Ohio Rev. Code » Chapter 731
Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Rev. Code § 731.31 (2026)

Presentation of petition

✓ current as of May 2026
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Effective:
March 23, 1981
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 1062 - 113th General Assembly
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Any initiative or referendum petition may be presented in separate parts, but each part of any initiative petition shall contain a full and correct copy of the title and text of the proposed ordinance or other measure, and each part of any referendum petition shall contain the number and a full and correct copy of the title of the ordinance or other measure sought to be referred. Each signer of any such petition must be an elector of the municipal corporation in which the election, upon the ordinance or measure proposed by such initiative petition, or the ordinance or measure referred to by such referendum petition, is to be held. Petitions shall be governed in all other respects by the rules set forth in section 3501.38 of the Revised Code. In determining the validity of any such petition, all signatures which are found to be irregular shall be rejected, but no petition shall be declared invalid in its entirety when one or more signatures are found to be invalid except when the number of valid signatures is found to be less than the total number required by this section.

The petitions and signatures upon such petitions shall be prima facie presumed to be in all respects sufficient. No ordinance or other measure submitted to the electors of any municipal corporation, and receiving an affirmative majority of the votes cast thereon, shall be held ineffective or void on account of the insufficiency of the petitions by which such submission of the ordinance or measure was procured, nor shall the rejection, by a majority of the votes cast thereon, of any ordinance or other measure submitted to the electors of such municipal corporation, be held invalid for such insufficiency.

Ordinances proposed by initiative petition and referendums receiving an affirmative majority of the votes cast thereon, shall become effective on the fifth day after the day on which the board of elections certifies the official vote on such question.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 50 cases (9 in the last 5 years), 1953–2024 · leading case: Stutzman v. Madison Cnty. Bd. of Elections, 757 N.E.2d 297 (Ohio 2001).
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Stutzman v. Madison Cnty. Bd. of Elections, 757 N.E.2d 297 (Ohio 2001). · cites it 12× “31 by upholding the validity of the referendum petition although it did not include “a full and correct copy of the title of the ordinance or other measure sought to be referred.”
Stutzman v. Madison Cty. Bd. of Elections, 2001 Ohio 1624 (Ohio 2001). · cites it 12× “31 by upholding the validity of the referendum petition although it did not include “a full and correct copy of the title of the ordinance or other measure sought to be referred.”
State ex rel. Hildreth v. LaRose, 2023 Ohio 3667 (Ohio 2023). · cites it 9× “28 by replacing first page of part-petitions after obtaining signatures—Petition as filed does not comply with R.C. 731.31, because each filed part-petition includes a title that was not presented to electors who signed it—Secretary of state and county board of elections abused…”
State ex rel. Sanduskians for Sandusky v. Sandusky, 2022 Ohio 3362 (Ohio 2022). · cites it 22× “] Elections—Mandamus—Writ of mandamus sought to compel city commission to certify charter-amendment petition for a vote at the November 8, 2022 general election—R.C. 731.31 is inapplicable to municipal charter- amendment petition unless municipal charter incorporates R.”
State ex rel. Hackworth v. Hughes, 2002 Ohio 5334 (Ohio 2002). · cites it 6× “to place a proposed charter amendment on the November 5, 2002 election ballot— Writ denied, when—Petition did not fairly and substantially present the proposed charter amendment to the electorate—Violation of R.C. 731.31. (No. 2002-1547—Submitted September 27, 2002—Decided…”
State ex rel. Hackworth v. Hughes, 776 N.E.2d 1050 (Ohio 2002). · cites it 5× “Pertinent statutes, or portions thereof, including R.C. 731.31, that do not conflict with the Ohio Constitution and the city charter must be satisfied before the city council’s duty to submit the charter amendment to the voters arises.”
The State Ex Rel. Carrier Et Al. v. Hilliard City Council, 2016 Ohio 155 (Ohio 2016). · cites it 3× “Legal analysis {¶ 11} The city council rejected the petition based on three alleged defects: (1) the absence of a title, which is required by R.C. 731.31, (2) the petition’s failure to “alert petition signers to its full nature,” and (3) an impermissible change to the petition…”
State ex rel. Esch v. Lake Cnty. Bd. of Elections, 575 N.E.2d 835 (Ohio 1991). · cites it 8× “We are asked to decide in this appeal if the title requirement in R.C. 731.31 must be met with strict compliance.”
State ex rel. Becker v. City of Eastlake, 756 N.E.2d 1228 (Ohio 2001). · cites it 3× “Relators’ petition did not comply with R.C. 731.31, which requires that “each part of any initiative petition shall contain a full and correct copy of the title and text of the proposed ordinance or other measure.”
State ex rel. Tam O'Shanter Co. v. Stark Cty. Bd. of Elections (Slip Opinion), 2017 Ohio 8167 (Ohio 2017). · cites it 2× “12 that do not include the “if any” language, there was no dispute over whether the zoning proposal at issue had a title.”
State ex rel. Hazel v. Cuyahoga Cnty. Bd. of Elections, 685 N.E.2d 224 (Ohio 1997). · cites it 5× “The board determined that the initiative petition was invalid because it violated the requirement of R.C. 731.31 that each petition part contain a “full and correct copy of the title and text of the proposed ordinance.”
Christy v. Summit Cnty. Bd. of Elections, 671 N.E.2d 1 (Ohio 1996). · cites it 3× “28 provides that “[o]rdinances 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.”
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