Ohio Rev. Code » Chapter 3519
Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Rev. Code § 3519.05 (2026)

Form of petitions

✓ current as of May 2026
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Effective:
June 21, 2013
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 47 - 130th General Assembly
PDF:
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(A) If the measure to be submitted proposes a constitutional amendment, the heading of each part of the petition shall be prepared in the following form, and printed in capital letters in type of the approximate size set forth:

"INITIATIVE PETITION

Amendment to the Constitution

Proposed by Initiative Petition

To be submitted directly to the electors"

"Amendment" printed in fourteen-point boldface type shall precede the title, which shall be briefly expressed and printed in eight-point type. The summary shall then be set forth printed in ten-point type, and then shall follow the certification of the attorney general, under proper date, which shall also be printed in ten-point type. The petition shall then set forth the names and addresses of the committee of not less than three nor more than five to represent the petitioners in all matters relating to the petition or its circulation.

Immediately above the heading of the place for signatures on each part of the petition the following notice shall be printed in boldface type:

"NOTICE

Whoever knowingly signs this petition more than once; except as provided in section 3501.382 of the Revised Code, signs a name other than one's own on this petition; or signs this petition when not a qualified voter, is liable to prosecution."

The heading of the place for signatures shall be substantially as follows:

"(Sign with ink. Your name, residence, and date of signing must be given.)

_______________________________________________________________

Rural Route or
other Post-
SignatureCountyTownshipoffice AddressMonthDayYear

_______________________________________________________________

(Voters who do not live in a municipal corporation should fill in the information called for by headings printed above.)

(Voters who reside in municipal corporations should fill in the information called for by headings printed below.)

_______________________________________________________________

CityStreet
orand
SignatureCountyVillageNumberWardPrecinctMonthDayYear"

_______________________________________________________________

The text of the proposed amendment shall be printed in full, immediately following the place for signatures, and shall be prefaced by "Be it resolved by the people of the State of Ohio." Immediately following the text of the proposed amendment must appear the following form:

"I, _________, declare under penalty of election falsification that I am the circulator of the foregoing petition paper containing the signatures of _________ electors, that the signatures appended hereto were made and appended in my presence on the date set opposite each respective name, and are the signatures of the persons whose names they purport to be or of attorneys in fact acting pursuant to section 3501.382 of the Revised Code, and that the electors signing this petition did so with knowledge of the contents of same. I am employed to circulate this petition by ________________________________ (Name and address of employer). (The preceding sentence shall be completed as required by section 3501.38 of the Revised Code if the circulator is being employed to circulate the petition.)

(Signed) ________________________

(Address of circulator's permanent

residence in this state)

__________________________________

WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS GUILTY OF A FELONY OF THE FIFTH DEGREE."

(B) If the measure proposes a law, the heading of each part of the petition shall be prepared as follows:

"INITIATIVE PETITION

Law proposed by initiative petition first to be submitted to the General Assembly."

In all other respects, the form shall be as provided for the submission of a constitutional amendment, except that the text of the proposed law shall be prefaced by "Be it enacted by the people of the state of Ohio."

The form for a supplementary initiative petition shall be the same as that provided for an initiative petition, with the exception that "supplementary" shall precede "initiative" in the title thereof.

(C) The general provisions set forth in this section relative to the form and order of an initiative petition shall be, so far as practical, applicable to a referendum petition, the heading of which shall be as follows:

"REFERENDUM PETITION

To be submitted to the electors for their approval or rejection"

The title, which follows the heading, shall contain a brief legislative history of the law, section, or item of law to be referred. The text of the law so referred shall be followed by the certification of the secretary of state, in accordance with division (B)(2)(b) of section 3519.01 of the Revised Code, that it has been compared with the copy of the enrolled act, on file in the secretary of state's office, containing such law, section, or item of law, and found to be correct.

(D) The secretary of state shall prescribe a form for part petitions to be submitted during the ten-day period beginning on the first day following the date that the secretary of state notifies the chairperson of the committee interested in the petition that the petition has an insufficient number of valid signatures. The secretary of state shall provide to each particular committee a different form that contains a unique identifier and that is separate from the forms prescribed in divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section. The secretary of state shall make the form available to the committee only as described in division (F) of section 3519.16 of the Revised Code. The form shall not be considered a public record until after the secretary of state makes it available to the committee under that division.

