretary of state. If a primary election is also being conducted in the subdivision, the costs shall be apportioned as otherwise provided in this section. 

(F)  When a precinct is open during a general, primary, or special election solely for the purpose of submitting to the voters a statewide ballot issue, the state shall bear the entire cost of the election in that precinct and shall reimburse the county for all expenses incurred in opening the precinct. 

(G)  The state shall bear the entire cost of advertising in newspapers statewide ballot issues, explanations of those issues, and arguments for or against those issues, as required by Section 1g of Article II and Section 1 of Article XVI, Ohio Constitution, and any other section of law and shall reimburse the counties for all expenses they incur for such advertising. 

(H)  The cost of renting, heating, and lighting registration places; the cost of the necessary books, forms, and supplies for the conduct of registration; and the cost of printing and posting precinct registration lists shall be charged to the subdivision in which such registration is held. 

(I)  As used in this section, "statewide ballot issue" means any ballot issue, whether proposed by the general assembly or by initiative or referendum, that is submitted to the voters throughout the state. 
 

HISTORY: GC § 4785-20; 113 v 307, § 20; 114 v 679; Bureau of Code Revision, 10-1-53; 125 v 713(737); 126 v 205; 127 v 741 (Eff 1-1-58); 132 v H 934 (Eff 5-31-68); 133 v H 1 (Eff 3-18-69); 135 v H 662 (Eff 9-27-74); 136 v S 158 (Eff 11-25-75); 138 v H 1062 (Eff 3-23-81); 140 v S 213 (Eff 10-13-83); 141 v H 555 (Eff 2-26-86); 141 v S 185 (Eff 3-23-87); 142 v H 231 (Eff 10-5-87); 145 v S 150 (Eff 12-29-93); 147 v H 215. Eff 6-30-97; 151 v H 66, § 101.01, eff. 9-29-05; 151 v H 234, § 1, eff. 1-27-06; 151 v H 3, § 1, eff. 5-2-06.
 

The effective date is set by § 612.03 of 151 v H 66. 

 

Effect of Amendments

151 v H 3, effective May 2, 2006, in the second paragraph of (A), deleted "as required in division (D) of section 5705.41 of the Revised Code" from the end of the first sentence. 

151 v H 234, effective January 27, 2006, in the first paragraph of (A), deleted "other than expenses for employee compensation and benefits incurred in the conduct of elections" preceding "board of elections may". 

151 v H 66, effective September 29, 2005, rewrote (A).