2013 Ohio Revised Code
Title [35] XXXV ELECTIONS
Chapter 3515 - RECOUNT; CONTEST OF ELECTIONS.
Section 3515.04 - Recount procedure.

At the time and place fixed for making a recount, the board of elections, in the presence of all observers who may be in attendance, shall open the sealed containers containing the ballots to be recounted, and shall recount them. If a county used punch card ballots and if a chad is attached to a punch card ballot by three or four corners, the voter shall be deemed by the board not to have recorded a candidate, question, or issue choice at the particular position on the ballot, and a vote shall not be counted at that particular position on the ballot in the recount. Ballots shall be handled only by the members of the board or by the director or other employees of the board. Observers shall be permitted to see the ballots, but they shall not be permitted to touch them, and the board shall not permit the counting or tabulation of votes shown on the ballots for any nomination, or for election to any office or position, or upon any question or issue, other than the votes shown on such ballots for the nomination, election, question, or issue concerning which a recount of ballots was applied for.

At any time before the ballots from all of the precincts listed in an application for the recount or involved in a recount pursuant to section 3515.011 of the Revised Code have been recounted, the applicant or declared losing candidate or nominee or each of the declared losing candidates or nominees entitled to file a request prior to the commencement of a recount, as provided in section 3515.03 of the Revised Code, may file with the board a written request to stop the recount and not recount the ballots from the precincts so listed that have not been recounted prior to the time of the request. If, upon the request, the board finds that results of the votes in the precincts recounted, if substituted for the results of the votes in those precincts as shown in the abstract of the votes in those precincts, would not cause the applicant, if a person for whom votes were cast for nomination or election, to be declared nominated or elected or if an election upon a question or issue would not cause a result contrary to the result as declared prior to such recount, it shall grant the request and shall not recount the ballots of the precincts listed in the application for recount that have not been recounted prior to that time. If the board finds otherwise, it shall deny the request and shall continue to recount ballots until the ballots from all of the precincts listed in the application for recount have been recounted; provided that, if the request is denied, it may be renewed from time to time. Upon any such renewal, the board shall consider and act upon the request in the same manner as provided in this section in connection with an original request.

As used in this section, "chad" and "punch card ballot" have the same meanings as in section 3506.16 of the Revised Code.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.105,SB 295, §1, eff. 8/15/2012.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.40,HB 194, §1 Made subject to referendum in the Nov. 6, 2012 election. The version of this section thus amended was repealed by 129th General AssemblyFile No.105,SB 295, §1, eff. 8/15/2012.

Effective Date: 08-28-2001; 05-02-2006