The form shall comply with the requirements of Section 1g of Article II, Ohio Constitution and, except as otherwise provided in this division, with the requirements of divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 23 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 1968–2026 · leading case: State ex rel. Sinay v. Sodders, 685 N.E.2d 754 (Ohio 1997).
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State ex rel. Sinay v. Sodders, 685 N.E.2d 754 (Ohio 1997). · cites it 18× “R.C. 3519.05 and 3519.06; Circulator Statements Appellants assert in their first and fourth propositions of law that they acted properly in refusing to certify the sufficiency and validity of the initiative petition to the board of elections.”
Ohio Mfrs. Assn. v. Ohioans for Drug Price Relief Act (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 5377 (Ohio 2016). · cites it 21× “05 of the Revised Code is not properly filled out”; R.C. 3519.05 offers model language for a complete part-petition, including the signature pages as well as the circulator’s statement; and by using the phrase “the statement required by section 3519.”
In Re Protest of Brooks, 801 N.E.2d 503 (Ohio Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 21× “{¶ 1} Appellant, The Ohio Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs, brings these consolidated appeals from the decisions of the Allen County Court of Common Pleas and the Marion County Court of Common Pleas invalidating certain part-petitions for failure to comply with R.C.…”
State ex rel. Hodges v. Taft, 591 N.E.2d 1186 (Ohio 1992). · cites it 5× “R.C, 3519.05 sets out the form to be used for initiative petitions, which includes the following statement for execution by the circulator: “In consideration of his services in soliciting signatures to this petition the solicitor has received or expects to receive .”
State ex rel. Sinay v. Sodders, 1997 Ohio 344 (Ohio 1997). · cites it 19× “Appellants claimed that they had no duty to perform the requested acts because, among other reasons, (1) the petition was invalid, since it did not include the circulator compensation and elector knowledge statements required by R.C. 3519.05 and 3519.06, (2) Sodders could not be…”
State ex rel. Dudley v. Yost, 2024 Ohio 5166 (Ohio 2024). · cites it 7× “{¶ 32} The attorney general contends that R.C. 3519.05 is irrelevant to the scope of his certification duty under R.”
Socialist Labor Party v. Rhodes, 290 F. Supp. 983 (S.D. Ohio 1968). · cites it 4× “Robert Stevenson approving a petition form to be circulated on behalf of the George Wallace American Independent Party as required by Revised Code Section 3519.05. "Affiant further states that on or about November 10, 1967, he and his staff met with a Mr.”
State ex rel. Save Your Courthouse Commt. v. Medina (Slip Opinion), 2019 Ohio 3737 (Ohio 2019). “Rather, as we explained in later decisions, Spadafora “ ‘merely requires that if a municipal initiative or referendum petition includes an R.C. 3519.05 circulator’s compensation or elector-knowledge statement, it may be required to comply with R.”
State ex rel. Colvin v. Brunner, 896 N.E.2d 979 (Ohio 2008). “* * * On the other hand, the circulator statement requirements of R.C. 3519.05 and 3519.06 may, as amicus curiae Ohio Citizen Action argues, be an unwarranted restriction or limitation on the right of initiative prohibited by Section lg, Article II [of the Ohio Constitution].”
State ex rel. Heffelfinger v. Brunner, 116 Ohio St. 3d 172 (Ohio 2007). “, Section lc, Article II of the Ohio Constitution, which requires a certain percentage of valid signatures on a petition to order a referendum “of any law,” and R.C. 3519.05, which notes that the form of a statewide referendum petition must contain the title and text of “the…”
In Re Protest of Brooks, 801 N.E.2d 514 (Ohio Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 14× “{¶ 4} The informational requirement at issue appears in R.C. 3519.05. It concerns payments made to persons who solicit signatures of electors.”
Cynthia Brown v. David Yost, 103 F.4th 420 (6th Cir. 2024). · cites it 2× “at 8–9) (explaining that petitioners may begin collecting signatures only after the Attorney General “files a verified copy of the amendment, together with its certified summary, with the Secretary of State”); Ohio Rev.”
Show all 23 citing cases →
— Ohio Rev. Code § 3519.05(A) — 5 cases
State ex rel. Dudley v. Yost, 2024 Ohio 5166 (Ohio 2024). “{¶ 32} The attorney general contends that R.C. 3519.05 is irrelevant to the scope of his certification duty under R.”
Cynthia Brown v. David Yost, 103 F.4th 420 (6th Cir. 2024). “at 8–9) (explaining that petitioners may begin collecting signatures only after the Attorney General “files a verified copy of the amendment, together with its certified summary, with the Secretary of State”); Ohio Rev.”
State ex rel. Dudley v. Yost, 2024 Ohio 5166 (Ohio 2024).
Cynthia Brown v. David Yost, 133 F.4th 725 (6th Cir. 2025).
Brown v. Yost (S.D. Ohio 2024).
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