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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 299
2025-2026
Representatives Lorenz, Deeter
Cosponsors: Representatives Daniels,
Robb Blasdel, Johnson, Thomas, D., Hall, T.
To
amend sections 3501.01, 3501.38, 3503.06, 3519.05,
and
3519.06 and to enact section 3519.11 of the Revised Code
to
require statewide initiative petition circulators to be licensed by
the Secretary of State.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
sections 3501.01, 3501.38, 3503.06, 3519.05,
and
3519.06 be amended and section 3519.11 of the Revised Code be enacted
to read as follows:
Sec.
3501.01.
As
used in the sections of the Revised Code relating to elections and
political communications:
(A)
"General election" means the election held on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in each November.
(B)
"Regular municipal election" means the election held on the
first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in each odd-numbered
year.
(C)
"Regular state election" means the election held on the
first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in each
even-numbered year.
(D)
"Special election" means any election other than those
elections defined in other divisions of this section. A special
election may be held only on the first Tuesday after the first Monday
in May or November, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in
August in accordance with section 3501.022 of the Revised Code, or on
the day authorized by a particular municipal or county charter for
the holding of a primary election, except that in any year in which a
presidential primary election is held, no special election shall be
held in May, except as authorized by a municipal or county charter,
but may be held on the third Tuesday after the first Monday in March.
(E)(1)
"Primary" or "primary election" means an election
held for the purpose of nominating persons as candidates of political
parties for election to offices, and for the purpose of electing
persons as members of the controlling committees of political parties
and as delegates and alternates to the conventions of political
parties. Primary elections shall be held on the first Tuesday after
the first Monday in May of each year except in years in which a
presidential primary election is held.
(2)
"Presidential primary election" means a primary election as
defined by division (E)(1) of this section at which an election is
held for the purpose of choosing delegates and alternates to the
national conventions of the major political parties pursuant to
section 3513.12 of the Revised Code. Unless otherwise specified,
presidential primary elections are included in references to primary
elections. In years in which a presidential primary election is held,
all primary elections shall be held on the third Tuesday after the
first Monday in March except as otherwise authorized by a municipal
or county charter.
(F)
"Political party" means any group of voters meeting the
requirements set forth in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code for the
formation and existence of a political party.
(1)
"Major political party" means any political party organized
under the laws of this state whose candidate for governor or nominees
for presidential electors received not less than twenty per cent of
the total vote cast for such office at the most recent regular state
election.
(2)
"Minor political party" means any political party organized
under the laws of this state that meets either of the following
requirements:
(a)
Except as otherwise provided in this division, the political party's
candidate for governor or nominees for presidential electors received
less than twenty per cent but not less than three per cent of the
total vote cast for such office at the most recent regular state
election. A political party that meets the requirements of this
division remains a political party for a period of four years after
meeting those requirements.
(b)
The political party has filed with the secretary of state, subsequent
to its failure to meet the requirements of division (F)(2)(a) of this
section, a petition that meets the requirements of section 3517.01 of
the Revised Code.
A
newly formed political party shall be known as a minor political
party until the time of the first election for governor or president
which occurs not less than twelve months subsequent to the formation
of such party, after which election the status of such party shall be
determined by the vote for the office of governor or president.
(G)
"Dominant party in a precinct" or "dominant political
party in a precinct" means that political party whose candidate
for election to the office of governor at the most recent regular
state election at which a governor was elected received more votes
than any other person received for election to that office in such
precinct at such election.
(H)
"Candidate" means any qualified person certified in
accordance with the provisions of the Revised Code for placement on
the official ballot of a primary, general, or special election to be
held in this state, or any qualified person who claims to be a
write-in candidate, or who knowingly assents to being represented as
a write-in candidate by another at either a primary, general, or
special election to be held in this state.
(I)
"Independent candidate" means any candidate who claims not
to be affiliated with a political party, and whose name has been
certified on the office-type ballot at a general or special election
through the filing of a statement of candidacy and nominating
petition, as prescribed in section 3513.257 of the Revised Code.
(J)
"Nonpartisan candidate" means any candidate whose name is
required, pursuant to section 3505.04 of the Revised Code, to be
listed on the nonpartisan ballot, including all candidates for judge
of a municipal court, county court, or court of common pleas, for
member of any board of education, for municipal or township offices
in which primary elections are not held for nominating candidates by
political parties, and for offices of municipal corporations having
charters that provide for separate ballots for elections for these
offices.
(K)
"Party candidate" means any candidate who claims to be a
member of a political party and who has been certified to appear on
the office-type ballot at a general or special election as the
nominee of a political party because the candidate has won the
primary election of the candidate's party for the public office the
candidate seeks, has been nominated under section 3517.012, or is
selected by party committee in accordance with section 3513.31 of the
Revised Code.
