10/5/11 2012 Ohio Primary Election Date
It is nearly certain that the date of Ohio's 2012 primary election will be March 6. Public libraries that plan to have levy issues on the primary election ballot should have their paperwork completed and submitted by December 7, 2011 (90 days prior to the election).
The primary election was originally moved to May in the elections reform bill (HB 194), which was passed by the General Assembly in June. However, petitions with more than 300,000 signatures supporting a referendum to repeal HB 194 through a public vote in the November 2012 election were delivered last week to the Secretary of State's office. Assuming that at least 231,147 of the signatures are valid, the provisions of HB 194, including moving the primary election from March to May, will be put on hold.
The General Assembly attempted to move the primary date to May in subsequent legislation (HB 318). However, the bill failed to get through the Senate after the Democrats withdrew their support in protest over the Republican-drawn redistricting map.
