To amend sections 3513.07 and 3513.261 and to repeal section 3505.02 of the Revised Code to require space on declarations of candidacy and petition forms for former names, and to remove the requirement that former names appear on the ballot.
HB950 would revise Ohio election forms for candidates by requiring declarations of candidacy and nominating petition forms to include space for a candidate’s former names used in the last five years, consistent with existing disclosure requirements in other election statutes. The bill amends the standard language for primary-election declarations and general-election nominating petitions so that a candidate’s current name and prior names are captured on the filing paperwork.
At the same time, the bill would remove the current requirement that former names appear on the ballot itself by repealing section 3505.02 of the Revised Code. In practical terms, this shifts former-name disclosure from the ballot to the filing documents maintained by election officials, while leaving the rest of the candidate petition and filing process largely unchanged.
The bill would amend Ohio’s candidate filing statutes, specifically sections 3513.07 and 3513.261, and repeal section 3505.02. Its effect would be to change where former names are disclosed in the election process: election paperwork would include space for prior names, but ballots would no longer be required to print them. This would affect candidates, boards of elections, and the secretary of state’s prescribed forms, while preserving existing rules on petition circulation, signatures, and election falsification penalties.
The bill was introduced and referred to the House General Government Committee, with no recorded votes or committee testimony in the provided materials. Based on the bill text, the measure appears administrative and procedural rather than ideological, suggesting a neutral-to-pragmatic purpose focused on standardizing candidate disclosure forms and ballot presentation. No formal support or opposition is documented in the available record.
The main policy issue is the balance between transparency and ballot simplicity. Supporters would likely view the bill as a way to keep election records accurate while avoiding unnecessary information on the ballot, especially for candidates who have changed names. Potential critics could argue that removing former names from the ballot reduces voter information or could make it harder to identify candidates known by prior names. The bill text itself does not show organized opposition, but the change in ballot disclosure is the likely point of debate.