2009 Press Releases

12/17/2009 Secretary Brunner Certifies 2009 General Election Results According to the state certification signed by Secretary Brunner on Thursday (PDF), 3,288,185 Ohioans cast ballots during the Nov. 3, election. The average turnout by county was 44 percent.

12/8/2009 Secretary Brunner, Rep. Chandler Offer Bill to Protect Domestic Violence Victims Victims of domestic violence would be able to have their addresses shielded by an address confidentiality program housed at the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, under a bill introduced Tuesday.

11/3/2009 Summit County Ballot Shortage Issue, Voters Will Receive A Ballot At approximately 5:04 p.m., the Secretary of State’s office gave permission to the Summit Count Board of Elections main office to photocopy and document the production of additional ballot by this means, with the proviso that such ballots would need to be remade upon their being voted and delivered to the board offices.

10/28/2009 Secretary Brunner Notifies Boards on Enhancements to Military and Overseas Voting Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner informed Ohio’s election officials today of the scheduled 2:30 p.m. signing by President Obama of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Regarding elections, this legislation will make it easier for Ohio’s military and overseas voters to get their election ballots and have them counted. As a result, it offers new pathways for greater enfranchisement for all voters.

10/29/2009 Secretary Brunner, Rep. Chandler Offer Bill to Protect Domestic Violence Victims Victims of domestic violence would be able to have their addresses shielded by an address confidentiality program housed at the Ohio Secretary of State’s office under state legislation to be introduced soon.

10/28/2009 News Media Advisory Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and state Rep. Kathleen Chandler, D-Kent, are holding a news conference at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009 in the State Room of the Statehouse to announce a bill that could help victims of domestic violence.

10/27/2009 Complaint Filed Against Summit County Board of Elections Member Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner on Tuesday filed an administrative complaint against Summit County Board of Elections Chairman Jack Morrison after he failed to resign because of his convictions on ethics law violations.

10/6/2009 Brunner Statement The following statement can be attributed in part or in whole to Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner in connection with the Supreme Court of Ohio’s decision in the matter of State of Ohio Ex. Rel. Husted v. Brunner and Montgomery County Board of Elections.

10/22/2009 All County Elections Boards Now Have Online Presence Every county board of elections now has a Web site that provides local voters with information about their elections board, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s office said.

10/13/2009 Ohio Ballot Board Approves Dog Auctions Act as One Subject Issue: Petitioner Group May Begin to Circulate Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner convened a meeting of the Ohio Ballot Board today to discuss and determine whether an initiative petition proposing “The Ohio Dog Auctions Act” contains only one proposed law.

10/5/2009 Ohio Ballot Board To Meet The ballot board will meet for discussion and determination of whether an initiative petition proposing the “Ohio Dog Auctions Act” contains only one proposed law.

9/29/2009 Brunner Launches the 2009 Ohio Judicial Voter Guide The online guide will enable Ohio voters to educate themselves about judicial candidates running for municipal court seats across the state.

9/14/2009 Statement of Secretary of State Brunner on Supreme Court Decision The following may be attributed in whole or in part to Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner in connection with the Supreme Court of Ohio’s decision Monday in the matter of Husted v. Brunner.

9/17/2009 Ohio Ballot Board Approves Estate Tax as One Subject Issue Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner convened a meeting of the Ohio Ballot Board today to discuss and determine whether an initiative petition proposing “The Ohio Estate Tax Elimination Act” contains only one proposed law.

9/10/2009 Ohio Ballot Board To Meet The ballot board will meet for discussion and determination of whether an initiative petition proposing “The Ohio Estate Tax Elimination Act” contains only one proposed law.

8/26/2009 Secretary Brunner Pays Tribute To Senator Kennedy The following statement may be attributed in whole or part to Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

8/24/2009 Brunner Releases Report on Voter Wait Times Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner released Monday a report regarding the feasibility of establishing a statewide maximum wait time for Ohio voters.

8/14/2009 TENTATIVE: OHIO BALLOT BOARD SCHEDULED TO MEET AUG. 20 The Ballot Board has scheduled a tentative meeting for Aug. 20 from 9-11 a.m. in the Senate Building, North Hearing Room, 2nd Floor, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s office has announced.

8/12/2009 Ohio Ballot Board Adopts Language for State Issues 1 & 2, Resumes Discussion on State Issue 3 Next Week Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner presided over the Ohio Ballot Board meeting today to accept proponent and opponent testimony on three state-wide issues to appear on the November ballot. Ballot language was adopted for Issues 1 & 2.

8/11/2009 OHIO BALLOT BOARD TO MEET AUGUST 18 Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s office has announced that the Ohio Ballot Board will meet on Tuesday Aug. 18, 2009, to complete any business not finalized at the Aug. 12th meeting or that is otherwise still outstanding.

