(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today rejected the petition for the proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution which would repeal and replace the definition of marriage in the Ohio Constitution.
On March 1st, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office received a written petition to amend the Ohio Constitution, entitled “Freedom to Marriage and Religious Freedom Amendment,” from the group Freedom to Marry Ohio. 1,000 valid signatures from registered Ohio voters were submitted. However, Attorney General DeWine found three defects with the summary language:
- The summary language was longer than the amendment itself.
- The summary states that the amendment retains the rights contained in “Section 11 of Article XV for political subdivisions to not recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals.” However, the text of the amendment does not indicate that political subdivisions would retain these rights.
- The summary states that the amendment retains “the portions of Title 31 that codifies this Amendment.” However, the text of the amendment does not contain any reference to Title 31.
“After reviewing the submission, I conclude that I am unable to certify the summary as a fair and truthful statement of the proposed constitutional amendment,” DeWine stated in a letter to the petitioners.
The full text of today’s letter and of the amendment petitions submitted can be found at www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/BallotInitiatives.
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