Laws governing the initiative process in Ohio

Laws and procedures

Laws governing ballot measures
State
• Laws governing state initiative processes
• Laws governing state recall processes
• Changes to ballot measure law in 2024
• Difficulty analysis of changes to laws governing ballot measures
Local
• Laws governing local ballot measures
Learn about Ballotpedia's election legislation tracker.
2024 » « 2022

Citizens of Ohio may initiate statutes through the process of indirect initiative and constitutional amendments through the process of direct initiative. Once sufficient signatures have been collected, statutory initiatives are first presented to the Ohio General Assembly. If approved by the legislature unamended, the proposed statute becomes law. If not, petitioners must collect an additional round of signatures within ninety days in order to place the statute on the ballot. Proposed amendments proceed directly to a vote of the people. The General Assembly may also propose amendments to the people as legislatively referred constitutional amendments.

Crafting an initiative

Of the 24 states that allow citizens to initiate legislation through the petition process, several states have adopted restrictions and regulations that limit the scope and content of proposed initiatives. These regulations may include laws that mandate that initiatives address only one topic, restrict the range of acceptable topics for proposed laws, prohibit unfunded mandates and establish guidelines for adjudicating contradictory measures.

Single-subject rule

See also: Single-subject rule

In Ohio, each proposed measure must address only one subject. Such laws are also known as single-subject rules. The Ohio Revised Code further clarifies this requirement by stating:

"Only one proposal of law or constitutional amendment to be proposed by initiative petition shall be contained in an initiative petition to enable the voters to vote on that proposal separately."

If a measure is found to propose more than one statute or amendment, the Ohio Ballot Board may divide the measure into separate ballot questions.

See law: Ohio Revised Code, Title XXXV, Chapter 3519.01(A)

Subject restrictions

See also: Subject restrictions (ballot measures)

In Ohio, an initiated measure may not authorize "any classification of property for the purpose of levying different rates of taxation" or "any single tax on land or land values or land sites at a higher rate or by a different rule than is or may be applied to improvements thereon or to personal property."

Monopolies

See also: Ohio Initiated Monopolies Amendment, Issue 2 (2015)

Section 1e of Article II of the Ohio Constitution also gives a restriction on initiatives that institute monopolies or special privileges. The Ohio Ballot Board is required to investigate any proposed initiative and determine if it would create an economic monopoly or special privilege for any nonpublic entity, including individuals, corporations and organizations. If the Ohio Ballot Board determines that the initiative would create such a monopoly or special privilege, two questions must be put on the ballot.

The first must ask:

“

Shall the petitioner, in violation of division (B)(1) of Section 1e of Article II of the Ohio Constitution, be authorized to initiate a constitutional amendment that grants or creates a monopoly, oligopoly, or cartel, specifies or determines a tax rate, or confers a commercial interest, commercial right, or commercial license that is not available to other similarly situated persons?

”

The second question must provide a summary of the proposed initiative and asks voters if they wish to approve it. Both questions must receive majority approval for the initiative to be enacted.

See law: Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 1e

Veto referendums on emergency legislation

In Ohio, veto referendums cannot be used on emergency legislation.

See law: Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 1d

Competing initiatives

See also: Superseding initiative; "Poison pills"; List of Ohio ballot measures

Ohio law provides that in the event that conflicting measures are approved, the measure with the most affirmative votes takes effect. The other measure does not become law. For example, in 2006, two ballot measures included competing restrictions on smoking. However, only one ultimately passed.

See law: Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 1b

Starting a petition

Each initiative and referendum state employs a different procedure for filing petition applications. Some states require preliminary signatures while others do not. In addition, several states review each proposed statute, verifying that the law conforms to the style and conventions of state law and recommending alterations to initiative proponents. Some of these states also review the law for more substantive considerations of content and consistency. Also, many states conduct a review of the ballot title and summary, and several states employ a fiscal review process which analyzes proposed laws to determine their impact on state finances.