(L)
"Officer of a political party" includes, but is not limited
to, any member, elected or appointed, of a controlling committee,
whether representing the territory of the state, a district therein,
a county, township, a city, a ward, a precinct, or other territory,
of a major or minor political party.
(M)
"Question or issue" means any question or issue certified
in accordance with the Revised Code for placement on an official
ballot at a general or special election to be held in this state.
(N)
"Elector" or "qualified elector" means a person
having the qualifications provided by law to be entitled to vote.
(O)
"Voter" means an elector who votes at an election.
(P)
"Voting residence" means that place of residence of an
elector which shall determine the precinct in which the elector may
vote.
(Q)
"Precinct" means a district within a county established by
the board of elections of such county within which all qualified
electors having a voting residence therein may vote at the same
polling place.
(R)
"Polling place" means that place provided for each precinct
at which the electors having a voting residence in such precinct may
vote.
(S)
"Board" or "board of elections" means the board
of elections appointed in a county pursuant to section 3501.06 of the
Revised Code.
(T)
"Political subdivision" means a county, township, city,
village, or school district.
(U)
"Election officer" or "election official" means
any of the following:
(1)
Secretary of state;
(2)
Employees of the secretary of state serving the division of elections
in the capacity of attorney, administrative officer, administrative
assistant, elections administrator, office manager, or clerical
supervisor;
(3)
Director of a board of elections;
(4)
Deputy director of a board of elections;
(5)
Member of a board of elections;
(6)
Employees of a board of elections;
(7)
Precinct election officials;
(8)
Employees appointed by the boards of elections on a temporary or
part-time basis.
(V)
"Acknowledgment notice" means a notice sent by a board of
elections, on a form prescribed by the secretary of state, informing
a voter registration applicant or an applicant who wishes to change
the applicant's residence or name of the status of the application;
the information necessary to complete or update the application, if
any; and if the application is complete, the precinct in which the
applicant is to vote.
(W)
"Confirmation notice" means a notice sent by a board of
elections, on a form prescribed by the secretary of state, to a
registered elector to confirm the registered elector's current
address.
(X)
"Designated agency" means an office or agency in the state
that provides public assistance or that provides state-funded
programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons with
disabilities and that is required by the National Voter Registration
Act of 1993 to implement a program designed and administered by the
secretary of state for registering voters, or any other public or
government office or agency that implements a program designed and
administered by the secretary of state for registering voters,
including the department of job and family services, the program
administered under section 3701.132 of the Revised Code by the
department of health, the department of mental health and addiction
services, the department of developmental disabilities, the
opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities agency, and any other
agency the secretary of state designates. "Designated agency"
does not include public high schools and vocational schools, public
libraries, or the office of a county treasurer.
(Y)
"National Voter Registration Act of 1993" means the
"National Voter Registration Act of 1993," 107 Stat. 77, 42
U.S.C.A. 1973gg.
(Z)
"Voting Rights Act of 1965" means the "Voting Rights
Act of 1965," 79 Stat. 437, 42 U.S.C.A. 1973, as amended.
(AA)(1)
"Photo identification" means one of the following documents
that includes the individual's name and photograph and is not
expired:
(a)
An Ohio driver's license, state identification card, or interim
identification form issued by the registrar of motor vehicles or a
deputy registrar under Chapter 4506. or 4507. of the Revised Code;
(b)
A United States passport or passport card;
(c)
A United States military identification card, Ohio national guard
identification card, or United States department of veterans affairs
identification card.
(2)
A "copy" of an individual's photo identification means
images of both the front and back of a document described in division
(AA)(1) of this section, except that if the document is a United
States passport, a copy of the photo identification means an image of
the passport's identification page that includes the individual's
name, photograph, and other identifying information and the
passport's expiration date.
(BB)
"Driver's license" means a license or permit issued by the
registrar or a deputy registrar under Chapter 4506. or 4507. of the
Revised Code that authorizes an individual to drive. "Driver's
license" includes a driver's license, commercial driver's
license, probationary license, restricted license, motorcycle
operator's license, or temporary instruction permit identification
card. "Driver's license" does not include a limited term
license issued under section 4507.09 of the Revised Code.
(CC)
"State identification card" means a card issued by the
registrar or a deputy registrar under sections 4507.50 to 4507.52 of
the Revised Code.
(DD)
"Interim identification form" means the document issued by
the registrar or a deputy registrar to an applicant for a driver's
license or state identification card that contains all of the
information otherwise found on the license or card and that an
applicant may use as a form of identification until the physical
license or card arrives in the mail.
