(A) On the presidential ballot below the stubs at the top of the face of the ballot shall be printed "Official Presidential Ballot" centered between the side edges of the ballot. Below "Official Presidential Ballot" shall be printed a heavy line centered between the side edges of the ballot. Below the line shall be printed "Instruction to Voters" centered between the side edges of the ballot, and below those words shall be printed the following instructions:

(1) To vote for the candidates for president and vice-president whose names are printed below, record your vote in the manner provided next to the names of such candidates. That recording of the vote will be counted as a vote for each of the candidates for presidential elector whose names have been certified to the secretary of state and who are members of the same political party as the nominees for president and vice-president. A recording of the vote for independent candidates for president and vice-president shall be counted as a vote for the presidential electors filed by such candidates with the secretary of state.

(2) To vote for candidates for president and vice-president in the blank space below, record your vote in the manner provided and write the names of your choice for president and vice-president under the respective headings provided for those offices. Such write-in will be counted as a vote for the candidates' presidential electors whose names have been properly certified to the secretary of state.

(3) If you tear, soil, deface, or erroneously mark this ballot, return it to the precinct election officers or, if you cannot return it, notify the precinct election officers, and obtain another ballot."

(B) Below those instructions to the voter shall be printed a single vertical column of enclosed rectangular spaces equal in number to the number of presidential candidates plus one additional space for write-in candidates. Each of those rectangular spaces shall be enclosed by a heavy line along each of its four sides, and such spaces shall be separated from each other by one-half inch of open space.

In each of those enclosed rectangular spaces, except the space provided for write-in candidates, shall be printed the names of the candidates for president and vice-president certified to the secretary of state or nominated in one of the following manners:

(1) Nominated by the national convention of a political party to which delegates and alternates were elected in this state at the next preceding primary election. A political party certifying candidates so nominated shall certify the names of those candidates to the secretary of state on or before the ninetieth day before the day of the general election.

(2) Nominated by nominating petition in accordance with section 3513.257 of the Revised Code. Such a petition shall be filed on or before the ninetieth day before the day of the general election to provide sufficient time to verify the sufficiency and accuracy of signatures on it.

(3) Certified to the secretary of state for placement on the presidential ballot by authorized officials of a minor political party that has held a state or national convention for the purpose of choosing those candidates or that may, without a convention, certify those candidates in accordance with the procedure authorized by its party rules. The officials shall certify the names of those candidates to the secretary of state on or before the ninetieth day before the day of the general election. The certification shall be accompanied by a designation of a sufficient number of presidential electors to satisfy the requirements of law.

The names of candidates for electors of president and vice-president shall not be placed on the ballot, but shall be certified to the secretary of state as required by sections 3513.11 and 3513.257 of the Revised Code. A vote for any candidates for president and vice-president shall be a vote for the electors of those candidates whose names have been certified to the secretary of state.

(C) The arrangement of the printing in each of the enclosed rectangular spaces shall be substantially as follows: Near the top and centered within the rectangular space shall be printed "For President" in ten-point boldface upper and lower case type. Below "For President" shall be printed the name of the candidate for president in twelve-point boldface upper case type. Below the name of the candidate for president shall be printed the name of the political party by which that candidate for president was nominated in eight-point lightface upper and lower case type. Below the name of such political party shall be printed "For Vice-President" in ten-point boldface upper and lower case type. Below "For Vice-President" shall be printed the name of the candidate for vice-president in twelve-point boldface upper case type. Below the name of the candidate for vice-president shall be printed the name of the political party by which that candidate for vice-president was nominated in eight-point lightface upper and lower case type. Except for candidates nominated by petition under section 3517.012 of the Revised Code, no political identification or name of any political party shall be printed below the names of presidential and vice-presidential candidates nominated by petition.

The rectangular spaces on the ballot described in this section shall be rotated and printed as provided in section 3505.03 of the Revised Code.

Amended by 130th General Assembly File No. 43, SB 193, §1, eff. 2/5/2014.

Amended by 128th General AssemblyFile No.29, HB 48, §1, eff. 7/2/2010.

Effective Date: 09-26-2003 .