Rule 3309-1-04 | Election of retirement board members.
(A) The school employees retirement board shall conduct elections in accordance with Chapter 3309. of the Revised Code and this rule.
(B) Notifications
(1) At a regular meeting of the retirement board but no later than July in the fiscal year in which an election of members to the board is required, the retirement board shall establish an election time schedule.
(2) This schedule shall include, a statement of the requirements for nomination by petition, the date after which nominating petitions shall be available, the final date for receipt of completed nominating petitions, the final date for receipt of completed election ballots being the first Monday in March, and the date and place for the election count to be conducted under the supervision of judges as designated in paragraph (D) of this rule.
(C) Nominations
(1) Candidates for board members shall be nominated by petition on forms provided by the school employees retirement system. Petitions shall be made available in paper and electronic format. Electronic signatures shall be permitted.
(2)
(a) Not later than the last business day of September in the fiscal year in which an election is held for an employee member, notice of election posters shall be sent to employers and petitions and required forms shall be available to members.
(b) Any member, except a member receiving a disability benefit pursuant to section 3309.40 or 3309.401 of the Revised Code, who is not otherwise ineligible under Chapter 3309. of the Revised Code, may be nominated for election as an employee member of the board by petitions that contain at least five hundred valid nominating signatures with not less than twenty signatures of members from each of at least ten different counties in Ohio. In order for a nominating signature to be valid, the member must be actively contributing to SERS and their SERS ID or last four digits of their social security number and the name of their school employer and the county in which the employer is located must be provided. The member's place of employment shall determine the county for such member.
(3)
(a) Not later than the last business day of September in the fiscal year in which an election is held for a retirant member, a notice of election shall be sent to retirants at their home addresses of record and petitions and required forms shall be available to retirants.
(b) Any retirant, who is not otherwise ineligible under Chapter 3309. of the Revised Code, may be nominated for election as a retirant member by petitions which contain at least one hundred fifty valid nominating signatures, with not less than ten signatures of retirants from each of at least five different counties in Ohio. In order for a nominating signature to be valid, the retirant's SERS ID or last four digits of their social security number, their home address and county must be provided. The retirant's place of residence shall determine the county of such retirant.
(4)
(a) Petitions and completed required forms for a candidate must be received by the system by the petition filing date established by the retirement board pursuant to paragraph (B) of this rule to be valid.
(b) Petition signatures and candidate eligibility shall be verified based on records of the retirement system and the requirements of Chapter 3309. of the Revised Code. Signatures that cannot be conclusively verified shall not be counted.
(c) The names of qualified candidates shall be certified by a director of the retirement system and shall be subject to review and audit by the secretary of state. A qualified candidate is one who meets the requirements of Chapter 3309. of the Revised Code. In the event that there is a discrepancy between the certification by the officer of the retirement system and the results of the review and audit by the secretary of state, the determination of the secretary of state shall control and be final.
(d) Based on the final certification, the names of qualified candidates shall be placed on the ballot for election. Each ballot shall also include a space for a write-in candidate.
(D) Voting
(1) The retirement board may conduct an election by paper ballots or through electronic methods.
(2)
(a) Voting materials for each voting member or retirant of the retirement system shall include a list of candidates, information on each candidate, voting instructions, and any other materials the retirement board deems necessary.
(b) Voting materials shall be sent to eligible members or retirants no later than the last business day in January in an election year at the address on file with the retirement system.
(3)
(a) For any election requiring a vote by members, the retirement board shall distribute ballots for such election to all members whose accounts have had contributions posted within the eighteen month period immediately preceding the month in which ballots are distributed; and
(b) To members whose accounts have not had contributions posted within the eighteen month period immediately preceding the month in which ballots are scheduled to be distributed, upon the members written request for a ballot.
(4) The election count shall be monitored by a panel of judges consisting of representatives of the secretary of state and the attorney general. The representative of the secretary of state shall be the chief judge. If a representative from such offices is not available, a representative of the retirement system's independent auditor and/or the auditor of state may be substituted. If a representative of the secretary of state is not available, the chief judge, in order of precedence, shall be the representative of the attorney general, the representative of the auditor of state, or the representative of the retirement system's independent auditor.
(5) If the ballot count results in a tie vote, the election shall be determined by a coin toss conducted by the judges with "heads" being assigned to the candidate whose last name is first alphabetically and "tails" assigned to the other candidate.
(6) If a candidate is elected by a margin of less than one percent of the votes cast, a recount will automatically be conducted.
(7) The chief judge shall provide a certification of the election results signed by all judges. The election results shall be submitted to the retirement board for its approval at the first regular retirement board meeting that is not less than thirty-one calendar days after certification of the results of the election.
(8) Within thirty calendar days after the certification of the election count, an unsuccessful candidate may request a recount in writing to the retirement board together with a check payable to the retirement system for the costs of the recount in the amount of one hundred dollars; provided however, if the recount results in the requesting candidate winning the election, the cost shall be refunded.
(E) Vacancies
(1) When an election is held to fill the vacant term of an elected member of the board, the election shall be held pursuant to paragraph (E) of this rule.
(2) The retirement board by majority vote of the board shall declare the seat vacant and establish a board-meeting schedule to nominate, interview and select a successor member to fill the position.
(3) The retirement board shall provide notice of the vacancy and the procedure and forms required to be considered as a qualified candidate to fill the vacancy.
(a) Candidates shall qualify under the same eligibility requirements as the predecessor in office.
(b) The names of qualified candidates shall be certified by a director of the retirement system and shall be subject to review and audit by the secretary of state. In the event that there is a discrepancy between the certification by the officer of the retirement system and the results of the review and audit by the secretary of state, the determination of the secretary of state shall control and be final.
(4) At a public board meeting, each board member may nominate one candidate to fill the vacancy.
(5) The board members shall interview the nominated candidates.
(6) A successor member shall be elected from the list of candidates by a majority vote of the retirement board in a public meeting as follows:
(a) Two successive votes shall occur in order for one candidate to receive a majority. If no candidate receives a majority, successive votes shall continue with the candidate receiving the least number of votes eliminated after each vote until one candidate receives a majority vote of the board or until only two candidates remain.
(b) In the event no candidate receives a majority vote and two candidates remain, one final vote shall occur. If neither candidate receives a majority vote, the winner shall be decided by a coin toss conducted by the election judge with "heads" assigned to the candidate whose last name is first in alphabetical order and "tails" to the other candidate.
(7) The election shall be monitored by a representative of the secretary of state, or if unavailable, by a representative of the attorney general, who shall serve as election judge and certify the results of the election.
(8) All documents regarding filling the vacancy, including resumes and forms required by the retirement system, shall be made available to any person upon request and payment of the cost of compiling, copying and mailing the documents.
(F) An employee member of the board who retires while a member of the board shall be eligible to become a retirant member of the board when three years have elapsed from the member's effective date of retirement and the date of the scheduled election for the retirant member seat. An employee member of the board retires while a member of the board when the member served on the board in the month immediately preceding the member's effective date of retirement.
Last updated October 2, 2023 at 8:51 AM
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