(EE)
"Statewide initiative petition" means an initiative
petition for the submission of a proposed law or constitutional
amendment to the electors of the state, including any supplementary
petition for additional signatures to such an initiative petition.
Sec.
3501.38.
All
declarations of candidacy, nominating petitions, or other petitions
presented to or filed with the secretary of state or a board of
elections or with any other public office for the purpose of becoming
a candidate for any nomination or office or for the holding of an
election on any issue shall, in addition to meeting the other
specific requirements prescribed in the sections of the Revised Code
relating to them, be governed by the following rules:
(A)
Only electors qualified to vote on the candidacy or issue which is
the subject of the petition shall sign a petition. Each signer shall
be a registered elector pursuant to section 3503.01 of the Revised
Code. The facts of qualification shall be determined as of the date
when the petition is filed.
(B)
Signatures shall be affixed in ink. Each signer may also print the
signer's name, so as to clearly identify the signer's signature.
(C)
Each signer shall place on the petition after the signer's name the
date of signing and the location of the signer's voting residence,
including the street and number if in a municipal corporation or the
rural route number, post office address, or township if outside a
municipal corporation. The voting address given on the petition shall
be the address appearing in the registration records at the board of
elections.
(D)
Except as otherwise provided in section 3501.382 of the Revised Code,
no person shall write any name other than the person's own on any
petition. Except as otherwise provided in section 3501.382 of the
Revised Code, no person may authorize another to sign for the person.
If a petition contains the signature of an elector two or more times,
only the first signature shall be counted.
(E)(1)
On each petition paper, the circulator shall indicate the number of
signatures contained on it, and shall sign a statement made under
penalty of election falsification that the circulator witnessed the
affixing of every signature, that all signers were to the best of the
circulator's knowledge and belief qualified to sign, and that every
signature is to the best of the circulator's knowledge and belief the
signature of the person whose signature it purports to be or of an
attorney in fact acting pursuant to section 3501.382 of the Revised
Code. On the circulator's statement for a declaration of candidacy or
nominating petition for a person seeking to become a statewide
candidate, for a statewide initiative or a statewide referendum
petition, or for a party formation petition described in division
(A)(1)(b) of section 3517.01 of the Revised Code, the circulator
shall identify the circulator's name, the address of the circulator's
permanent residence, and the name and address of the person employing
the circulator to circulate the petition, if any.
On the circulator's statement for a statewide initiative petition,
the circulator also shall write the circulator's circulator license
number issued under section 3519.11 of the Revised Code.
(2)
As used in division (E) of this section, "statewide candidate"
means the joint candidates for the offices of governor and lieutenant
governor or a candidate for the office of secretary of state, auditor
of state, treasurer of state, or attorney general.
(F)
Except as otherwise provided in section 3501.382 of the Revised Code,
if a circulator knowingly permits an unqualified person to sign a
petition paper or permits a person to write a name other than the
person's own on a petition paper, that petition paper is invalid;
otherwise, the signature of a person not qualified to sign shall be
rejected but shall not invalidate the other valid signatures on the
paper.
(G)
The circulator of a petition may, before filing it in a public
office, strike from it any signature the circulator does not wish to
present as a part of the petition.
(H)
Any signer of a petition or an attorney in fact acting pursuant to
section 3501.382 of the Revised Code on behalf of a signer may remove
the signer's signature from that petition at any time before the
petition is filed in a public office by striking the signer's name
from the petition; no signature may be removed after the petition is
filed in any public office.
(I)(1)
No alterations, corrections, or additions may be made to a petition
after it is filed in a public office.
(2)(a)
No declaration of candidacy, nominating petition, or other petition
for the purpose of becoming a candidate may be withdrawn after it is
filed in a public office. Nothing in this division prohibits a person
from withdrawing as a candidate as otherwise provided by law.
(b)
No petition presented to or filed with the secretary of state, a
board of elections, or any other public office for the purpose of the
holding of an election on any question or issue may be resubmitted
after it is withdrawn from a public office or rejected as containing
insufficient signatures. Nothing in this division prevents a question
or issue petition from being withdrawn by the filing of a written
notice of the withdrawal by a majority of the members of the
petitioning committee with the same public office with which the
petition was filed prior to the sixtieth day before the election at
which the question or issue is scheduled to appear on the ballot.
(J)
All declarations of candidacy, nominating petitions, or other
petitions under this section shall be accompanied by the following
statement in boldface capital letters: WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION
FALSIFICATION IS GUILTY OF A FELONY OF THE FIFTH DEGREE.
(K)
All separate petition papers shall be filed at the same time, as one
instrument.
