Ohio 2025 ballot measures
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As of May 2, 2025, one statewide ballot measure was certified in Ohio for a special election on May 6, 2025.
On the ballot
- See also: 2025 ballot measures
May 6, 2025:
| Type | Title | Subject | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Issue 2 | Local government; Water; Water; Pollution; Bonds; Transportation | Allow the state to issue up to $2.5 billion in general obligation bonds to assist local governments in funding public infrastructure improvement projects |
Potential measures
| Type | Title | Subject | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CICA | Minimum Wage Increase Initiative | Minimum wage | Increases the minimum wage to $15 per hour |
| CICA | Voting and Elections Amendment | Elections and campaigns | Make various changes to the Ohio Constitution regarding voting and elections, including providing for automatic voter registration and same-day registration change, voting by non-electronic and electronic means, providing photo identification, and require the state of Ohio to make accommodations for voters with disabilities |
| CICA | Right to Sue Government Actors and Eliminate Immunity Defenses for Constitutional Violations Initiative | Constitutional rights | Allow persons to bring civil lawsuits against the state, political subdivisions, public employees for alleged violations of constitutional rights under the Ohio Constitution |
| VR | Policies Regarding Higher Education and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Referendum | Higher education governance | Repeal S.B. 1, which made changes to laws regarding high education, including requirements related to diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and training |
Getting measures on the ballot
Citizens
In Ohio, citizens have the power to initiate constitutional amendments, state statutes, and veto referendums. Voters approved a constitutional amendment for initiative and referendum powers in 1912.
In Ohio, signatures for citizen-initiated measures must come from 44 of Ohio's 88 counties.
Legislature
The Ohio General Assembly can refer statewide ballot measures, in the form of constitutional amendments and state statutes, to the ballot in odd-numbered years and even-numbered years. In Ohio, the most common type of legislative referral is the constitutional amendment, which requires voter approval. Between 1995 and 2018, just one legislative referral was a statute.
Ohio requires a 60 percent vote in each legislative chamber during one legislative session to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 60 votes in the Ohio House of Representatives and 20 votes in the Ohio State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Historical facts
- See also: List of Ohio ballot measures
Ohio statewide ballot measures
In Ohio, a total of 69 ballot measures appeared on statewide ballots between 1985 and 2024. Voters approved 42 ballot measures, and 27 ballot measures were defeated.
| Ohio statewide ballot measures, 1985-2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number | Annual average | Annual minimum | Annual maximum | Approved | Defeated | ||
| # | % | # | % | ||||
Ballot initiative certification rates
The following table shows the rate of certification for ballot initiatives in Ohio between 2010 and 2024:
Ohio Historical Ballot Measures Factbook
Ballotpedia completed an inventory of Ohio ballot measures as part of Ballotpedia's Historical Ballot Measure Factbook, which will document nearly 200 years of direct democracy in the United States. To view a searchable database and analysis of Ohio ballot measures, click here.
Ohio ballot measures by the decade
The average number of measures per decade was 26, and the average number of measures approved per decade was 14.
The decade with the most ballot measures was the 1910s, which featured 70 ballot measures. Forty-one measures (58.57%) were approved, and 29 (41.43%) were defeated. In 1910, voters approved a measure to hold a constitutional convention to revise the state constitution. The Ohio Constitutional Convention of 1912 referred 42 constitutional amendments to voters in 1912, including the one that created the initiative and referendum process.
The decade that had the highest approval rate was the 1940s, which featured 10 measures—nine (90%) were approved, and one (10%) were defeated. The decade with the lowest approval rating was the 1920s. The decade featured 22 ballot measures—five (22.73%) were approved and 17 (77.27%) were defeated.
See also
External links
