OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
H.J.R. 4 Final Analysis
134th General Assembly
Click here for H.J.R. 4’s Fiscal Note
Primary Sponsors: Reps. Edwards and Seitz
Effective date: Approved by the voters on November 8, 2022; takes effect immediately
Effective Date:
Emily E. Wendel, Attorney UPDATED VERSION
SUMMARY
 Proposes to amend the Ohio Constitution to prohibit local governments from allowing
persons to vote in local elections if they are not qualified to vote in state elections.
 Places the proposal on the ballot at the November 8, 2022, general election.
DETAILED ANALYSIS
The joint resolution places a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution on the ballot
at the November 8, 2022, general election. If it is approved by a majority of the voters, the
amendment takes effect immediately. The proposal prohibits local governments from allowing
persons to vote in local elections if they are not qualified to vote in state elections – for example,
non-U.S. citizens or persons under 18.
Currently, the Ohio Constitution specifies that:
Every citizen of the United States, of the age of eighteen
years, who has been a resident of the state, county, township, or
ward, such time as may be provided by law, and has been
registered to vote for thirty days, has the qualifications of an
elector, and is entitled to vote at all elections.
In general, this provision has been interpreted to mean that in order to vote in Ohio, a person
must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18, a resident of the state for at least 30 days (the period prescribed
 This version updates the effective date.
June 10, 2022
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
by law), and registered to vote for at least 30 days before the election.1 However, in 1917, the
Ohio Supreme Court ruled that under the home rule provisions of the Ohio Constitution, a city
could expand voting rights in city elections. In that case, the Court upheld an East Cleveland
charter provision that allowed women to vote in city elections, although at the time, the Ohio
Constitution and the U.S. Constitution gave only men the right to vote.2
Under the proposed amendment, the Ohio Constitution would state that only a person
who meets the listed requirements has the qualifications of an elector, and no person who lacks
those qualifications may be permitted to vote in any state or local election. The proposal also
amends the home rule provisions of the Constitution to include references to the new
restriction.3
HISTORY
Action Date
Introduced 05-17-22
Reported, H. State & Local Gov’t 05-25-22
Adopted House (68-28) 05-25-22
Reported, S. Local Gov’t & Elections 06-01-22
Adopted Senate (32-0) 06-01-22
22-ANHJR4ENUPDATED-134/ks
1 Ohio Constitution, Article V, Section 1 and R.C. 3503.01. Federal law also prohibits non-U.S. citizens from
voting in federal elections (18 United States Code 611).
2 State ex rel. Taylor v. French, 96 Ohio St. 172 (1917).
3 Ohio Const., art. V, sec. 1; art. X, sec. 3; and art. XVIII, sec. 3.
P a g e |2 H.J.R. 4
Final Analysis