PROVISIONS of the Constitution of the State of Ohio RELATING TO ELECTIONS Who may vote. By ballot. Voters, when privileged from arrest. Forfeiture of elective franchise. Persons not considered residents of the state. Idiots or insane persons. Nomination of ARTICLE V. ELECTIVE FRANCHISE. SEC. 1. Every white male citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty-one years, who shall have been a resident of the state one year next preceding the election, and of the county, township, or ward, in which he resides, such time as may be provided by law, shall have the qualifications of an elector, and be entitled to vote at all elections. NOTE:-1. This restriction on the elective franchise is now abrogated by the 14th and 15th articles of amendment to the Federal Constitution. 2. An inmate of a county infirmary who has adopted the township in which the infirmary is situated as his place of residence, having no family elsewhere, and who possesses the other qualifications required by law, is entitled to vote in the township in which said infirmary is situated. Sturgeon v. Korte 34 O. S. 525, 533. SEC. 2. All elections shall be by ballot. For definition of "ballot" see State v. Board, 80 O. S. 471. SEC. 3. Electors during their attendance at elections, and in going to, and returning therefrom, shall be privileged from arrest in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the peace. SEC. 4. The general assembly shall have power to exclude from the privilege of voting, or of being eligible to office, any person convicted of bribery, perjury or other infamous crimes. SEC. 5. No person in the military, naval, or marine service in the United States, shall, by being stationed in any garrison, or military, or naval station, within the state, be considered a resident of this state. SEC. 6. No idiot, or insane person, shall be entitled to the privileges of an elector. SEC. 7. All nominations for elective state, district, county and municipal offices shall be made at direct primary elections or by petition as provided by law, and provision shall be made by law for a preferential vote for United States senator; but direct primaries shall not be held for RELATING TO ELECTIONS, palities less the nomination of township officers or for the officers of Section does municipalities of less than two thousand population, unless not apply to townships petitioned for by a majority of the electors of such town- and munici ship or municipality. All delegates from this state to the than 2000 national conventions of political parties shall be chosen by population. direct vote of the electors. Each candidate for such delegate shall state his first and second choices for the presidency, which preferences shall be printed upon the primary ballot below the name of such candidate, but the name of no candidate for the presidency shall be so used without his written authority. ARTICLE XVII. tions. SECTION I. Elections for state and county officers Times for shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in holding elec November in the even numbered years; and all elections for all other elective officers shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in the odd numbered years. SEC. 2. The term of office of the governor, lieutenant Terms of governor, attorney-general, secretary of state and treasurer officers. of state shall be two years, and that of the auditor of state shall be four years. The term of office of the judges of the supreme court and circuit courts shall be such even number of years not less than six (6) years as may be prescribed by the general assembly; that of the judges of the common pleas court six (6) years and of the judges of the probate court, four (4) years, and that of other judges shall be such even number of years not exceeding six (6) years as may be prescribed by the general assembly. The term of office of justices of the peace shall be such even number of years not exceeding four (4) years as may be so prescribed; and the term of office of the members of the board of public works shall be such even number of years not exceeding six (6) years as may be prescribed; and the term of office of all elective county, township, municipal and school officers shall be such even number of years not exceeding four (4) years as may be so prescribed. And the general assembly shall have power to so extend existing terms of office as to effect the purpose of section of this article.. Any vacancy which may occur in any elective state office other than that of a member of the general assembly or of governor, shall be filled by appointment by the governor until the disability is removed, or a successor elected Vacancies. and qualified. Every such vacancy shall be filled by election at the first general election for the office which is vacant, that occurs more than thirty (30) days after the vacancy shall have occurred. The person elected shall fill the office for the unexpired term. All vacancies in other elective offices shall be filled for the unexpired term in such manner as may be prescribed by law. Right reserved to propose laws and amend constitution and to adopt or reject the same at the polls. SEC. 3. Every elective officer holding office when this amendment is adopted, shall continue to hold such office for the full term for which he was elected, and until his successor shall be elected and qualified as provided by law. ARTICLE II. LEGISLATIVE SEC. 1. The legislative power of the state shall be vested in a general assembly consisting of a senate and house of representatives but the people reserve to themments to the selves the power to propose to the general assembly laws and amendments to the constitution, and to adopt or reject the same at the polls on a referendum vote as hereinafter provided. They also reserve the power to adopt or reject any law, section of any law or any item in any law appropriating money passed by the general assembly, except as hereinafter provided; and independent of the general assembly to propose amendments to the constitution and to adopt or reject the same at the polls. The limitations expressed in the constitution, on the power of the general assembly to enact laws, shall be deemed limitations on the power of the people to enact laws. (Adopted Sept. 3, 1912.) Percentum required to propose an amendment; filing petition. Percentum re- When proposed law shall be re ferred to electors; supplementary petition. SEC. 1a. The first aforestated power reserved by the people is designated the initiative, and the signatures of ten per centum of the electors shall be required upon a petition to propose an amendment to the constitution. When a petition signed by the aforesaid required number of electors, shall have been filed with the secretary of state, and verified as herein provided, proposing an amendment to the constitution, the full text of which shall have been set forth in such petition, the secretary of state shall submit for the approval or rejection of the electors, the proposed amendment, in the manner