Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Ohio Prohibit Discrimination Against Vaccine and Gene Therapy Choice Initiative (2022)
| Ohio Prohibit Discrimination Against Vaccine and Gene Therapy Choice Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Healthcare | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Ohio Prohibit Discrimination Against Vaccine and Gene Therapy Choice Initiative was not on the ballot in Ohio as an indirect initiated state statute on November 8, 2022.[1][2]
The initiative would have prohibited discrimination by political subdivisions, public agencies, daycare centers, healthcare providers, nursing homes, insurers, employers, or other institutions against an individual's choice to receive or not receive a vaccine or gene therapy. It would have prohibited any of the previously stated entities from requiring vaccination status or requiring individuals to disclose vaccination status. It would also have provided legal repercussions—civil rights complaints and civil litigation—for entities that violate the law.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for the initiative was as follows:[1]
| “ |
Vaccine and/or Gene Therapy Choice and Anti-Discrimination[3] |
” |
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Ohio, the number of signatures required to get an indirect initiated state statute placed on the ballot is equal to 6 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. Signatures are collected in two phases for indirect initiatives:
- Phase 1: signatures equal to 3 percent of the votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election are required to place the initiative before the Ohio General Assembly, which has four months to vote to approve or reject the initiative or take no action.
- Phase 2: If the Ohio General Assembly fails to pass or act on the initiative, an additional number of signatures equal to 3 percent of the votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election are required to place the initiative on the ballot.
Ohio also 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. The first round of petitions are allowed to circulate for an indefinite period of time. The first round of signatures for an indirect initiative must be filed at least 10 days prior to the legislative session of the year proponents want the measure addressed. The second round of signatures must be filed within 90 days after the legislature rejects or fails to act on the initiative.
The requirements to get an indirect initiated state statute certified for the 2022 ballot:
- Signatures: 266,774 valid signatures were required to get an indirect initiative on the ballot, including 1,000 signatures to file the proposal, 132,887 signatures for the first round, and 132,887 for the second round.
- Deadline: The deadline to submit the first round of signatures was December 24, 2021. The deadline to submit the second round of signatures was 90 days following the legislature's four-month deadline to address the measure.
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.
Details about this initiative
- Sponsors filed the initiative on November 30, 2021.[2]
- On December 9, 2021, the attorney general rejected the petition. The attorney general argued that the initiative did not contain definitions for certain terms in the proposed law.[4]
- On December 29, 2021, a revised version of the ballot initiative was filed.[5]
- On January 7, 2022, the attorney general rejected the initiative because it did not contain 1,000 signatures of qualified voters at the time of filing.[6]
- On January 24, 2022, the sponsors submitted a third version of the initiative.[2]
- On February 2, 2022, the attorney general rejected the third version citing that the summary did not accurately describe the effect of the initiative.[7]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ohio Secretary of State, "Initiative Text," December 29, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ohio Secretary of State, "List of petitions submitted to the Attorney General's Office," accessed December 1, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ohio Attorney General, "Letter to Attorney General," accessed December 10, 2021
- ↑ Ohio Attorney General, "List of petitions submitted to the Attorney General's Office," accessed January 3, 2021
- ↑ Ohio Attorney General, "Letter to sponsors," January 7, 2022
- ↑ Ohio Attorney General, "Rejection letter," February 2, 2022
 |
State of Ohio Columbus (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
