Ohio Rev. Code » Chapter 3513
Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Rev. Code § 3513.01 (2026)

Primary elections

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section ORCcodes.ohio.gov (official) Justiaon Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
Effective:
October 17, 2019
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 166 - 133rd General Assembly
PDF:
Download Authenticated PDF
 

(A) Except as otherwise provided in this section and section 3517.012 of the Revised Code, primary elections shall be held as provided in division (E) of section 3501.01 of the Revised Code for the purpose of nominating persons as candidates of political parties for election to offices to be voted for at the succeeding general election.

(B) The manner of nominating persons as candidates for election as officers of a municipal corporation having a population of two thousand or more, as ascertained by the most recent federal census, shall be the same as the manner in which candidates were nominated for election as officers in the municipal corporation in 1989 unless the manner of nominating such candidates is changed under division (C), (D), or (E) of this section.

(C) Primary elections shall not be held for the nomination of candidates for election as officers of any township, or any municipal corporation having a population of less than two thousand, unless a majority of the electors of any such township or municipal corporation, as determined by the total number of votes cast in such township or municipal corporation for the office of governor at the most recent regular state election, files with the board of elections of the county within which such township or municipal corporation is located, or within which the major portion of the population thereof is located, if the municipal corporation is situated in more than one county, not later than one hundred twenty days before the day of a primary election, a petition signed by such electors asking that candidates for election as officers of such township or municipal corporation be nominated as candidates of political parties, in which event primary elections shall be held in such township or municipal corporation for the purpose of nominating persons as candidates of political parties for election as officers of such township or municipal corporation to be voted for at the succeeding regular municipal election. In a township or municipal corporation where a majority of the electors have filed a petition asking that candidates for election as officers of the township or municipal corporation be nominated as candidates of political parties, the nomination of candidates for a nonpartisan election may be reestablished in the manner prescribed in division (E) of this section.

(D)(1) The electors in a municipal corporation having a population of two thousand or more, in which municipal officers were nominated in the most recent election by nominating petition and elected by nonpartisan election, may place on the ballot in the manner prescribed in division (D)(2) of this section the question of changing to the primary-election method of nominating persons as candidates for election as officers of the municipal corporation.

(2) The board of elections of the county within which the municipal corporation is located, or, if the municipal corporation is located in more than one county, of the county within which the major portion of the population of the municipal corporation is located, shall, upon receipt of a petition signed by electors of the municipal corporation equal in number to at least ten per cent of the vote cast at the most recent regular municipal election, submit to the electors of the municipal corporation the question of changing to the primary-election method of nominating persons as candidates for election as officers of the municipal corporation. The ballot language shall be substantially as follows:

"Shall candidates for election as officers of ____________ (name of municipal corporation) in the county of ____________ (name of county) be nominated as candidates of political parties?

________ yes

________ no"

The question shall be placed on the ballot at the next general election in an even-numbered year occurring at least ninety days after the petition is filed with the board. If a majority of the electors voting on the question vote in the affirmative, candidates for election as officers of the municipal corporation shall thereafter be nominated as candidates of political parties in primary elections, under division (A) of this section, unless a change in the manner of nominating persons as candidates for election as officers of the municipal corporation is made under division (E) of this section.

(E)(1) The electors in a township or municipal corporation in which the township or municipal officers are nominated as candidates of political parties in a primary election may place on the ballot, in the manner prescribed in division (E)(2) of this section, the question of changing to the nonpartisan method of nominating persons as candidates for election as officers of the township or municipal corporation.

(2) The board of elections of the county within which the township or municipal corporation is located, or, if the municipal corporation is located in more than one county, of the county within which the major portion of the population of the municipal corporation is located, shall, upon receipt of a petition signed by electors of the township or municipal corporation equal in number to at least ten per cent of the vote cast at the most recent regular township or municipal election, as appropriate, submit to the electors of the township or municipal corporation, as appropriate, the question of changing to the nonpartisan method of nominating persons as candidates for election as officers of the township or municipal corporation. The ballot language shall be substantially as follows:

"Shall candidates for election as officers of ____________ (name of the township or municipal corporation) in the county of ____________ (name of county) be nominated as candidates by nominating petition and be elected only in a nonpartisan election?