8/7/2009 Secretary of State's Campaign Finance Staff To Lead Seminar in Circleville Tuesday Campaign Finance Administrator Curt Mayhew of Secretary of State’s Jennifer Brunner’s office will be holding a campaign-finance seminar on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009 at the Brooks-Yates Center South, 1005 S. Pickaway St.

8/4/2009 Brunner Heralds Introduction Of Elections Enhancement Bill Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner commended Tuesday the introduction of HB 260, the elections enhancements bill.

8/4/2009 Ohio Ballot Board to Meet Aug. 12 Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has called a meeting of the Ohio Ballot Board for Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009 at 1 p.m. in the North Hearing Room, Ohio Senate Building, Columbus, Ohio 43215.

7/31/2009 Statement of Secretary Brunner on High Court Decision The following may be attributed in whole or in part to Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner in connection with Friday’s decision in the Supreme Court of Ohio (State Ex Rel. Scioto Downs, Inc. et al v. Brunner).

7/31/2009 Special Elections To Be Held Tuesday In Fifteen Counties Fifteen counties will have 26 different issues on the ballot for the upcoming Aug. 4 special election, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s office announced Friday.

7/22/2009 Secretary Brunner Certifies New Voting System For Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner announced Wednesday that as a result of the federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC) certification granted to Elections Systems & Software (ES&S) for new voting equipment, Ohio has also certified it for use in the state.

7/21/2009 Brunner Certifies Sufficient Number of Signatures to Qualify Casino Issue for Ballot Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s office on Tuesday determined that proponents of the most recent casino gambling statewide petition submitted enough signatures found valid by the state's boards of elections to qualify the issue for the November 2009 election ballot.

7/16/2009 Secretary Brunner Announces Staff Changes Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner announced Thursday the pending addition of Mike Rankin, formerly the registrar of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, as assistant secretary of state, the second-highest ranking official in the Secretary of State’s office.

7/8/2009 Secretary Brunner Launches Better Lives, Better Ohio Better Lives, Better Ohio is an idea first conceived when the secretary campaigned for office in 2006. This launch is the realization of Secretary Brunner’s fourth goal established for her administration upon taking office in January of 2007.

7/6/2009 News Advisory Ohio – Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner will hold a news conference at10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 8, 2009 in the Secretary of State’s Office to unveil “Better Lives, Better Ohio,” an unprecedented online warehouse of key indicators on state-budget related topics such as education, educational achievement and poverty.

7/2/2009 Ohio Develops Digital Election Precinct Maps, Improves Data Collection The Ohio Secretary of State’s Office has developed digital precinct maps for the first time in state history for the November 2008 general election thanks to a $2 million federal grant designed to improve election data-collection efforts.

7/1/2009 Board of Voting Machine Examiners To Meet The Board of Voting Machine Examiners will meet in regular session on Friday, July 10, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. in the 15th floor Conference Room of the Continental Plaza building, 180 E. Broad St, Columbus, Ohio.

6/25/2009 Ballot Issue Petitions Filed With Secretary Brunner's Office The group Ohio Jobs and Growth Plan filed petitions Thursday to place a ballot issue on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.

6/22/2009 Ohio Board of Voting Machine Examiners to Meet The Board of Voting Machine Examiners will meet on Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 2 p.m. in the offices of Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, 180 E. Broad St. The board will convene in the 15th Floor Large Conference Room.

6/17/2009 Ohio Redistricting Competition Partners Announce Competition Winners On Thursday the Ohio Redistricting Competition partners announced the results of the successful Ohio Redistricting Competition, a project years in the making. According to the partners, the competition provides concrete proof that Ohio can rely on an open process based on objective criteria to produce fair legislative districts in Ohio.

6/16/2009 Secretary Brunner Calls on Legislature to Preserve Federal Funding Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is calling on state legislators to remove a provision in the state budget that could jeopardize millions of dollars in future federal funding for elections.

6/2/2009 Brunner Awarded Stephanie Tubbs Jones Award The northeast Ohio chapter of one of the nation’s leading progressive organizations of lawyers and jurists awarded Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner on Tuesday the first-ever Stephanie Tubbs Jones Public Service Award.

5/13/2009 Secretary Brunner Commends High School Students for Election Service; Launches Grads Vote 2009 On Wednesday, Secretary Brunner recognized seven high school students for serving as poll workers in recent elections, a primary goal of Grads Vote 2009, an initiative of Secretary Brunner’s that puts voter registration and poll-worker information into the hands of high school graduates statewide.

5/7/2009 Brunner Provides Input on Senate Elections Bill Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said Thursday she believes there can be common ground with state senators who have re-introduced a bill that would impact elections administration.

