Ohio 2016 ballot measures
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Zero measures were certified to appear on the Ohio ballot on November 8, 2016.
At least 23 initiatives were filed for potential spots on the 2016 ballot. Some of these were repeat filings of the same or similar measures. Petitioners were required to file the requisite number of signatures by July 6, 2016, but no signatures were submitted for any potential measure.
Citizens of Ohio may initiate statutes through the process of indirect initiative and constitutional amendments through the process of direct initiative. Once sufficient signatures have been collected, statutory initiatives are first presented to the Ohio General Assembly. If approved by the legislature unamended, the proposed statute becomes law. If not, petitioners must collect an additional round of signatures within ninety days in order to place the statute on the ballot. Proposed amendments proceed directly to a vote of the people. The General Assembly may also propose amendments to the people as legislatively referred constitutional amendments.
In order to place measures on the ballot in 2016, citizens had to submit the required number of signatures by the prescribed deadlines. At least 305,591 valid signatures had to be submitted by July 6, 2016, in order to refer initiated constitutional amendments to the ballot. At least 91,677 valid signatures had to be submitted by December 24, 2015, in order to place indirect initiated state statutes on the ballot. For referendums, petitions must be submitted to the secretary of state within 90 days of the targeted law being filed with the secretary of state. At least 183,355 valid signatures were required to place a referendum on the ballot.
The 2016 legislative session ran is projected to run from January 5 through December 31, 2016, during which time the Ohio State Legislature can refer measures to the ballot. Referred amendments must be approved and filed with the secretary of state at least 90 days prior to the election at which they are to be submitted to the electors.
The Ohio Attorney General's office provides a list of potential initiated measures, which can be viewed here.
Historical facts
- A total of 41 measures appeared on statewide ballots between 1995 and 2016.
- Between 1995 and 2016, an average of two measures appeared on the ballot during even- and odd-numbered election years in Ohio.
- The number of measures appearing on statewide ballots between 1995 and 2016 ranged from zero to five.
- Between 1995 and 2016, about 54 percent (22 of 41) of statewide ballots were approved by voters, and about 46 percent (19 of 41) were defeated.
Not on the ballot
| Legend |
 = This initiative or referendum failed to reach the ballot and the petition is dead. = This initiative or referendum failed to reach the ballot in 2016, but petitioners could try to qualify the measure for the ballot in the future.
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| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
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| CISS | Drug Price Standards Initiative | Healthcare | Requires that drug prices in Ohio be the same as those outlined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs |
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| CICA | Medicinal Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Amendment | Marijuana | Legalizes marijuana for medicinal purposes and allow farmers to grow industrial hemp |
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| CISS | Ohio "Fresh Start" Act | Marijuana | Allows people convicted of low-level marijuana crimes to expunge their records, should the state pass laws to make those crimes no longer illegal |
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| CICA | Medical Cannabis Amendment | Marijuana | Legalizes medical marijuana |
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| CICA | Medical Use of Marijuana Amendment | Marijuana | Allows for the medical use of marijuana by qualifying patients with debilitating medical conditions and to allow for the licensed and regulated cultivation, manufacturing, testing, distribution, and dispensing of marijuana for medical use |
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| CICA | Right to Cannabis Amendment | Marijuana | Legalizes marijuana |
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| CICA | Clean Energy Initiative | Energy | Calls for $14 billion in spending on alternative energy research and infrastructure projects |
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| CICA | "Fair Wage" Amendment | Minimum wage | Increases the state minimum wage to $10 per hour in 2017 |
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| CICA | Motor Voter Automatic Registration Amendment | Elections and campaigns | Automatically registers to vote all citizens when they apply for, renew, update or replace their Ohio driver's license |
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| CICA | "Strengthening Term Limits on State Legislators" Amendment | Term limits | Places tighter term limit restrictions on state lawmakers |
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| CICA | "Ethics First" Amendment | Government accountability | Makes the annual compensation of members of the general assembly not more than the annual median household income in Ohio and prevents former members of the general assembly from taking lobbying positions within two years of leaving |
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See also
Footnotes
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