Ohio Rev. Code » Chapter 731
Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Rev. Code § 731.28 (2026)

Ordinances and measures proposed by initiative petition

✓ laws through the 2026 session (checked Sept. 2026)
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section ORCcodes.ohio.gov (official) Justiaon Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
Effective:
July 2, 2010
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 48 - 128th General Assembly
PDF:
Download Authenticated PDF
 

Ordinances and other measures providing for the exercise of any powers of government granted by the constitution or delegated to any municipal corporation by the general assembly may be proposed by initiative petition. Such initiative petition must contain the signatures of not less than ten per cent of the number of electors who voted for governor at the most recent general election for the office of governor in the municipal corporation.

When a petition is filed with the city auditor or village clerk, signed by the required number of electors proposing an ordinance or other measure, such auditor or clerk shall, after ten days, transmit a certified copy of the text of the proposed ordinance or measure to the board of elections. The auditor or clerk shall transmit the petition to the board together with the certified copy of the proposed ordinance or other measure. The board shall examine all signatures on the petition to determine the number of electors of the municipal corporation who signed the petition. The board shall return the petition to the auditor or clerk within ten days after receiving it, together with a statement attesting to the number of such electors who signed the petition.

The board shall submit such proposed ordinance or measure for the approval or rejection of the electors of the municipal corporation at the next general election occurring subsequent to ninety days after the auditor or clerk certifies the sufficiency and validity of the initiative petition to the board of elections. No ordinance or other measure proposed by initiative petition and approved by a majority of the electors voting upon the measure in such municipal corporation shall be subject to the veto of the mayor.

As used in this section, "certified copy" means a copy containing a written statement attesting it is a true and exact reproduction of the original proposed ordinance or other measure.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 66 cases (8 in the last 5 years), 1955–2024 · leading case: State ex rel. Harris v. Rubino (Slip Opinion), 2018-Ohio-3609, 119 N.E.3d 1238.
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
State ex rel. Harris v. Rubino (Slip Opinion), 2018-Ohio-3609, 119 N.E.3d 1238. · cites it 23× “R.C. 731.28 provides that when a municipal initiative petition is filed with a city auditor, 1 the auditor shall "after ten days, * * * transmit the petition to the board [of elections]," which shall return it to the auditor within ten days after receiving it, along with a…”
State ex rel. Sinay v. Sodders, 685 N.E.2d 754 (Ohio 1997). · cites it 19× “R.C. 731.28; Discretionary Duty Appellants assert in their second proposition of law that the court of appeals erred in granting a writ of mandamus to compel Sodders to certify the sufficiency and validity of the initiative petition to the board because she possessed discretion…”
State ex rel. Thurn v. Cuyahoga Cnty. Bd. of Elections, 649 N.E.2d 1205 (Ohio 1995). · cites it 13× “28 provides that “[w]hen a petition is filed with the city auditor or village clerk, signed by the required number of electors proposing an ordinance or other measure, such auditor or clerk shall, after ten days, certify the text of the proposed ordinance or measure to the board…”
State ex rel. Pennington v. Bivens (Slip Opinion), 2021-Ohio-3134, 185 N.E.3d 41. · cites it 8× “41 states that the procedures for circulating a referendum or initiative petition provided in R.C. 731.28 through 731.41 do not apply to a municipality, such as the city of Whitehall, that has “adopt[ed] its own charter containing an initiative and referendum provision for its…”
State ex rel. Hildreth v. LaRose, 2023-Ohio-3667, 233 N.E.3d 593. · cites it 10× “] Elections—Mandamus—Petitioners failed to file an initiative petition in compliance with R.C. 731.28 by replacing first page of part-petitions after obtaining signatures—Petition as filed does not comply with R.”
State ex rel. Arnett v. Winemiller, 685 N.E.2d 1219 (Ohio 1997). · cites it 10× “38 provides that “[a]ll * * * petitions presented to or filed with the secretary of state or a board of elections or "with any other public office * * * for the holding of an election on any issue shall * * * be governed by the following rules: (( % ij: *258 “(H) Any signer of a…”
State ex rel. Save Your Courthouse Commt. v. Medina (Slip Opinion), 2019-Ohio-3737. · cites it 4× “{¶ 9} As required by R.C. 731.28, Dirham held the petition for ten days for public inspection.”
State ex rel. Ditmars v. McSweeney, 764 N.E.2d 971 (Ohio 2002). · cites it 4× “Authority of City Clerk to Determine Sufficiency and Validity of Initiative Petition Following Enactment of Ordinance Ordering Certification of Initiative Ditmars next contends that even if McSweeney correctly concluded that the initiative petition was invalid because it failed…”
State ex rel. Williams v. Iannucci, 530 N.E.2d 869 (Ohio 1988). · cites it 12× “R.C. 731.28 through 731.41 govern initiative and referendum procedure in municipalities that have not adopted a different procedure by charter.”
State ex rel. Sinay v. Sodders, 80 Ohio St. 3d 224 (1997). · cites it 19× “R.C. 731.28; Discretionary Duty {¶ 21} Appellants assert in their second proposition of law that the court of appeals erred in granting a writ of mandamus to compel Sodders to certify the sufficiency and validity of the initiative petition to the board because she possessed…”
State ex rel. Julnes v. South Euclid City Council, 2011-Ohio-4485, 130 Ohio St. 3d 6. · cites it 8× “2d 971 (“The statutory procedure governing municipal initiative and referendum in R.C. 731.28 through 731.41 applies to municipalities where the charter incorporates general law by reference, except where the statutory procedure conflicts with other charter provisions”).”
Chad Thompson v. Richard Michael DeWine, 959 F.3d 804 (6th Cir. 2020). · cites it 2× “II, § 1a; Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 731.28 . And the initiative’s proponents must submit these signatures to the Secretary of State 125 days before the election for a constitutional amendment and 110 days before the election for a municipal ordinance.”
Show all 66 citing cases →
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.