How To Register As A Democrat In Ohio

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Ballot access for major and minor party candidates
Ballot access for presidential candidates
List of political parties in the United States
Note: For more information on running for office or forming a political party, contact your state election agency.

Although there are hundreds of political parties in the United States, only certain parties qualify to have the names of their candidates for office printed on election ballots. In order to qualify for ballot placement, a party must meet certain requirements that vary from state to state. For example, in some states, a party may have to file a petition in order to qualify for ballot placement. In other states, a party must organize around a candidate for a specific office; that candidate must, in turn, win a percentage of the vote in order for the party to be granted ballot status. In still other states, an aspiring political party must register a certain number of voters.

HIGHLIGHTS

As of December 2021, there were two officially recognized political parties in Ohio: the Democratic and Republican parties.

In some states, a candidate may choose to have a label other than that of an officially recognized party appear alongside his or her name on the ballot. Such labels are called political party designations. Ohio does not allow candidates to use political party designations.

To learn more about ballot access requirements for political candidates in Ohio, see this article.

See state election laws

Process for a political party to obtain ballot status

See statutes: Title 35, Chapter 3517, Section 01 of the Ohio Revised Code

Approved by the Ohio General Assembly and signed into law by Governor John Kasich on November 6, 2013, SB 193 made significant revisions to the processes regulating ballot access for minor parties and their candidates, which are established in Title 35, Chapter 3517, Section 01 of the Ohio Revised Code. State law defines a political party as a group whose candidate(s) for governor or presidential electors at the most recent regular state election polled at least 3 percent of the total votes cast for those offices. A group that meets this requirement remains a political party for a period of four years. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Alternatively, a group can file with the secretary of state, subsequent to its failure to meet the above requirements, a party formation petition that meets all of the following requirements:

1. "The petition is signed by qualified electors equal in number to at least 1 percent of the total vote for governor or nominees for presidential electors at the most recent election for such office."
2. "The petition is signed by not fewer than 500 qualified electors from each of at least a minimum of one-half of the congressional districts in the state. If an odd number of congressional districts exists in this state, the number of districts that results from dividing the number of congressional districts by two shall be rounded up to the next whole number."
3. "The petition declares the petitioners' intention of organizing a political party, the name of which shall be stated in the declaration and of participating in the succeeding general election, held in even-numbered years, that occurs more than 125 days after the date of filing."
4. "The petition designates a committee of not less than three nor more than five individuals of the petitioners, who shall represent the petitioners in all matters relating to the petition. Notice of all matters or proceedings pertaining to the petition may be served on the committee, or any of them, either personally or by registered mail, or by leaving such notice at the usual place of residence of each of them."

When a party formation petition pursuant to the aforementioned requirements is filed with the secretary of state, the party comes into legal existence on the date of filing and is eligible to nominate candidates to appear on the ballot in the general election that occurs more than 125 days after the date of filing. The newly formed party must submit to the secretary of state no later than 75 days before the general election a slate of candidates to appear on the ballot.^[1]

A new political party cannot assume a name similar to that of an existing party.^{[1] [4]}

Any party that receives between 3 and 20 percent of the total votes cast for governor or presidential electors is considered a minor political party. A party that exceeds this threshold is considered a major party. A newly formed political party is considered a minor political party until it first participates in an election for governor or president, after which point such status is determined by the party's performance in the election.^{[1] [4]}

Although the legislation was initially set to take effect on February 5, 2014, United States District Court Judge Michael Watson ruled on January 7, 2014, that due process barred the state from implementing the law in the 2014 election. In his decision, Watson wrote, "The Ohio Legislature moved the proverbial goalpost in the midst of the game. Stripping the Plaintiffs of the opportunity to participate in the 2014 primary in these circumstances would be patently unfair."^{[5] [6]}

Political parties

See also: List of political parties in the United States

As of December 2021, there were two recognized political parties in Ohio. To be officially recognized by the state, a party must fulfill certain requirements (detailed here).^{[7] [8] [9] [10] [11]}

Party	Website link	By-laws/platform link
Democratic Party of Ohio	Link	Party by-laws
Republican Party of Ohio	Link

In some states, a candidate may choose to have a label other than that of an officially recognized party appear alongside his or her name on the ballot. Such labels are called political party designations. A political party designation would be used when a candidate qualifies as an independent but prefers to use a different label. Ohio does not allow candidates to identify in this way. A total of 22 states allow candidates to use political party designations in non-presidential elections.^{[12] [13]}

