Ohio Equality of Rights Under the Law Amendment (2026)
| Ohio Equality of Rights Under the Law Amendment | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Election date |
|
| Topic Constitutional rights and Sex and gender issues |
|
| Status Cleared for signature gathering |
|
| Type Initiated constitutional amendment |
Origin |
The Ohio Voting and Elections Amendment may appear on the ballot in Ohio as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 3, 2026.
This ballot initiative would amend the Ohio Constitution to provide for the equality of rights under the law, on "account of race, color, creed or religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression regardless of sex assigned at birth, pregnancy status, genetic information, disease status, age, disability, recovery status, familial status, ancestry, national origin, or military and veteran status".[1]
Text of measure
Full text
The full text of the ballot measure is available here.
Support
Ohio Equal Rights is leading the campaign in support of the ballot measure.[2]
Arguments
Path to the ballot
Process in Ohio
In Ohio, the number of signatures required to get an initiated constitutional amendment placed on the ballot is equal to 10 percent of the votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election. Ohio also requires initiative sponsors to submit 1,000 signatures with the initial petition application. Ohio has a signature distribution requirement, which requires that signatures be gathered from at least 44 of Ohio's 88 counties. Petitioners must gather signatures equal to a minimum of half the total required percentage of the gubernatorial vote in each of the 44 counties. Petitions are allowed to circulate for an indefinite period of time. Signatures are due 125 days prior to the general election that proponents want the initiative on.
The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2026 ballot:
- Signatures: 413,488 valid signatures are required.
- Deadline: The deadline to submit the signatures is July 1, 2026.
County boards of elections are responsible for verifying signatures, and the secretary of state must determine the sufficiency of the signature petition at least 105 days before the election. If the first batch of signatures is determined to be insufficient, the petitioners are given a ten-day window to collect more signatures.
Stages of this ballot initiative
- The initiative was submitted to the attorney general's office on June 24, 2025.[3]
- On July 9, the Ohio Ballot Board divided the petition into two separate petitions.
- On August 8, the petition was certified by Attorney General David Yost (R).[3]
See also
|
External links
Footnotes
