Volunteers now have petitions! Despite what the GOP ad says – The proposed amendment language has nothing to do with gender reassignment surgery. Every registered Ohioan should have the right to vote yes or no on this issue by placing it on the November 2023 General Election ballot. Every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on: contraception; fertility treatment; continuing one’s own pregnancy; miscarriage care; and abortion. The full text of the proposed amendment language is available to read.

The Ohio Ballot Board unanimously approved of the ballot language for ‘The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety’ submitted by Protect Choice Ohio. The approval means that petitions can now be printed, distributed and signatures can start to be collected.

The next step is to collect a minimum of 800,000 ‘raw’ signatures to ensure a minimum of 413, 488 valid signatures from at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties. To ensure enough signatures will be valid, a total of at least 800,000 ‘raw’ signatures will be the goal to collect. Petitions must be submitted to the Ohio Secretary of State by July 5, 2023. The deadline for all petitions to be submitted to a regional volunteer is June 10, 2023, to ensure all petitions and signatures are submitted in a timely manner. Since this is a non-partisan issue that would be on the November 2023 General Election ballot, Democrats, Republicans and Non-Affiliated Ohio registered voters may sign petitions.

Once petitions are received, any event that may be scheduled to collect signatures will be posted under EVENTS. If you are currently residing in Ohio, not a registered Ohio voter and would like to sign a petition, you may register to vote at the same time you are signing a petition. Volunteers collecting signatures will have voter registration forms.

If you would like to assist in gathering signatures to place this issue on the November 23 General Election ballot, please contact us here. We will contact you to setup a training session on petition signature collection.

Whether you are pro choice or not, this issue was kicked back to the states by the U.S. Supreme Court when it overturned Roe versus Wade last year. The voters of Ohio should have a say about reproductive health access instead of politicians. The only way to have our voices heard – whether voting yes or no, is to put this issue on the ballot and allow Ohioans to exercise our right to vote.

2.21.2023 – Full Text – Proposed Amendment

2.21.2023 – Summary – Submitted to Ohio Attorney General

For more information, please visit here.