Applying to petition

See also: Approved for circulation

Ohio is one of several states that require a certain number of signatures to accompany the initial petition filing. The signatures of at least 1,000 qualified electors are required. Along with signatures, proponents must file a copy of the proposed measure and a summary of that measure with the Ohio Attorney General. They must also designate a committee of three to five people to represent the petitioners.

See law: Ohio Revised Code, Title XXXV, Chapter 3519.01(A) and Chapter 3519.02

Proposal review/approval

See also: Approved for circulation

The proposed measure and summary are first reviewed by the Attorney General. If the Attorney General finds that the summary is fair and accurate, then he or she forwards the measure to the Ohio Ballot Board. The board reviews the measure to ensure that it conforms to Ohio's single-subject rule. If the measure is found to propose more than one statute or amendment, the board may divide the measure into separate ballot questions. Petitioners must then submit new summaries for each of measures. These summaries are also subject to the attorney general's approval. Once a proposal is approved, it is transferred to the secretary of state.

See law: Ohio Revised Code, Title XXXV, Chapter 3519.01(A) and Chapter 3505.062(A)

Fiscal review

See also: Fiscal impact statement

After the secretary of state receives the approved proposal, he or she transfers the measure to the Office of Budget and Management (and/or Tax Commissioner if the measure involves a tax). The office (and/or commissioner) then estimates the fiscal impact of the measure. This estimate (or joint estimate) is ultimately posted on the secretary of state's website 30 days prior to the election.

See law: Ohio Revised Code, Title XXXV, Chapter 3519.04

Collecting signatures

Each initiative and referendum state employs a unique method of calculating the state's signature requirements. Some states mandate a certain fraction of registered voters while others base their calculation on those who actually voted in a preceding election. In addition, many states employ a distribution requirement, dictating where in the state these signatures must be collected. Beyond these overarching requirements, many states regulate the manner in which signatures may be collected and the timeline for collecting them.

Number required

See also: Ohio signature requirements

In Ohio, the number of signatures needed to place a measure on the ballot is based on the total number of votes cast for the governor in the preceding general election.

The following are the requirements for the types of citizen-initiated measures in Ohio:

• initiated constitutional amendment (ICA): 10 percent of the votes cast for governor
• direct initiated state statute (ISS): 6 percent of the votes cast for governor
• indirect initiated state statute (IISS): 3 percent of the votes cast for governor
• veto referendum (VR): 6 percent of the votes cast for governor

In Ohio, initiated state statutes begin as indirect initiatives, with campaigns needing to collect signatures equal to 3 percent of the votes cast for governor to place their proposal before the Ohio State Legislature. If the legislature fails to enact the proposed legislation, additional signatures equaling another 3 percent of the gubernatorial vote must be collected in order to place the measure the ballot as a direct initiative.

Prior to being approved for circulation, an initiative's proponents must file 1,000 signatures.

The chart below shows election years and the signature requirement for initiatives designed to appear on the ballot in that year, with gubernatorial election years bolded. Due to the timeframe for submitting signatures, initiated state statute lag one year behind the other types of citizen-initiated measures in terms of signature requirements.

Year	Initial signatures	Initiated amendment	Initiated statute Round 1	Initiated statute Round 2	Veto referendum
2023	1,000	413,487	124,046	124,046	248,092
2022	1,000	442,958	132,887	132,887	265,774
2021	1,000	442,958	132,887	132,887	265,774
2020	1,000	442,958	132,887	132,887	265,774
2019	1,000	442,958	91,677	91,677	265,774
2018	1,000	305,591	91,677	91,677	183,355
2017	1,000	305,591	91,677	91,677	183,355
2016	1,000	305,591	91,677	91,677	183,355
2015	1,000	305,591	115,574	115,574	183,355
2014	1,000	385,247	115,574	115,574	231,149
2013	1,000	385,247	115,574	115,574	231,149
2012	1,000	385,247	115,574	115,574	231,149
2011	1,000	385,247	120,683	120,683	231,149
2010	1,000	402,275	120,683	120,683	241,365
2009	1,000	402,275	120,683	120,683	241,365
2008	1,000	402,275	120,683	120,683	241,365
2007	1,000	402,275	96,870	96,870	241,365
2006	1,000	322,899	96,870	96,870	193,740
2005	1,000	322,899	96,870	96,870	193,740
2004	1,000	322,899	96,870	96,870	193,740

