House Bill 153, which was passed on May 27, 2015, amended certain election dates. Under current law, presidential primaries are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March, unless otherwise noted by a municipal charter or county charter. HB 153 shifts the primary to the second Tuesday after the first Monday of the month. For 2016, this means that the presidential primary that was scheduled for March 8 will now take place on March 15.
The move to March 15 allows Ohio to take advantage of rules adopted by the Republican National Committee requiring states with primaries between March 1-14 to be subject to a proportional allocation of their delegates, while those with primaries on March 15 or later may award delegates on a “winner-takes-all” basis.
As a result of the bill, corresponding deadlines associated with the date of the presidential primary are also delayed by one week. We have updated our Revised Code dates and deadlines to reflect these changes. The updated calendar appears online here.