Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
                                              Office of Research                            Legislative Budget
         www.lsc.ohio.gov                       and Drafting                                      Office
                             H.B. 271                              Bill Analysis
                  135th   General Assembly
                                                                   Click here for H.B. 271’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Passed by the House
Primary Sponsors: Reps. Mathews and Peterson
Effective date:
Emily E. Wendel, Attorney
                                                        SUMMARY
                    Specifies that, beginning with the general election on November 5, 2024, a state issue
                          appearing at the top of the ballot must be designated as Issue 1 and any state issue
                          placed below that must be consecutively numbered.
                    Specifies that, for elections occurring after November 5, 2024, a state issue appearing at
                          the top of the ballot must be designated by the next number after the number of the
                          last state issue, instead of starting over at Issue 1.
                    Requires, once state Issue 500 appears on the ballot, that the next state issue be
                          designated as Issue 1.
                                                   DETAILED ANALYSIS
Numbering of state ballot issues
        Issues that appear on a ballot are grouped together, with state issues appearing at the
top of the ballot and local issues following in a rotating order prescribed by law. Currently,
those issues are consecutively numbered beginning with Issue 1 at each election.
         Under the bill, beginning with the 2024 general election, state issues must be
designated beginning with Issue 1, and at future elections, state issues must be numbered
beginning with the next available numeral, instead of starting over at Issue 1. For example, if
only one state issue appears on the ballot in November 2024, it will be “Issue 1.” The state issue
that appears at the top of the ballot at the next election will be “Issue 2,” and no state issue will
ever have a repeating number from a previous election. Once state Issue 500 appears on the
ballot, the next state issue must be designated as Issue 1.
        The bill permits the existing numbering process to continue for local questions and
issues. It is not clear whether, under the bill, the local issues in a county would be labeled for
each election beginning with a local Issue 1, beginning with the next available number after the
state issues that appear on the ballot, or using some other indicator, such as letters. The
                                                                                                           May 10, 2024
Office of Research and Drafting                LSC                            Legislative Budget Office
Secretary of State currently provides detailed instructions to the boards of elections regarding
ballot issues and might institute a standardized method for labeling local issues under the bill.1
                                        HISTORY
                             Action                                         Date
Introduced                                                09-18-23
Reported, H. State & Local Gov’t                          04-24-24
Passed House (90-0)                                       05-08-24
ANHB0271PH-135/ks
1 R.C. 3505.06 and Ohio Secretary of State, Ohio Ballot Questions and Issues Handbook (PDF) (2023),
available at ohiosos.gov under “Publications.”
P a g e |2                                                                                    H.B. 271
                                                                               As Passed by the House