Ohio Rev. Code » Chapter 3519
Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Rev. Code § 3519.01 (2026)

Initiative and referendum petitions

✓ current as of May 2026
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Effective:
April 9, 2025
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 74 - 135th General Assembly
PDF:
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(A) 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. A petition shall include the text of any existing statute or constitutional provision that would be amended or repealed if the proposed law or constitutional amendment is adopted.

Whoever seeks to propose a law or constitutional amendment by initiative petition shall, by a written petition signed by one thousand qualified electors, submit the proposed law or constitutional amendment, a title, and a summary of it to the attorney general for examination. Within ten days after the receipt of the written petition and the title and summary of it, the attorney general shall conduct an examination of the title and summary. If, in the opinion of the attorney general, the title and summary are fair and truthful statements of the proposed law or constitutional amendment, the attorney general shall so certify and then forward the submitted petition to the Ohio ballot board for its approval under division (A) of section 3505.062 of the Revised Code. If the Ohio ballot board returns the submitted petition to the attorney general with its certification as described in that division, the attorney general shall then file with the secretary of state a verified copy of the proposed law or constitutional amendment together with its title and summary and the attorney general's certification.

Whenever the Ohio ballot board divides an initiative petition into individual petitions containing only proposed law or constitutional amendment under division (A) of section 3505.062 of the Revised Code resulting in the need for the petitioners to resubmit to the attorney general appropriate titles and summaries for each of the individual petitions arising from the board's division of the initiative petition, the attorney general shall review the resubmitted titles and summaries, within ten days after their receipt, to determine if they are fair and truthful statements of the respective proposed laws or constitutional amendments and, if so, certify them. These resubmissions shall contain no new explanations or arguments. Then, the attorney general shall file with the secretary of state a verified copy of each of the proposed laws or constitutional amendments together with their respective titles and summaries and the attorney general's certification of each.

(B)(1) Whoever seeks to file a referendum petition against any law, section, or item in any law shall, by a written petition signed by one thousand qualified electors, submit the measure to be referred, a title, and a summary of it to the secretary of state and, on the same day or within one business day before or after that day, submit a copy of the petition, measure, title, and summary to the attorney general.

(2) Not later than ten business days after receiving the petition, measure, title, and summary, the secretary of state shall do both of the following:

(a) Have the validity of the signatures on the petition verified;

(b) After comparing the text of the measure to be referred with the copy of the enrolled act on file in the secretary of state's office containing the law, section, or item of law, determine whether the text is correct and, if it is, so certify.

(3) Not later than ten business days after receiving a copy of the petition, measure, title, and summary, the attorney general shall examine the title and summary and, if in the attorney general's opinion, the title and summary are fair and truthful statements of the measure to be referred, so certify.

(C) Any person who is aggrieved by a certification decision under division (A) or (B) of this section may challenge the certification or failure to certify of the attorney general in the supreme court, which shall have exclusive, original jurisdiction in all challenges of those certification decisions.

(D) An initiative or referendum petition, the summary of which the attorney general certified under this section before the effective date of this amendment, is not invalid on the ground that the attorney general did not certify the title of the petition in accordance with this section.