See law: Ohio Constitution, Article 2, Sections 1a -1c

Distribution requirements

See also: Distribution requirements

For all measures, signatures must be gathered from at least 44 of Ohio's 88 counties. Petitioners must gather signatures equal to a minimum of half the total required percentage of the gubernatorial vote in each of the 44 counties: 5 percent for amendments, 1.5 percent for statutes, and 3 percent for referendums.

This requirement also applies to the second round of signatures needed to place a statute on the ballot once it has been rejected by the General Assembly.

A person who signs a petition must live in the precinct in which the candidacy or ballot issue will appear in an election.

See law: Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 1g

Restrictions on circulators

Circulator requirements

See also: Petition circulator

In Ohio, circulators are permitted to sign the petition that they are circulating. Circulators must be at least 18 years of age. Each initiative petition contains a mandatory circulator affidavit. According to Ohio Revised Code 3501.38 and 3519.05, a circulator is not required to sign these affidavits before a public notary, however he or she must swear to and sign a statement, under the penalty of law, that he or she personally witnessed every act of signing the petition.

Once circulation is completed, the signatures are submitted to the Ohio secretary of state grouped by county of signature origin. The secretary of state will then distribute the petitions to the county board of elections for verification in accordance with Ohio Revised Codes 3501.38(K), 3519.10 and 3519.15.

See law: Ohio Revised Code, Title XXXV, Chapter 3501.38, Ohio Revised Code, Title XXXV, Chapter 3519 and Senate Bill 47

Pay-per-signature

See also: Pay-per-signature

Ohio allows paying signature gatherers based on the number of signatures collected.

Ohio used to have a ban, but the law was struck down on March 5, 2008, in Citizens for Tax Reform v. Deters.

See law: Ohio Revised Code, Title XXXV, Chapter 3599.111(B) & Citizens for Tax Reform v. Deters 

Out-of-state circulators

See also: Residency requirements for petition circulators

Ohio law contains provisions requiring that petition circulators for every type of petition except a presidential nomination petition reside in the state. With regard to a presidential nomination, however, the courts ruled on October 29, 2008, that the residential requirement for at least presidential nominations was unconstitutional in Nader v. Blackwell. The court also noted that the ruling could be used as a precedent by any other plaintiff. Ohio legislators then passed a law, Senate Bill 47 (2013), that removed the residency requirement as applied to presidential nomination petitions. The section continues to require petitioners for all other types of petitions to be residents of the state. Nader v. Blackwell, as well as other court cases, could, however, make these requirements vulnerable to a lawsuit.

See law: Ohio Revised Code, Title XXXV, Chapter 3503.06(B) and Nader v. Blackwell 

Badge requirements

See also: Badge requirements

Ohio law requires that circulators disclose their paid/volunteer status in their circulator affidavit, which is completed after signatures have been collected.

See law: Ohio Revised Code, Title XXXV, Chapter 3501.38(E)

Electronic signatures

See also: Electronic petition signatures

Since electronic signatures are an emerging technology, the constitutionality of bans on e-signatures and the legality of e-signatures in states without bans is largely untested. In 2006, Ohio banned electronic signatures by requiring signatures to be made and filed in ink.