________ yes

________ no"

The question shall appear on the ballot at the next general election in an even-numbered year occurring at least ninety days after the petition is filed with the board. If a majority of electors voting on the question vote in the affirmative, candidates for officer of the township or municipal corporation shall thereafter be nominated by nominating petition and be elected only in a nonpartisan election, unless a change in the manner of nominating persons as candidates for election as officers of the township or municipal corporation is made under division (C) or (D) of this section.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 15 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1958–2025 · leading case: Cripps v. Seneca Cnty. Bd. of Elections, 629 F. Supp. 1335 (N.D. Ohio 1985).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Cripps v. Seneca Cnty. Bd. of Elections, 629 F. Supp. 1335 (N.D. Ohio 1985). · cites it 3× “CODE § 3513.01, a primary election was held on May 7, 1985 in Tiffin “for the purpose of nominating persons as candidates of political parties for election to offices to be voted for at the next succeeding general election.”
Libertarian Party of Ohio v. Husted, 2017 Ohio 7737 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 2× “01 of the Revised Code declaring the intention to organize a political party is filed with the secretary of state, the new party comes into legal existence on the date of filing and is entitled to hold a primary election as set out in section 3513.01 of the Revised Code, at the…”
State Ex Rel. Stewart v. Clinton Cnty. Bd. of Elections, 2010 Ohio 1176 (Ohio 2010). “See R.C. 3513.01(A) (“on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March of 2000 and every fourth year thereafter, and on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May of every other year, primary elections shall be held for the purpose of nominating persons as candidates of…”
Foster v. Cuyahoga Cnty. Bd. of Elections, 373 N.E.2d 1274 (Ohio Ct. App. 1977). “If they find that such candidate is not an elector of the state, district, county, or political subdivision in which he seeks a party nomination or election to an office or position, or has not fully complied with sections 3513.01 to 3513.32, inclusive, of the Revised Code, his…”
Stern v. Bd. of Elections, 237 N.E.2d 313 (Ohio 1968). “05, Revised Code, now provides that, if the board of elections finds “that such candidate * * * has not fully complied with Sections 3513.01 to 3513.32 * * * his declaration of candidacy and petition shall be determined to be invalid and shall be rejected, otherwise it shall be…”
State ex rel. Eshleman v. Fornshell, 2010 Ohio 1175 (Ohio 2010). · cites it 2× “38(E)(1) and (I)(l) because Davis did not include a circulator statement indicating the number of signatures on each petition paper *5 when the petition was filed and Davis corrected this defect by adding the number of signatures in the circulator statement on the petition…”
The State Ex Rel. Fockler Et Al. v. Husted, 2017 Ohio 224 (Ohio 2017). · cites it 2× “” R.C. 3513.01(A). (Emphasis added.) The only 10 January Term, 2017 question remaining for this court to answer is whether the named relators are, as they allege, a “group” that “polled for its * * * nominees for presidential electors at least three per cent of the entire vote…”
Cromer v. South Carolina, 917 F.2d 819 (4th Cir. 1990). “§ 163-122 (1987); Ohio Rev.Code Ann. §§ 3513.01, 3513.257 (Pages 1988); Okla.”
State, Ex Rel. Donnelly v. Green, 148 N.E.2d 519 (Ohio Ct. App. 1958). “If they find that such candidate is not an elector of the state, district, county, or political subdivision in which he *166 seeks a party nomination or election to an office or position, or has not fully complied with §§3513.01 to 3513.32, inclusive, R. C., his declaration of…”
State ex rel. Porteous v. Franklin Cty. Bd. of Elections, 2025 Ohio 939 (Ohio 2025). · cites it 2× “); R.C. 3513.01. In sum, the General Assembly has given county boards of elections discretion to match petition signatures to the signatures in voter-registration records to ensure that they are genuine.”
State Ex Rel. Walls v. Hardin Cnty. Bd. of Elections, 804 N.E.2d 103 (Ohio Ct. App. 2004). “R.C. 3513.01. Dr. Smith will be licensed for a period of two years immediately preceding the general election for the office of coroner, in November 2004.”
State ex rel. Addis v. McClenen, 895 N.E.2d 532 (Ohio 2008). “R.C. 3513.01, 3513.02, 3513.05 — and 3513.”
Show all 15 citing cases →
— Ohio Rev. Code § 3513.01(A) — 3 cases
State Ex Rel. Stewart v. Clinton Cnty. Bd. of Elections, 2010 Ohio 1176 (Ohio 2010). “See R.C. 3513.01(A) (“on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March of 2000 and every fourth year thereafter, and on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May of every other year, primary elections shall be held for the purpose of nominating persons as candidates of…”
State ex rel. Eshleman v. Fornshell, 2010 Ohio 1175 (Ohio 2010). “38(E)(1) and (I)(l) because Davis did not include a circulator statement indicating the number of signatures on each petition paper *5 when the petition was filed and Davis corrected this defect by adding the number of signatures in the circulator statement on the petition…”
The State Ex Rel. Fockler Et Al. v. Husted, 2017 Ohio 224 (Ohio 2017). “” R.C. 3513.01(A). (Emphasis added.) The only 10 January Term, 2017 question remaining for this court to answer is whether the named relators are, as they allege, a “group” that “polled for its * * * nominees for presidential electors at least three per cent of the entire vote…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.