Ohio 2017 ballot measures

2017 Ohio Ballot Measures
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In 2017, two statewide ballot measures were certified for the ballot in the state of Ohio for the election on November 7, 2017. One was approved, and one was defeated.

HIGHLIGHTS

Issue 1: The initiative was designed to repeal a section of the state constitution addressing the rights of crime victims and replace the section with a Marsy's Law. It was approved. In 2016, Marsy's Law amendments were approved in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Henry Nicholas, a California businessman and brother of Marsy Nicholas, provided funds for the initiative campaigns.

Issue 2: This was the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's second attempt at passing an initiative designed to require the state to pay the same price or less for prescription drugs as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Issue 2 was defeated. The group attempted to pass a similar initiative, California Proposition 61, in 2016, but 53 percent of voters rejected the measure following a $128.1-million battle between the foundation and pharmaceutical companies.

Campaign finance: Campaigns surrounding the two ballot issues raised about $88 million. Around 67 percent of the statewide total came from opponents of Issue 2, including PhRMA and a PhRMA-owned LLC. Issue 2 was the most expensive ballot measure battle in the history of the state.

On the ballot

See also: 2017 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
CICA	Issue 1	Law Enforcement	Constitution rights of crime victims	a
IndISS	Issue 2	Healthcare	State to purchase drugs at prices no more than what the VA pays	d

Getting measures on the ballot

Citizens of Ohio have the powers of initiated state statute, initiated constitutional amendment, and veto referendum. The initiated state statutes in Ohio are indirect, meaning petitions for them go to the Ohio General Assembly after an initial set of signatures are verified. For 2017 initiatives, the initial set of signatures was 91,677. Signatures need to be turned in at least 10 days before the start of the legislative session to be considered. Per Section 8 of Article II of the Ohio Constitution, the 2017 legislative session began on January 9, 2017. Therefore, the latest the first set of signatures could have been turned in for an initiated statute to appear on the 2017 ballot was December 30, 2016. If approved by the legislature unamended, the initiated statute becomes law. If not, petitioners must collect an additional round of 91,677 signatures within ninety days in order to place the statute on the ballot.

Ohioans also have the power to propose initiated constitutional amendments. Unlike initiated statutes, initiated amendments are direct, meaning the legislature does not first vote on the issue. Rather, upon certification, initiated amendments proceed directly to a vote of the people. A total of 305,591 valid signatures were required to get an initiated constitutional amendment on the 2017 ballot. Signatures need to be turned in at least 125 days before the intended general election date. For the 2017 general election, 125 days prior was July 5, 2017.

Laws passed by the legislature can be placed on the ballot by citizens through veto referendums. For referendums, petitions must be submitted to the Ohio secretary of state within 90 days of the targeted law being filed. At least 183,355 valid signatures were required to place a referendum on the 2017 ballot.

The Ohio General Assembly may also propose amendments to the people as legislatively referred constitutional amendments. Referred amendments must be approved and filed at least 90 days prior to the election at which they are to be submitted to the electors. For the 2017 general election, 90 days prior was August 9, 2017.

Summary of campaign contributions

See also: Ballot measure campaign finance, 2017

The combined total raised for and against Issue 2 was $77 million, the most funds raised surrounding a ballot measure in Ohio as of 2017. The Yes on 2 campaign raised $18.29 million. The No on 2 raised $59.13 million. The measure was similar to California Proposition 61, which spurred the most expensive ballot measure battle of 2016. Opponents raised $109 million in their effort to defeat Proposition 61, while supporters received $19 million.

Marsy's Law for Ohio raised funds in support of Issue 1. There was no organized campaign opposing Issue 1.

The following chart illustrates how much support and opposition committees amassed in campaign contributions for each measure on the ballot:

Ballot Measure:	Support contributions:	Opposition contributions:	Outcome:
Ohio Issue 2, Drug Price Standards Initiative (2017)	$	$	d
Ohio Issue 1, Marsy's Law Crime Victim Rights Initiative (2017)	$	$	a

Cost per required signature

See also: Ballot measure signature costs, 2017

The cost per required signatures (CPRS) is a comparison of the amount of money spent on the petition drive to the number of signatures the state requires for an initiative to make the ballot. The CRPS for Issue 1 was $7.50, meaning about $7.50 was spent on the signature drive for each signature required for certification. The CPRS for Issue 2 was $10.13.

Ballot Measure:	Topic:	Petition company	Cost	Signatures	CPRS
Ohio Issue 2	Healthcare	PCI Consultants, Inc.	$1,867,206.70	184,354	$10.13
Ohio Issue 1	Law enforcement	Advanced Micro Targeting	$2,300,000.00	306,591	$7.50
Averages:	N/A	PCI Consultants, Inc.	$1,867,206.70	N/A	$10.13

Historical facts

See also: History of Initiative & Referendum in Ohio and List of Ohio ballot measures

• A total of 41 measures appeared on statewide ballots between 1995 and 2016.
• From 1995 through 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.

Ohio statewide ballot measures, 1995-2016
Years	Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Annual average	Annual median	Annual minimum	Annual maximum
Even years	21	11	52.4%	10	47.6%	1.9	1.0	0	5
Odd years	20	11	55.0%	9	45.0%	1.8	2.0	0	5
All years	41	22	53.7%	19	46.3%	1.9	1.5	0	5

Not on the ballot

See also: Proposed ballot measures that were not on a ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
CICA	Bipartisan Congressional Redistricting Commission Initiative	Redistricting	Bipartisan redistricting commission for congressional districts
CICA	Judicial Term Limits Amendment	Term Limits	9-year term limit for justices of the Ohio Supreme Court
CICA	Laws Apply Equally to General Assembly Amendment	Legislature	Laws applied to citizens apply to state legislators
CICA	Prayer in Public Schools Initiative	Religion	Express that children have a right to pray in schools
CICA	Abortion Criminalization Initiative	Abortion	Criminalize abortion
CICA	Medicinal Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Amendment	Marijuana	Legalize medical marijuana and industrial hemp

Local ballot measures

See also: November 7, 2017 ballot measures in Ohio and Local ballot measures, Ohio

Ballotpedia covered local ballot measures in Athens County, Cleveland, the Cuyahoga County Community College District, Franklin County, Hamilton County, and Lucas County.

For a full list of measures, summaries of each measure, and results on election night, click here.

State profile

Demographic data for Ohio
	Ohio	U.S.
Total population:	11,605,090	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	40,861	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	82.4%	73.6%
Black/African American:	12.2%	12.6%
Asian:	1.9%	5.1%
Native American:	0.2%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.5%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	3.4%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	89.1%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	26.1%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$49,429	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	19.6%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Ohio. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Ohio

Ohio voted Republican in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, nine are located in Ohio, accounting for 4.37 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Ohio had eight Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 4.42 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

More Ohio coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Ohio
• United States congressional delegations from Ohio
• Public policy in Ohio
• Endorsers in Ohio
• Ohio fact checks
• More...

See also

• 2017 ballot measures
• Ohio ballot measures
• Ohio signature requirements
• Procedures for qualifying an initiative in Ohio
• Laws governing the initiative process in Ohio

External links

• Initiative Petitions Submitted to the Attorney General's Office
• Ohio Ballot Board
• Ohio Legislature