Ohio made it harder to challenge local decisions with a referendum
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Worthington residents collecting signatures for a development-related referendum face a much higher bar than they would have this time last year.
Why it matters: Ohio's latest state budget more than tripled the signatures required for local referendum petitions to reach the ballot — from 10% to 35% of the number of voters in the last gubernatorial election.
- Some petitioners elsewhere are already coming up short.
Caveat: If a city specifies a different requirement in its charter, that takes precedence over the new state law. Worthington doesn't.
- That's why another group of Worthington residents, Our City Our Vote, put a charter amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot to enshrine a 10% requirement.
How it works: A charter amendment rewrites what is essentially a city's constitution. Putting an amendment to a vote still has a 10% signature requirement, but it's based on voters in the last municipal election.
- A referendum, however, allows voters to decide an issue that a local government has already approved, within a specified time frame.
What they're saying: "The referendum is a needed check and balance, basic to good governance," Our City Our Vote volunteer supporter David Robinson tells Axios.
- "If we fail, the citizens lose an essential lever of power."
The big picture: Most Central Ohio cities don't set their own signature requirement for referendums, instead deferring to state law — now 35%.
- Columbus is one that does, requiring a number equal to 5% of voters from the last mayoral election.
- Whitehall and Reynoldsburg require 10% from the last mayoral and gubernatorial elections, respectively.
- Last year, Whitehall residents stopped a development project using referendums.
What we're watching: A newly proposed state law would lower the referendum threshold to 20% statewide.
- Marysville residents, like those in Worthington, are also hoping to enshrine a 10% requirement Nov. 3.