The 11 states listed below (including Washington, D.C.) do not provide a process for political organizations to gain qualified status in advance of an election. Instead, in these states, an aspirant party must first field candidates using party designations. If the candidate or candidates win the requisite votes, the organization may then be recognized as an official political party. In these states, a political party can be formed only if the candidate in the general election obtains a specific number of votes. The number of votes required and type of race vary from state to state. Details can be found on the state-specific requirements pages.^[14]

Historical events

2014

Libertarian statewide candidates disqualified

On March 7, 2014, Secretary of State Jon Husted indicated that he had removed the Libertarian Party's statewide candidates from the party's primary ballot (including gubernatorial candidate Charlie Earl). Husted claimed that the paid petitioner who gathered signatures on behalf of the Libertarian Party failed to identify his or her employer on the petition.^[15]

The Libertarian Party filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent Husted from printing the primary ballots without the names of the party's statewide candidates. The party argued that prior precedent prevented Husted from disqualifying candidates on the grounds that he had disqualified the party's 2014 statewide slate. The Libertarian Party further contended that it was unconstitutional to require a circulator to identify his or her employer or to treat a paid circulator differently from a volunteer circulator.^[16]

United States District Court Judge Michael Watson scheduled a hearing on the matter for March 11, 2014.^[17] On March 19, 2014, Watson ruled that the circulator law was indeed constitutional, thereby reaffirming Husted's decision to remove the Libertarian candidates from the ballot. The Libertarian Party and the impacted candidates appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.^{[18] [19]} On March 21, 2014, the Sixth Circuit agreed to expedite the case.^{[19] [20]} The court heard the case on April 22, 2014.^[21] On May 1, 2014, the court ruled in favor of Husted.^[22] That same day, the Libertarian Party requested that the United States Supreme Court intervene and have the names of the party's candidates printed on the primary ballot.^[23] On May 5, 2014, the United States Supreme Court declined to intervene (requests were made to Justices Clarence Thomas and Elena Kagan, both of whom refused to order an injunction).^[24] As a result, the party's candidates did not appear on the May 6, 2014, primary ballot. The Libertarian Party sought a rehearing from the Sixth Circuit in an effort to restore the party's candidates to the general election ballot, but on June 4, 2014, the court declined to reconsider the case.^{[25] [26]}

Because the Libertarian Party failed in its effort to overturn Husted's decision, the party's candidates did not appear on the general election ballot.^{[15] [26]}

Libertarian gubernatorial qualification

A legal challenge was brought in March 2014 seeking to disqualify Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Charlie Earl from the primary ballot. The case was brought on behalf of Tyler King, a Libertarian Ohio voter who alleged that Democrats circulated Earl's petitions and provided additional monetary and legal assistance to Earl's gubernatorial campaign. Ohio law requires that petitions be signed and circulated by members of the same political party as the candidate.^[27]

Earl's attorney, Mark Brown, maintained that the case was a continuation of Republican efforts to exclude third parties from the ballot, accusing King and his attorney of "bluster and innuendo."^[27]

Republicans and Democrats fail to field candidates for state House primary

Both the Republican and Democratic parties failed to field candidates for the primary for the 88th state house district by the February 5, 2014, filing deadline. Incumbent Rex Damschroder (R) was forced to withdraw after finding that his filing paperwork had been deemed invalid. State law prevented him from running as a write-in candidate in the primary, but Damschroder reported on February 20, 2014, that his wife, Rhonda, would be running as a placeholder write-in candidate for him. "She has offered to let me use her name as a write-in, acting as a placeholder. It's the only legal remedy we can find ... I'm apologizing and humbly asking for voters' support again. I screwed up, and I take credit for that," said Damschroder. Had she won the nomination, she was expected to withdraw from the race and be replaced by her husband.^{[28] [29]}

Local businessman William F. Reineke, Jr. indicated that he would run as a write-in candidate in the Republican primary. No candidates filed for the Democratic primary, though William E. Young, a local retired teacher and 2012 candidate, was expected to run as a write-in. Reineke won the Republican primary and went on to win the general election in November.^[28]

SB 193

On January 7, 2014, United States District Court Judge Michael Watson issued a preliminary injunction against SB 193, ruling in favor of the plaintiffs (including, among others, the Libertarian Party of Ohio) and their assertion that due process barred the state from implementing the law in the 2014 election. The plaintiffs further asserted that the law was unconstitutional and sought to prevent its enforcement in subsequent elections. Watson, however, did not address these issues in his ruling.^[30]