See law: Ohio Revised Code, Title XXXV, Chapter 3519.051

Deadlines for collection

See also: Petition drive deadlines; Initiative petition circulation periods

Ohio law does not limit how long a petition may be circulated. Signatures for an initiated statute must be filed at least 10 days prior to the legislative session. If the number of valid signatures submitted is found to be insufficient, sponsors may collect additional signatures and file them within one week of being notified of the insufficiency. If the state legislature does not enact the law, supplemental signatures must be filed within 90 days of the General Assembly's rejection of the measure. Sufficient signatures for constitutional amendments trigger a ballot measure at the next general election at least 125 days after the signatures are submitted. Thus, if signatures are submitted less than 125 days prior to a general election, and the signature petition is found to be sufficient, the initiated constitutional amendment would go on the following general election ballot.

See law: Ohio Constitution, Article II, Sections 1a and 1b

Getting on the ballot

Once signatures have been collected, state officials must verify that requirements are met and that fraudulent signatures are excluded. States generally employ a random sample process or a full verification of signatures. After verification, the issue must be prepared for the ballot. This often involves preparing a fiscal review and ballot summary.

Submitting signatures

When a petition is submitted, an electronic copy must also be filed and the petition must be broken into parts that are all numbered sequentially and labeled by the county in which it was circulated. The petition must also include a summary of the parts of the petition and the signatures on each.

An initiative or referendum committee cannot collect additional signatures for a petition after it has been submitted, except for in a ten-day window beginning after the secretary of state notifies the committee that petition, as submitted, was insufficient and provides the required official form for additional signature collection, which must be used when collecting supplemental signatures in the ten-day window allowed.

A petition that has been rejected cannot be resubmitted.

See law: Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 1g, Ohio Revised Code, Title XXXV, Chapter 3519.06 and Senate Bill 47 (2013)

Signature verification

See also: Signature certification

In Ohio, signatures are presumed valid unless duplicate signatures or defects in the petition are evident. Signatures may also be ruled invalid if satisfactory evidence can be provided. See "Litigation" below for more details.

As of 2013, county boards of elections must return relevant subsections of a petition by 110 days before the intended election date, rather than the previous rule of 60 days. The secretary of state must determine the sufficiency of the signature petition at least 105 days before the election.

If the initial batch of signatures is determined to be insufficient, the petitioners are given a ten-day window to collect more signatures. The Ohio secretary of state provides special petition forms when petitioners are notified of the insufficiency of the initial petition, on which date the ten-day window in which all supplementary signatures must be collected.

Once the supplementary signatures are submitted, county elections offices must verify the relevant part-petitions within eight days and the Ohio secretary of state must certify or reject the petition by 65 days before the election.

If a petition is rejected as insufficient after the secondary submission of signatures, the same petition cannot be resubmitted by petitioners.

See law: Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 1g and Ohio Revised Code, Title XXXV, Chapter 3519.06

Ballot title and summary

See also: Ballot title

In addition to a generic title (e.g. Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3...), each Ohio ballot measure also receives a descriptive title, a summary of the measure, which is approved prior to circulation, arguments for and against the measure, and statements explaining the effect of "yes" vote and a "no" vote. However, not all of these appear on the ballot. The arguments for and against the measure and the full text of the measure are published in newspapers and made available online. The arguments for and against the measure are typically prepared by the proponents and a group of opponents selected by the president of the senate and the speaker of the house. If these groups do not prepare an argument, the duty falls to the Ohio Ballot Board, which is also responsible for finalizing the ballot language.

• An example of final ballot language can be found here.

See law: Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 1g ; Ohio Constitution, Article XVI, Section 1 and Ohio Revised Code, Title XXXV, Chapter 3519.03

The election and beyond

Ballot measures face additional challenges beyond qualifying for the ballot and receiving a majority of the vote. Several states require ballot measures to get more than a simple majority. While some states mandate a three-fifths supermajority, other states set the margin differently. In addition, ballot measures may face legal challenges or modifications by legislators. If a ballot measure does fail, some states limit how soon that initiative can be re-attempted.

Supermajority requirements

See also: Supermajority requirements

In Ohio, each ballot measure requires approval from a simple majority of the votes cast for and against it.

See law: Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 1b

Effective date

Ballot measures take effect 30 days after the election at which they are approved.

