Getting It Right! For Ohio's Future

Placing Ohio's Future on the Ballot

Getting It Right for Ohio's Future will follow the state's established process to place a constitutional amendment issue before Ohio voters this November.

On Jan. 17, Getting It Right for Ohio's Future will present the petition for the issue, signed by 1,000 electors, to the attorney general's office. Attorney General Marc Dann will have 10 working days to review the full text and petition summary of the proposed amendment.

Following his review, the attorney general will certify or reject the petition based on his decision whether the petition summary accurately reflects the proposed amendment. Once the attorney general certifies the petition, he will forward it to the Ohio Ballot Board for approval. The Ohio Ballot Board will write the official ballot language for the amendment.

Once the Ohio Ballot Board certifies the petition, a verified copy of the proposed constitutional amendment, along with its summary and the attorney general's certification, will be filed by the attorney general with the secretary of state's office.

Upon receipt by the secretary of state, Getting It Right for Ohio's Future may begin collecting signatures to place the constitutional amendment on the November 2007 ballot.

The campaign will work with state resident volunteers from Ohio education associations to collect the 402,276 valid signatures necessary for the amendment issue's placement on the ballot. The total of required valid signatures is determined by calculating 10 percent of the vote in the state's most recent gubernatorial election.

Signatures must be obtained from at least 44 of Ohio's 88 counties, with county totals equal to at least 5 percent of the November 2006 gubernatorial election.

No later than 90 days before the November 2007 election — by Aug. 8 – Getting It Right for Ohio's Future must submit the collected signatures to the secretary of state's office. The secretary of state will distribute the signatures to each county's board of elections for validation.

If the petition and signatures are not found sufficient for the amendment's ballot placement, the secretary of state will issue a ruling no later than 40 days before the November election – by Sept. 27. The secretary of state will allow 10 additional days for the campaign to file more signatures. The campaign will continue to collect signatures after meeting the initial August deadline in case of this eventuality to ensure that the issue appears on the November ballot.

What's Next

Jan. 17
Getting It Right for Ohio's Future submits petition paperwork to attorney general's office

Feb. 1
Deadline for attorney general to report opinion on proposed petition

Aug. 8
Deadline for Getting It Right for Ohio's Future to submit signatures to secretary of state toward 402,276 signature goal

Sept. 27
Getting It Right for Ohio's Future learns from the secretary of state's office whether more signatures must be submitted

Nov. 6
Voters decide Ohio's future