Three days later, on January 10, the government appealed this decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, requesting that the court expedite the process. The minor parties asked that the court refuse to expedite the appeal. The minor parties argued that because the state requested an expedited appeal over a stay of the injunction, the parties did not know how best to proceed with their petitions (the filing deadline for which fell on February 5, 2014). Had the court reversed the district court's earlier ruling, all minor party primaries would have been canceled and any petition work rendered moot.^[31]

On January 15, 2014, the Sixth Circuit denied the state's request to expedite the appeal. On February 11, 2014, the state dropped its appeal altogether, meaning the 2014 election cycle would be unaffected by the passage of the new law. The law's impact on post-2014 election cycles, however, was still expected to be the subject of future legal challenges.^{[32] [33]}

2013

SB 193

On November 8, 2013, two days after Governor Kasich signed SB 193 into law, the Libertarian Party of Ohio filed suit against the state, arguing that the newly minted regulations unconstitutionally restricted the party's participation in the 2014 elections.^[34] In dispute were provisions within the legislation that prohibited minor parties from participating in the 2014 primary election, removed previously granted state recognition, and retroactively imposed new petition signature requirements on candidates who had already completed their nominating petitions under the then-current statutory requirements.^{[34] [35] [36]} Further, the Libertarian Party argued that, because Ohio voter registration forms do not compel individuals to designate party affiliation, the only method by which parties can determine membership is through primary voter lists.^[36]

The Libertarian Party sought a preliminary injunction to retain its May 2014 primary. Instead of filing a new suit against the state, the Libertarians expanded an existing suit that challenged a residency requirement for petition circulators imposed by SB 47 (see below for more information).^{[36] [37]}

Opponents of the new legislation contended that SB 193 was written to block Libertarian Charlie Earl's gubernatorial candidacy, thereby shoring up Kasich's own re-election bid. Libertarian State Party Chairman Kevin Knedley argued that by blocking primary access to minor parties, the state was hindering their long-term prospects. Democratic State Representative Connie Pillich (D-Cincinnati) called the bill "an attack on democracy."^[34]

Meanwhile, supporters maintained that the changes were necessary after a court ruled in 2006 that the state's existing ballot access standards were prohibitive. State Representative Jim Buchy (R-Greenville) said the changes would make it "very easy" for minor parties to gain and maintain ballot access.^[34]

SB 47

Signed into law on March 22, 2013, and effective June 21, 2013, SB 47 made revisions to the statutes that regulate petition circulation processes. Notably, the legislation as enacted mandated that "except for a nominating petition for presidential electors, no person shall be entitled to circulate any petition unless the person is a resident of the state and is at least 18 years of age."^[38] The Libertarian Party of Ohio filed suit against the legislation in federal court on September 25, 2013.^[37] On November 13, 2013, federal judge Michael Watson granted a preliminary injunction against the law, writing in his ruling, "It is well established that even a temporary violation of First Amendment rights constitutes irreparable harm."^{[39] [40]}

See also

• Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Ohio
• Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Ohio
• List of political parties in the United States
• Democratic Party of Ohio
• Republican Party of Ohio