hereinafter provided, at the next succeeding regular or general election in any year occurring subsequent to ninety days after the filing of such petition. The initiative petitions, above described, shall have printed across the top thereof: "Amendment to the Constitution Proposed by Initiative Petition to be Submitted Directly to the Electors". (Adopted Sept. 3, 1912.) SEC. Ib. When at any time, not less than ten days prior to the commencement of any session of the general assembly, there shall have been filed with the secretary of state a petition signed by three per centum of the electors and verified as herein provided, proposing a law, the full text of which shall have been set forth in such petition, the secretary of state shall transmit the same to the general assembly as soon as it convenes. If said proposed law shall be passed by the general assembly, either as petitioned for or in an amended form, it shall be subject to the referendum. If it shall not be passed, or if it shall be passed in an amended form, or if no action shall be taken thereon within four months from the time it is received by the general assembly, it shall be submitted by the secretary of state to the electors for their approval or rejection at the next regular or general election, if such submission shall be demanded by supplementary petition verified as herein provided and signed by not less than three per centum of the electors in addition to those signing the original petition, which supplementary petition must be signed and filed with the secretary of state within ninety days after the proposed law shall have been rejected by the general assembly or after the expiration of such term of four months, if no action has been taken thereon, or after the law as passed by the general assembly shall have been filed by the governor in the office of the scretary of state. The proposed law shall be submitted in the form demanded by such supplementary petition, which form shall be either as first petitioned for or with any amendment or amendments which may have been incorporated therein by either branch or by both branches of the general assembly. If a proposed law so submitted is approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon, it shall be the law and shall go into effect as herein provided in lieu of any amended form of said law which may have been passed by the general assembly, and such amended law passed by the general assembly shall not go into effect until and unless the law proposed by supplementary petition shall have been rejected by the electors. All such initiative petitions, last above described, shall have printed across the top thereof, in case of proposed laws: "Law Proposed by Initiative Petition First to be Sub- Petition shall mitted to the General Assembly". Ballots shall be so ballot subprinted as to permit an affirmative or negative vote upon same. each measure submitted to the electors. Any proposed law or amendment to the constitution submitted to the electors as provided in section 1a and section 1b, if approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon, shall take effect thirty days after the election at which it was approved and shall be published by the secretary of state. If con- When flicting proposed laws or conflicting proposed amendments proposed law to the constitution shall be approved at the same election ment, if by a majority of the total number of votes cast for and shall take against the same, the one receiving the highest number of effect. affirmative votes shall be the law, or in the case of amendments to the constitution shall be the amendment to the constitution. No law proposed by initiative petition and approved by the electors shall be subject to the veto of the governor. (Adopted Sept. 3, 1912.) SEC. IC. The second aforestated power reserved by the people is designated the referendum, and the signatures of six per centum of the electors shall be required upon a petition to order the submission to the electors of the state for their approval or rejection, of any law, section of any law or any item in any law appropriating money passed How Initiative be printed; mitting the or amend approved Percentum rerefer a law electors; filing petition. quired to etc., to the Laws not subject to the referendum. I. and R. shall not be used to classify property or levy single tax. I. and R. pow- by the general assembly. No law passed by the general assembly shall go into effect until ninety days after it shall have been filed by the governor in the office of the secretary of state, except as herein provided. When a petition, signed by six per centum of the electors of the state and verified as herein provided, shall have been filed with the secretary of state within ninety days after any law shall have been filed by the governor in the office of the secretary of state, ordering that such law, section of such law or any item in such law appropriating money be submitted to the electors of the state for their approval or rejection, the secretary of state shall submit to the electors of the state for their approval or rejection such law, section or item, in the manner herein provided, at the next succeeding regular or general election in any year occurring subsequent to sixty days after the filing of such petition, and no such law, section or item shall go into effect until and unless approved by a majority of those voting upon the same. If, however, a referendum petition is filed against any such section or item, the remainder of the law shall not thereby be prevented or delayed from going into effect. (Adopted Sept. 3, 1912.) SEC. Id. Laws providing for tax levies, appropriations for the current expenses of the state government and state institutions, and emergency laws necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety, shall go into immediate effect. Such emergency laws upon a yea and nay vote must receive the vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each branch of the general assembly, and the reasons for such necessity shall be set forth in one section of the law, which section shall be passed only upon a yea and nay vote, upon a separate roll call thereon. The laws mentioned in this section shall not be subject to the referendum. (Adopted Sept. 3, 1912.) SEC. Ie. The powers defined herein as the "initiative" and "referendum" shall not be used to pass a law authorizing any classification of property for the purpose of levying different rates of taxation thereon or of authorizing the levy of any single tax on land or land values or land sites at a higher rate or by a different rule than is or may be applied to improvements thereon or to personal property. (Adopted Sept. 3, 1912.) SEC. If. The initiative and referendum powers are hereby reserved to the people of each municipality on all questions which such municipalities may now or hereafter be authorized by law to control by legislative action; such powers shall be exercised in the manner now or hereafter provided by law. (Adopted Sept. 3, 1912.) |