Ohio Business Votes

Frequently Asked Questions about Issues and Referendums on an Ohio Ballot
Q.	What is a Constitutional Amendment?
A.	The Ohio Constitution is a document that prescribes the fundamental nature, functions, and limits of state government. It can only be amended by a vote of the people. Thus, a constitutional amendment is a proposed change to the state’s constitution. The proposed amendment becomes effective if approved by a majority of those voting on the proposed amendment.
Q.	How does a proposed amendment get on the ballot?
A.	In Ohio, a proposed constitutional amendment can originate from electors or from the general assembly: An amendment brought by electors– A written petition signed by 100 registered voters must be submitted to the state’s attorney general with the full text and a summary of the proposed amendment. The attorney general has the responsibility of certifying that the summary is a fair and truthful representation of the proposed change. Next, petitioners for the amendment prepare a the petition that will be circulated among the state’s registered voters for their signature. In order to be placed on the ballot, the total number of signatures on the petition must equal at least 10 percent of the total vote cast for the office of governor in the last gubernatorial election. The signatures must be collected from at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties. From each of these 44 counties, there must be signatures equal to at least five percent of the total vote cast for the office of the governor in that county in the last gubernatorial election. An amendment brought by the general assembly– A proposal originating in either house of the general assembly must be approved by a three-fifths vote of the members of each house in order to submit a proposal to the electorate.
Q.	What happens after the signatures are collected?
A.	The petitions must be submitted to the secretary of state in order to determine if the signatures are valid. To be eligible to sign a petition, a person must be a registered voter. Petitions must be filed no later than 90 days prior to the election at which the amendment will be voted on. Once the validation of signatures is complete, the proposed amendment can be placed on the ballot.
Q.	What is a Referendum?
A.	In Ohio, citizens have the right through a statewide referendum to reject laws or amendments passed by the state legislature and signed by the governor. Once the governor signs a bill into law, there is a 90 waiting period until the bill becomes law. During this 90-day period, anyone can start the process of rejecting a law through the referendum process.
Q.	How does a referendum get on the ballot?
A.	A written petition signed by 100 electors must be submitted to the secretary of state along with the full text and summary of the law or section of the law to be referred. The secretary of state then verifies the number of signatures and certifies it. A copy of the petition with the full text and summary of the law or section of the law must also be filed with the attorney general. The attorney general has the responsibility of certifying that the summary is a fair and truthful representation of the proposed change. Next, the petitioners need to collect signatures from registered voters. For a referendum, the number of required signatures is equal to at least six percent of the total vote cast for the office of governor at the last gubernatorial election. The signatures must come from at least 44 of the 88 Ohio counties. Each of the 44 counties must collect at least three percent of the total vote cast for the office of the governor in that county for the last gubernatorial election.
Q.	What happens after the signatures are collected?
A.	The petitions are submitted to the secretary of state in order to determine if the signatures are valid. To be eligible to sign a petition, a person must be a registered voter. Petitions for referendum must be filed within 90 days after the law or section of the law to be referred has been filed with the secretary of state by the governor. If the petition is found to be valid then the law or section of the law will not go into effect unless it is approved by a majority of the voters at the first regular or general election which occurs more than 60 days after the petition is filed.
Q.	What happens when voters vote for or against the referendum?
A.	Since a referendum is done to stop a law from being enacted, the outcome of the vote determines whether or not the law actually goes into effect.
Q.	What is an Initiated Statute?
A.	In the normal law making process, a member of the state legislature drafts a bill that is then acted upon by the general assembly. If successfully passed in both the House and Senate, the bill goes to the governor for his signature and then becomes a law. However, under Ohio’s constitution, citizens of the state can also draft a bill and submit it to the general assembly for action. This action is called an initiated statute.
Q.	How does the initiated statute process work?
A.	In similar fashion to a constitutional amendment those citizens (petitioners) wishing to get a statute acted upon must submit a petition to the state’s attorney general with the full text and summary of the proposed statute along with 100 signatures. The attorney general has the responsibility of certifying that the summary of the statute is a fair and truthful representation of the proposed law. At this point, more signatures must be collected from registered voters. For an initiated statute, the total number of signatures must equal at least three percent of the total vote cast for the office of governor in the last gubernatorial election. The signatures must be obtained from at least 44 of the 88 Ohio counties. From each of these 44 counties, there must be signatures equal to at least 1.5 percent of the total vote cast for the office of the governor in that county in the last gubernatorial election. Each signer must be a registered voter in Ohio. Once the signatures are collected and verified by the secretary of state, the petition must be filed with the secretary of state not less than 10 days prior to commencement of any session of the Ohio General Assembly.
Q.	How does an initiated statue get on the ballot?
A.	Since an initiated statute is really a bill drafted by the people instead of a member of the general assembly, it must first be submitted to the general assembly for action. Once submitted to the general assembly, the initiated statute is treated like a regular bill. If the general assembly fails to act on the initiated statute within four months, or fails to pass it or even passes an amended version, the petitioners may circulate supplemental petitions in order to get the initiative in front of the voters at the next general election. The number of signatures required is that same as it was to get the initiative in front of the general assembly. The petitioners must then file all of the signatures with the secretary of state within 90 days after the general assembly fails to enact the proposed statute. Once this has been accomplished, the draft legislation, written by the petitioners, can be placed on the ballot.
Q.	What happens if the initiated statute passes?
A.	If the statute is approved by a majority of the voters, it becomes effective 30 days after the election.