Last updated January 17, 2025 at 11:37 AM

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 27 cases (9 in the last 5 years), 1988–2025 · leading case: State ex rel. Essig v. Blackwell, 103 Ohio St. 3d 481 (Ohio 2004).
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State ex rel. Essig v. Blackwell, 103 Ohio St. 3d 481 (Ohio 2004). · cites it 12× “The initiative petition contained the title — “Marriage Protection Amendment” — and the text of the proposed constitutional amendment but did not contain the *483 summary and certification of the Attorney General as required by R.C. 3519.01 and 3519.05. {¶ 8} On August 3, 2004,…”
State ex rel. Dudley v. Yost, 2024-Ohio-5166, 250 N.E.3d 50. · cites it 38× “2d 169, 171 (1977) (determining that no adequate remedy in the ordinary course of the law was available to challenge the attorney general’s refusal to certify under R.C. 3519.01). As to the first two elements, in extraordinary actions that challenge the decisions of the…”
State ex rel. Ohioans for Secure & Fair Elections v. LaRose (Slip Opinion), 2020-Ohio-1459. · cites it 11× “Within ten days after receiving a petition from the attorney general under R.C. 3519.01, the board must examine it “to determine whether it contains only one proposed * * * constitutional amendment so as to enable the voters to vote on a proposal separately.”
State ex rel. DeBlase v. Ohio Ballot Bd., 2023-Ohio-1823, 229 N.E.3d 13. · cites it 5× “Under R.C. 3519.01(A), proponents of a constitutional amendment must submit a preliminary initiative petition and summary thereof to the attorney general.”
State ex rel. Ohio Liberty Council v. Brunner, 2010-Ohio-1845, 125 Ohio St. 3d 315. · cites it 8× “062, in turn, specifies the duty of the ballot board to determine whether an initiative petition contains only one proposed law or constitutional amendment: {¶ 38} “The Ohio ballot board shall do all of the following: {¶ 39} “(A) Examine, within ten days after its receipt, each…”
State ex rel. LetOhioVote.org v. Brunner, 2009-Ohio-4900, 916 N.E.2d 462. · cites it 4× “{¶ 16} Nor would a prohibitory injunction provide relators with the relief they request here: an order to compel the secretary of state to comply with her duties under Section 1c, Article II of the Ohio Constitution and R.C. 3519.01 to treat the VLT provisions as being subject…”
Cynthia Brown v. David Yost, 103 F.4th 420 (6th Cir. 2024). · cites it 11× “II, § 1, the Ohio General Assembly developed an amendment-initiative process, see Ohio Rev. Code § 3519.01. Ohio law requires that citizens take several steps before they can place a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot.”
State ex rel. Ethics First-You Decide Ohio Political Action Commt. v. DeWine (Slip Opinion), 2016-Ohio-3144, 66 N.E.3d 689. · cites it 6× “(collectively, “Ethics First”), challenge the constitutionality of R.C. 3519.01(A) and 3505.062(A), as amended in 2006.”
Cynthia Brown v. David Yost, 122 F.4th 597 (6th Cir. 2024). · cites it 4× “II, § 1a; Ohio Rev. Code § 3519.01. And as the Attorney General readily admits, once plaintiffs get the certification, they can start collecting signatures for 2025 or a future election.”
State ex rel. Dudley v. Yost, 2024-Ohio-5166, 250 N.E.3d 50. · cites it 76× “2d 169, 171 (1977) (determining that no adequate remedy in the ordinary course of the law was available to challenge the attorney general’s refusal to certify under R.C. 3519.01). As to the first two elements, in extraordinary actions that challenge the decisions of the…”
Comm. to Impose Term Limits on the Ohio Supreme Court v. Ohio Ballot Bd., 885 F.3d 443 (6th Cir. 2018). · cites it 2× “See Ohio Rev. Code § 3519.01(A). The Attorney General determines whether the summary is fair and truthful, and then sends the proposed amendment to the Board to determine whether it contains only one amendment.”
Haight v. Minchak (Slip Opinion), 2016-Ohio-1053, 146 Ohio St. 3d 481. · cites it 2× “R.C. 3519.01. After the initial petition is certified, the petitioners must gather the signatures of at least ten percent of the total of those who cast votes in the previous gubernatorial election.”
Show all 27 citing cases →
Ohio Rev. Code § 3519.01(A): 20 cases
State ex rel. Essig v. Blackwell, 103 Ohio St. 3d 481 (Ohio 2004). “The initiative petition contained the title — “Marriage Protection Amendment” — and the text of the proposed constitutional amendment but did not contain the *483 summary and certification of the Attorney General as required by R.C. 3519.01 and 3519.05. {¶ 8} On August 3, 2004,…”
State ex rel. Ohioans for Secure & Fair Elections v. LaRose (Slip Opinion), 2020-Ohio-1459. “Within ten days after receiving a petition from the attorney general under R.C. 3519.01, the board must examine it “to determine whether it contains only one proposed * * * constitutional amendment so as to enable the voters to vote on a proposal separately.”
State ex rel. DeBlase v. Ohio Ballot Bd., 2023-Ohio-1823, 229 N.E.3d 13. “Under R.C. 3519.01(A), proponents of a constitutional amendment must submit a preliminary initiative petition and summary thereof to the attorney general.”
State ex rel. Dudley v. Yost, 2024-Ohio-5166, 250 N.E.3d 50. “2d 169, 171 (1977) (determining that no adequate remedy in the ordinary course of the law was available to challenge the attorney general’s refusal to certify under R.C. 3519.01). As to the first two elements, in extraordinary actions that challenge the decisions of the…”
State ex rel. Ethics First-You Decide Ohio Political Action Commt. v. DeWine (Slip Opinion), 2016-Ohio-3144, 66 N.E.3d 689. “(collectively, “Ethics First”), challenge the constitutionality of R.C. 3519.01(A) and 3505.062(A), as amended in 2006.”
Ohio Rev. Code § 3519.01(B): 1 case
Ohioans Against Corp. Bailouts v. LaRose, No. 2:19-cv-04466 (S.D. Ohio Oct. 23, 2019).
Ohio Rev. Code § 3519.01(B)(1): 1 case
Ohioans Against Corp. Bailouts v. LaRose, No. 2:19-cv-04466 (S.D. Ohio Oct. 23, 2019).
Ohio Rev. Code § 3519.01(B)(3): 3 cases
Brown v. Yost, No. 2:24-cv-01401 (S.D. Ohio Apr. 25, 2024).
Brown v. Yost, No. 2:24-cv-01401 (S.D. Ohio May 1, 2024).
Ohioans Against Corp. Bailouts v. LaRose, No. 2:19-cv-04466 (S.D. Ohio Oct. 23, 2019).
Ohio Rev. Code § 3519.01(C): 7 cases
Cynthia Brown v. David Yost, 103 F.4th 420 (6th Cir. 2024). “II, § 1, the Ohio General Assembly developed an amendment-initiative process, see Ohio Rev. Code § 3519.01. Ohio law requires that citizens take several steps before they can place a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot.”
Cynthia Brown v. David Yost, 122 F.4th 597 (6th Cir. 2024). “II, § 1a; Ohio Rev. Code § 3519.01. And as the Attorney General readily admits, once plaintiffs get the certification, they can start collecting signatures for 2025 or a future election.”
State ex rel. Dudley v. Yost, 2024-Ohio-5166, 250 N.E.3d 50. “2d 169, 171 (1977) (determining that no adequate remedy in the ordinary course of the law was available to challenge the attorney general’s refusal to certify under R.C. 3519.01). As to the first two elements, in extraordinary actions that challenge the decisions of the…”
Cynthia Brown v. David Yost, 133 F.4th 725 (6th Cir. 2025).
State ex rel. Dudley v. Yost, 2024-Ohio-5166, 250 N.E.3d 50. “2d 169, 171 (1977) (determining that no adequate remedy in the ordinary course of the law was available to challenge the attorney general’s refusal to certify under R.C. 3519.01). As to the first two elements, in extraordinary actions that challenge the decisions of the…”
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