Ohio Code 1711.07 – Board of directors of county or independent agricultural society
(A) The board of directors of a county or independent agricultural society shall consist of at least eight members. An employee of the OSU extension shall serve with the board as a nonvoting member. The director of agriculture shall determine the terms of office for members of the board in accordance with rules adopted by the director of agriculture.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 1711.07
- agriculture: includes farming; ranching; aquaculture; algaculture meaning the farming of algae; apiculture and related apicultural activities, production of honey, beeswax, honeycomb, and other related products; horticulture; viticulture, winemaking, and related activities; animal husbandry, including, but not limited to, the care and raising of livestock, equine, and fur-bearing animals; poultry husbandry and the production of poultry and poultry products; dairy production; the production of field crops, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, nursery stock, ornamental shrubs, ornamental trees, flowers, sod, or mushrooms; timber; pasturage; any combination of the foregoing; the processing, drying, storage, and marketing of agricultural products when those activities are conducted in conjunction with, but are secondary to, such husbandry or production; and any additions or modifications to the foregoing made by the director of agriculture by rule adopted in accordance with Chapter 119 of the Revised Code. See Ohio Code 1.61
(B) The board may fill any vacancy on the board caused by death, resignation, refusal to qualify, removal from county, or other cause until the society’s next annual election. At that election, a new director shall be elected for the unexpired term.
(C)(1) There shall be an annual election of directors by ballot at a time and a place fixed by the board. The election shall be held by the fifteenth day of November each year.
(2) The secretary of the society shall give notice of the election, for three weeks prior to the election, by doing one of the following:
(a) Publishing the notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or as provided in section 7.16 of the Revised Code;
(b) Mailing the notice to each member of the society;
(c) Publishing the notice on the society’s web site.
(D) Only the following persons may vote in an election held in accordance with this section:
(1) Those who hold membership certificates at the close of the annual county fair, or at least fifteen calendar days before the date of election, as may be fixed by the board;
(2) Those who hold membership certificates on the date and hour of the election if the election is held on the fairground during the fair. When the election is to be held during the fair, notice of the election also shall be prominently mentioned in the premium list.
(E) The terms of office of the retiring directors shall expire, and those of the directors-elect shall begin, not later than the thirtieth day of November each year.
(F) The secretary of the society shall send, within ten days after the election, both of the following to the director:
(1) The name and address of each member of its board;
(2) A copy of the document containing the member’s signature verifying that the member voted in the election.
(G) A candidate for director shall not count or record votes in any election conducted in accordance with this section.