External links

• Ohio Democratic Party
• Ohio Republican Party

Footnotes

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Ohio General Assembly, "SB 193," accessed December 12, 2013
2. ↑ Cleveland Plain-Dealer, "Ohio legislature passes new ballot-access rules for minor political parties; Libertarians promise lawsuit," November 6, 2013
3. ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Governor and Lieutenant Governor: November 2, 2010," accessed December 30, 2013
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Ohio Revised Code, "Title 35, Chapter 3517, Section 01," accessed December 12, 2013
5. ↑ Ballot Access News, "U.S. District Court Rules that Ohio's Minor Parties May Remain on the Ballot for 2014," January 7, 2014
6. ↑ United States District Court - Southern District of Ohio - Eastern Division, "Case No. 2:13-cv-953 -- Opinion and Order and Preliminary Injunction," January 7, 2014
7. ↑ Jerrick Adams, "Email communication with the Ohio Secretary of State," April 21, 2016
8. ↑ Jerrick Adams, "Email communication with the Office of the Ohio Secretary of State," May 4, 2017
9. ↑ Jerrick Adams, "Email communication with the Office of the Ohio Secretary of State," May 16, 2018
10. ↑ Statehouse News Bureau, "Green Party Prepares to Lose Minor Party Status in Ohio after 2018 Vote," November 21, 2018
11. ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Ohio Candidate Requirement Guide," accessed December 13, 2021
12. ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "2014 Ohio Candidate Requirement Guide," accessed December 4, 2013
13. ↑ Ohio Revised Code, "Title 35, Chapter 3505, Section 3," accessed December 4, 2013
14. ↑ Ballotpedia, "Email communication with ballot access expert Richard Winger," January 2014
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} Ballot Access News, "Ohio Secretary of State Removes Libertarian Party Statewide Candidates from the Libertarian Primary Ballot," March 7, 2014
16. ↑ Ballot Access News, "Ohio Libertarian Party Files Strong New Legal Argument in Existing Federal Ballot Access Concerning Primary Ballot Access for Its Statewide Nominees," March 8, 2014
17. ↑ Ballot Access News, "U.S. District Court Sets Hearing in Ohio Libertarian Primary Ballot Access Lawsuit," March 10, 2014
18. ↑ Ballot Access News, "Ohio Libertarian Candidates Lose Primary Ballot Access Lawsuit," March 20, 2014
19. ↑ ^{19.0 19.1} Ballot Access News, "Sixth Circuit Expedites Libertarian Primary Ballot Access Case," March 21, 2014
20. ↑ Ballot Access News, "New Filings in Ohio Libertarian Party Primary Ballot Access Case," March 21, 2014
21. ↑ Ballot Access News, "Ohio Libertarian Party Ballot Access Case to be Argued in Sixth Circuit on Tuesday, April 22," April 17, 2014
22. ↑ Ballot Access News, "Ohio Libertarian Party Loses Primary Ballot Access Lawsuit," May 1, 2014
23. ↑ Ballot Access News, "Ohio Libertarian Party Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Put its Statewide Candidates on Primary Ballot," May 1, 2014
24. ↑ Ballot Access News, "U.S. Supreme Court Won't Give Injunctive Relief to Ohio Libertarian Party," May 5, 2014
25. ↑ Dayton Daily News, "Libertarian candidates for Governor, AG blocked from Tuesday ballot," May 5, 2014
26. ↑ ^{26.0 26.1} Ballot Access News, "Sixth Circuit Won't Rehear Ohio Libertarian Party Ballot Access Case," June 4, 2014
27. ↑ ^{27.0 27.1} Cincinnati.com, "Libertarian governor candidate challenged in Ohio," March 4, 2014
28. ↑ ^{28.0 28.1} The Blade, "Tiffin man will face as write-in for state House," February 18, 2014
29. ↑ The Blade, "Rex Damschroder's wife to run for his seat, then he might replace her," February 20, 2014
30. ↑ The Blade, "Judge: Ohio cannot change minor party rules for 2014 ballot," January 7, 2014
31. ↑ Ballot Access News, "Update on Ohio Minor Party Ballot Access Lawsuit," January 11, 2014
32. ↑ Ballot Access News, "Sixth Circuit Won't Expedite Ohio's Appeal of Last Week's Ballot Access Decision," January 15, 2014
33. ↑ Ballot Access News, "Ohio Drops Appeal of U.S. District Court Order that Put Minor Parties on 2014 Ballot," February 11, 2014
34. ↑ ^{34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3} Cleveland Plain-Dealer, "Libertarians file legal challenge against Ohio's new rules for minor political parties; Greens may follow suit," November 8, 2013
35. ↑ The Columbus Dispatch, "Libertarians challenge new Ohio minor-party law," November 8, 2013
36. ↑ ^{36.0 36.1 36.2} Ballot Access News, "Ohio Libertarian Party Sues to Retain its Qualified Party Status for 2014," November 8, 2013
37. ↑ ^{37.0 37.1} Ballot Access News, "Ohio Libertarian Party Files Lawsuit Against New Residency Requirement for Petitioners," September 26, 2013
38. ↑ Ohio General Assembly, "SB 47," accessed December 13, 2013
39. ↑ Columbus Dispatch, "Federal judge suspends Ohio law concerning who can collection petition signatures," November 14, 2013
40. ↑ Libertarian Party of Ohio, "Court Blocks Anti-petitioning Law Challenged by LPO," November 17, 2013

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How To Register As A Democrat In Ohio

Source: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballot_access_requirements_for_political_parties_in_Ohio

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