Ohio could become the only state to require campaigns to collect signatures from every county

Welcome to the Friday, July 14, Brew. 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. Ohio could become the only state to require campaigns to collect signatures from every county
2. States enact the most new extreme risk protection order laws since 2020 
3. #FridayTrivia: How many states require a simple majority to approve a constitutional amendment?

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Ohio could become the only state to require campaigns to collect signatures from every county

Issue 1 is a constitutional amendment on the Aug. 8 ballot in Ohio that would (among other things) establish a 60% vote requirement to approve future amendments. Currently, amendments in Ohio require a simple majority. In yesterday’s edition of The Brew, we took a deep dive into the thresholds the other 48 states use to approve constitutional amendments (Delaware is the only state that does not require voter input for constitutional amendments).

Today, we’re going to provide some national context for another change Issue 1 would make to Ohio’s ballot measure process—increasing the signature distribution requirements for citizen-initiated amendments. 

A signature distribution requirement, also known as a geographic signature requirement, requires that initiative campaigns gather signatures from multiple political subdivisions—like counties or legislative districts—in order to qualify for the ballot.

Currently, Ohio requires citizen-initiative campaigns for constitutional amendments to collect signatures equal to 5% of the votes cast for governor in 44 of the state’s 88 counties. Overall, campaigns need to collect signatures equal to 10% of the votes cast for governor statewide, which is 413,487 signatures in 2023.

Under Issue 1, the distribution requirement would increase to 5% of the votes cast at the last gubernatorial election in each of the state’s 88 counties, rather than 44 of them. Increasing signature distribution requirements makes it harder to qualify a measure for the ballot. Click here to learn more about the changes that can make the ballot initiative process more difficult. 

Here’s how other states compare.

Sixteen of the 26 states—including Ohio—that allow citizen initiatives have signature distribution requirements: 

• Seven states, including Ohio, have distribution requirements based on counties;
• Five states have distribution requirements based on state legislative districts
• Four states have distribution requirements based on congressional districts.
• Washington, D.C., as well as some cities, also have distribution requirements for local citizen initiatives, which are often based on ward districts.

If Issue 1 is approved, Ohio would become the only state to require campaigns to collect signatures from 100% of the state’s counties. Ohio’s 88 counties range in population from 12,565 in Vinton County to 1.32 million in Franklin County. Colorado and Nevada also have signature distribution requirements that require campaigns to gather signatures from each subdivision of the state. In Colorado, campaigns must collect signatures from each of the state’s 35 Senate districts. In Nevada, campaigns must collect signatures from each of the state’s four congressional districts.

The other states that have county-based signature distribution requirements are Arkansas, Maryland, Nebraska, and New Mexico.

Federal courts have struck down some county-based signature distribution requirements. For example, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that such requirements violate the Equal Protection Clause because they “vary drastically in the size of their population,” which can “dilute the vote of residents of densely populated counties.” However, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a county-based distribution requirement in Nebraska, ruling that the Equal Protection Clause does not apply to state ballot initiatives because they are a state-based process not guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Ohio is located within the 6th Circuit’s jurisdiction.

Ohio is one of three states to take action on signature distribution requirements in 2023. In Arizona, the state legislature referred a constitutional amendment on distribution requirements to the ballot for November 2024. Arkansas increased its distribution requirement earlier this year, from 15 of 75 counties to 50 of 75 counties. 

Click below to read more about Ohio Issue 1.Keep reading

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States enact the most new extreme risk protection order laws since 2020 

So far this year, Michigan and Minnesota have enacted extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs), becoming the first states to enact new ERPOs since New Mexico and Virginia did so in 2020. ERPOs, also commonly referred to as red flag laws, authorize family members, household members, and law enforcement officers to petition a court to restrict an individual’s access to firearms. 

Including Michigan and Minnesota, the total number of states with ERPOs now comes to 21. 

In the 2022 midterm elections, Michigan and Minnesota were two of four states that went from having divided governments to Democratic trifectas. 

Interest in red flag laws expanded following the 2018 Parkland school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Five states had some form of extreme risk protection order laws before 2018, but that number increased to 13 that year. Six more states adopted ERPOs between 2019 and 2020. 

Thirteen of the 21 states with red flag laws had Democratic trifectas when the law was enacted, including Michigan and Minnesota. One state, Florida, had a Republican trifecta at the time, and the remaining seven states had divided government. 

In addition to Michigan and Minnesota, 11 other states that do not currently have extreme risk protection order laws considered legislation this year. The Pennsylvania House approved HB1018 on May 22 by a 102-99 vote but it has not yet been considered in the state Senate. The other legislatures to consider red flag laws this year were: Arkansas, Georgia, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, and Tennessee. 

Elsewhere this year, four states (Colorado, Connecticut, Vermont, and Washington) have amended existing ERPOs. 

Four other states have considered changes to their existing laws this year, including New York. 

While some states are seeking to implement or expand red flag laws, others are considering preemptively outlawing ERPOs or amending existing bans. Lawmakers in South Dakota and Wyoming have introduced legislation prohibiting the authorization or use of risk protection orders for firearms. Both of these bills did not pass through committees. Oklahoma considered an amendment that would expand an existing prohibition on the use or enforcement of red flag laws. As of July 2023, Oklahoma and West Virginia are the only states that prohibit the use or enforcement of extreme risk protection orders for firearms in state law.

Read more about ERPO legislation at the link below. 

Keep reading 

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#FridayTrivia: How many states require state court judges to retire at a specific age?

In the July 11 Brew, we looked at recent data we collected on state supreme court retirements in 2023, finding that half of all such retirements this year have been because judges have reached their state’s mandatory retirement age.

This is the first time there’s been an even split between mandatory and voluntary retirements on state supreme courts since 2019. 

How many states require state court judges to retire at a specific age?

1. 27 
2. 39 
3. 16
4. 31

Learn More