See law: Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 1b

Litigation

See also: Ballot measure lawsuit news

Challenges to any aspect of the initiative process should be filed in the Ohio Supreme Court. No challenge may be brought against an initiated measure less than 95 days before the election. An exception is made for challenges concerning signatures gathered in the 10-day period for submitting additional signatures. Any such challenge must be filed at least 55 days before the election. No challenge to the petition language or petition signatures may invalidate a measure once it has been approved by voters. The same protection applies to the ballot language prepared by the Ballot Board for legislatively referred constitutional amendments.

See law: Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 1g and Ohio Constitution, Article XVI, Section 1

Legislative alteration

See also: Legislative alteration

The Ohio General Assembly may repeal or amend an initiated statute by a simple majority vote. Changes to initiated amendments must follow the ordinary legislative process, which requires a three-fifths vote in both chambers of the state legislature and majority approval at a statewide election.

See law: Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 1g and Ohio Constitution, Article XVI, Section 1

Re-attempting an initiative

Ohio does not limit how soon an initiative can be re-attempted.

See law: Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 1g and Ohio Constitution, Article XVI, Section 1

Funding an initiative campaign

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Ohio ballot measures

Some of the notable features of Ohio's campaign finance laws include:

• Ohio treats ballot issue groups differently than other political action committees.
• Ohio requires that a campaign treasurer is in place before any contributions can be received or money spent.
• Ohio requires separate registration if a campaign plans to provide petition circulators.
• Ohio requires all campaign finance records be retained for six years.
• Ohio bans government employees from soliciting for contributions for or against a ballot issue.

State initiative law

Article XVI of the Ohio Constitution addresses initiatives.

• Article XVI, Ohio Constitution

Chapter 3519 of Title XXXV of the Ohio Revised Code governs initiatives.

• Ohio Revised Code, Title XXXV, Chapter 3519

External links

• State of Ohio, Secretary of State, "Legislation and Ballot Issues"

Changes in the law

The following laws have been proposed that modify ballot measure law in Ohio. If a box is empty for any given year, it means Ballotpedia did not track any ballot measure or recall-related laws in that year.

Proposed changes by year

2022

See also: Changes in 2022 to laws governing ballot measures

House Bill 140: The bill made changes to the ballot language for local property tax ballot measures, including requiring property tax levies to be displayed as an amount per $100,000 of appraised value and stating the estimated amount of annual tax revenue from the levy.

2021

See also: Changes in 2021 to laws governing ballot measures

2020

See also: Changes in 2020 to laws governing ballot measures

2019

See also: Changes in 2019 to laws governing ballot measures

House Concurrent Resolution 7: The concurrent resolution gave the Senate President and House Speaker the power to designate persons for ballot measure arguments during the election cycle, including legislators to prepare arguments for and against constitutional amendments; persons to prepare arguments for a veto referendum; and persons to prepare arguments against citizen-initiated constitutional amendments.

2018

See also: Changes in 2018 to laws governing ballot measures

2017

See also: Changes in 2017 to laws governing ballot measures

See also: Laws governing ballot measures in Ohio Ohio House Joint Resolution 5 was designed to amend the state constitution to make the following changes to the state's initiative and referendum process: increase the signature requirements for initiated constitutional amendments from 10 percent to 12.5 percent of votes last cast for governor and increase the total signature requirements for indirect initiated state statutes from 6 percent to 7.5 percent of votes last cast for governor; require approval by a 60 percent supermajority of voters to pass citizen initiatives—including both initiated constitutional amendments and initiated state statutes; require all initiative petition circulators to "serve without compensation," thereby preventing the payment of signature gatherers; and repeal provisions preventing initiatives that establish monopolies. Ohio House Bill 342 was designed to prohibit local tax-related proposals from appearing on a ballot outside general or primary elections and to modify property tax-related ballot language.