5/1/2009 Secretary Brunner Highlights Stimulus for New Business Filings Secretary Brunner worked with leaders in the Ohio House of Representatives to include an amendment in the House-passed two-year $54 billion state budget to waive initial filing fees for new businesses for organizational documents such as articles of incorporation and partnership certificates.

4/29/2009 Secretary Brunner Marks One-Year Anniversary of Expedited Business Filings According to Secretary Brunner’s office, since April 2008, 15,862 level 1, 2 and 3 expedited filings have been processed by the office, including 6,447 initial filings for new businesses.

4/27/2009 State HAVA Plan Committee To Meet The State HAVA Plan Committee will meet on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 1 p.m. in the 15th Floor Large Conference Room, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s Office, 180 E. Broad St.

4/22/2009 Secretary Brunner Makes Elections Recommendations in New Report Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner released Wednesday to Gov. Ted Strickland and the Ohio General Assembly a cost-effective blueprint for enhancing Ohio’s elections. The recommendations resulted from a several months-long bipartisan process, including the Ohio Elections Summit and Conference.

4/20/2009 Digest for Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner for Week of April 20, 2009 Digest for Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner for Week of April 20, 2009

4/8/2009 Secretary Brunner and Redistricting Competition Partners Announce Official Kick-Off Ohio Redistricting Competition partners were joined today by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner in announcing an update to the timeline for the historic contest. The competition will now begin on April 10, 2009, and the winners will be announced on May 18, 2009.

3/27/2009 Board of Voting Machine Examiners To Meet The Board of Voting Machine Examiners will meet in special session on Wednesday, April 1, to discuss several policy issues because of recent changes to state law.

3/25/2009 Ohio Secretary of State Accepting Applications To Fill Franklin County Board of Elections Seat Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, the state’s chief election officer, announced Tuesday that her office is accepting nominations and/or applications to fill an open Democratic seat on the Franklin County Board of Elections.

3/20/2009 OHIO REDISTRICTING COMPETITION PARTNERS ANNOUNCE SPECIFICS OF PLAN Ohio Redistricting Competition partners were joined Friday by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner in announcing timelines and logistics for the historic contest. The competition will begin on April 6, 2009, and the winners will be announced on May 11, 2009.

3/17/2009 STATE HAVA PLAN AMENDMENTS NOW ON WEB FOR REVIEW The State of Ohio 2009 Amendments to the State HAVA Plan are now available for review.

3/11/2009 Brunner to Open Elections Conference Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner on Thursday, March 12, will convene the Ohio Elections Conference, an initiative to promote thoughtful and deliberative improvements in elections.

3/4/2009 Ohio Secretary of State's Office to Expand Services in Northeast Ohio As an effort to better serve business customers in northeast Ohio, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has expanded the services offered in the Cleveland Regional Office.

3/12/2009 Statement of Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner Regarding the Ohio Redistricting Competition The following statement can be attributed in whole or part to Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

3/10/2009 Brunner Releases Post General Election Report In Advance of Historic Ohio Elections Conference Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner released Tuesday the official 2008 Post General Election Report to Gov. Ted Strickland and the leaders of the General Assembly. The report documents the preparations, in partnership with bipartisan boards of elections, which led to the 2008 elections being widely hailed as the most successful in a generation.

3/10/2009 Veteran Former Lawmaker Joins Secretary Brunner's Staff A veteran former lawmaker has joined Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s office as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Director of Legislative Services.

3/6/2009 Secretary Brunner Releases Provisional Voting Survey Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner released Friday the results of a statewide provisional voting survey for the 2008 general election. Statistics provided from the survey showed more than 80% of ballots cast provisionally were counted.

2/13/2009 Ohio Elections Conference Agenda Announced Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner announced Friday the program for the upcoming Ohio Elections Conference, an initiative to review the 2008 general election and to suggest enhancements for Ohio elections.

1/29/2009 Secretary Brunner Commends President, U.S. House and Senate on Passage of Fair Pay Act Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner commended President Barack Obama and the US House and Senate for the passage and signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

1/9/2009 Brunner Reimburses Counties For Back-Up Paper Ballots County boards of elections in Ohio have been reimbursed nearly $700,000 for their cost to provide back-up paper ballots during the November general election, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s office said Friday.

1/6/2009 Statement from Secretary of State Brunner on Veto of S.B.380 “Today Gov. Strickland has made a decision that I support in the best interest of Ohioans. Many Ohio election officials, election reform advocates, academic observers and Ohio citizens worked tirelessly in 2007 and 2008 to prepare Ohio for a presidential election that would be watched around the world. Working together, they helped make Ohio’s 2008 presidential election a smooth and successful process that encouraged voter participation for the future."