2016

See also: Changes in 2016 to laws governing ballot measures

See also: Laws governing ballot measures in Ohio a Ohio House Bill 463: Was designed to change the procedure for the recall of municipal officers and restricts county charter petitions by requiring them to only concern "the exercise of only those powers that have vested in, and the performance of all duties imposed upon counties and county offices by law." HB 463 contained many other provisions unrelated to ballot measure law as well. Opponents argued that this provision would be used to prevent local charter petitions with anti-fracking provisions. Others stated that the provision restricting charter petitions could also be used to block marijuana-related laws from local charters.

2015

See also: Changes in 2015 to laws governing ballot measures

See also: Laws governing ballot measures in Ohio a House Joint Resolution 4: "Proposing to amend Section 1e of Article II of the Constitution of the State of Ohio to prohibit an initiated constitutional amendment that would grant a monopoly, oligopoly, or cartel, specify or determine a tax rate, or confer a commercial interest, right, or license to any person or nonpublic entity." This resolution was designed to require ratification by statewide voters on November 3, 2015, as Issue 2 before it could be enacted. Issue 2 was approved. a House Concurrent Resolution 19: "To delegate to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives authority to designate groups of members to prepare arguments for and against amendments to the Ohio Constitution proposed by the General Assembly, a person or persons to prepare an argument for any law, section, or item submitted to the electors by referendum petition, and a person or persons to prepare an argument against any constitutional amendment proposed by initiative petition."

2014

See also: Changes in 2014 to laws governing ballot measures

The following bills were introduced in the Ohio State Legislature: d HB 118: Revises language regarding bond issues. d HB 157: Establishes a procedure to recall an elective township officer.

2013

Ohio Senate Bill 47, making widespread elections code changes was approved in 2013.

See also: Changes in 2013 to laws governing ballot measures

The following bills were introduced in the Ohio State Legislature: HB 118: Revises language regarding bond issues. HB 157: Establishes a procedure to recall an elective township officer. a SB 47: Makes sweeping election law revisions.

2012

See also: Changes in 2012 to laws governing ballot measures

a Senate Bill 295: Repealed Senate Bill 194 (2011) after pressure from a veto referendum petition.

2011

See also: Changes in 2011 to laws governing ballot measures

The following bills were introduced in the Ohio General Assembly: a Ohio House Bill 194: HB 194 is an extensive election overhaul bill. For a detailed summary of its provisions, see the official bill analysis. HB 194 was targeted for a veto referendum. Ultimately, the legislature repealed HB 194, precluding the necessity for a referendum election. See also: Ohio Election Law Veto Referendum (2012) for details. Ohio House Bill 203: Excerpt from bill description/summary: "To enact new section 3.11 of the Revised Code to establish a process for recalling statewide elected officials and members of the General Assembly." Ohio House Bill 343: Ohio Senate Bill 148: SB 148 is an extensive election overhaul bill. For a detailed summary of its provisions, see the official bill analysis. d HCR 24: Concerning the preparation of argument for and against proposed constitutional amendments. SJR 3

2010

See also: Changes in 2010 to laws governing the initiative process

The following proposals were made during the 2009-2010 session of the Ohio General Assembly: The following bills were introduced in the Ohio General Assembly: d HJR 13: An amendment to the Ohio Constitution that would require a two-thirds super-majority vote in order to approve a statewide ballot measure. The amendment has not been heard in any committee or is considered for a floor vote. d HB 377: A bill that would change requirements for petition circulators in Ohio. Provisions of the bill include all circulators to register with the Secretary of State, prohibits anyone who has been convicted of fraud or identity theft from circulating petitions, licensing organizations that provide paid petition circulators, and require mandatory training on initiative laws before circulating petitions. The bill was approved by the Ohio House of Representatives on March 24, 2010 by a 54-45 vote and is awaiting action in the Senate. d HB 260: An elections reform bill that changes requirements involving voter registration, provisional ballots, election observers, voter challenges, and other political entities. The bill was approved by the Ohio House of Representatives on November 18, 2009 by a 52-46 vote and is awaiting action in the Senate.