(L)
If a board of elections distributes for use a petition form for a
declaration of candidacy, nominating petition, or any type of
question or issue petition that does not satisfy the requirements of
law as of the date of that distribution, the board shall not
invalidate the petition on the basis that the petition form does not
satisfy the requirements of law, if the petition otherwise is valid.
Division (L) of this section applies only if the candidate received
the petition from the board within ninety days of when the petition
is required to be filed.
(M)(1)
Upon receiving an initiative petition, or a petition filed under
section 307.94 or 307.95 of the Revised Code, concerning a ballot
issue that is to be submitted to the electors of a county or
municipal political subdivision, the board of elections shall examine
the petition to determine:
(a)
Whether the petition falls within the scope of a municipal political
subdivision's authority to enact via initiative, including, if
applicable, the limitations placed by Sections 3 and 7 of Article
XVIII of the Ohio Constitution on the authority of municipal
corporations to adopt local police, sanitary, and other similar
regulations as are not in conflict with general laws, and whether the
petition satisfies the statutory prerequisites to place the issue on
the ballot. The petition shall be invalid if any portion of the
petition is not within the initiative power; or
(b)
Whether the petition falls within the scope of a county's authority
to enact via initiative, including whether the petition conforms to
the requirements set forth in Section 3 of Article X of the Ohio
Constitution, including the exercise of only those powers that have
vested in, and the performance of all duties imposed upon counties
and county officers by law, and whether the petition satisfies the
statutory prerequisites to place the issue on the ballot. The finding
of the board shall be subject to challenge by a protest filed
pursuant to division (B) of section 307.95 of the Revised Code.
(2)
After making a determination under division (M)(1)(a) or (b) of this
section, the board of elections shall promptly transmit a copy of the
petition and a notice of the board's determination to the office of
the secretary of state. Notice of the board's determination shall be
given to the petitioners and the political subdivision.
(3)
If multiple substantially similar initiative petitions are submitted
to multiple boards of elections and the determinations of the boards
under division (M)(1)(a) or (b) of this section concerning those
petitions differ, the secretary of state shall make a single
determination under division (M)(1)(a) or (b) of this section that
shall apply to each such initiative petition.
Sec.
3503.06.
(A)
No person shall be entitled to vote at any election, unless the
person is registered as an elector and will have resided in the
county and precinct where the person is registered for at least
thirty days at the time of the next election.
(B)
No person shall be entitled to sign any petition, unless the person
is registered as an elector and resides in a precinct in which the
candidacy or issue that is the subject of the petition will appear on
the ballot.
(C)(1)(a)
Except for a nominating petition for presidential electors, no person
shall be entitled to circulate any petition unless the person is a
resident of this state and is at least eighteen years of age.
In the case of a statewide initiative petition, the person also shall
hold a valid circulator license issued under section 3519.11 of the
Revised Code.
(b)
No person shall be entitled to circulate a nominating petition for
presidential electors unless the person is at least eighteen years of
age.
(2)
All election officials, in determining the residence of a person
circulating a petition under division (C)(1) of this section, shall
be governed by the following rules:
(a)
That place shall be considered the residence of a person in which the
person's habitation is fixed and to which, whenever the person is
absent, the person has the intention of returning.
(b)
A person shall not be considered to have lost the person's residence
who leaves the person's home and goes into another state for
temporary purposes only, with the intention of returning.
(c)
A person shall not be considered to have gained a residence in any
county of this state into which the person comes for temporary
purposes only, without the intention of making that county the
permanent place of abode.
(d)
If a person removes to another state with the intention of making
that state the person's residence, the person shall be considered to
have lost the person's residence in this state.
(e)
Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(2)(f) of this section,
if a person removes from this state and continuously resides outside
this state for a period of four years or more, the person shall be
considered to have lost the person's residence in this state,
notwithstanding the fact that the person may entertain an intention
to return at some future period.
(f)
If a person removes from this state to engage in the services of the
United States government, the person shall not be considered to have
lost the person's residence in this state during the period of that
service, and likewise should the person enter the employment of the
state, the place where that person resided at the time of the
person's removal shall be considered to be the person's place of
residence.
(g)
If a person goes into another state and, while there, exercises the
right of a citizen by voting, the person shall be considered to have
lost the person's residence in this state.
Sec.
3519.05.
(A)
If the measure to be submitted proposes a constitutional amendment,
the heading of each part of the petition shall be prepared in the
following form, and printed in capital letters in type of the
approximate size set forth:
"INITIATIVE
PETITION
Amendment
to the Constitution
Proposed
by Initiative Petition
To
be submitted directly to the electors"
"Amendment"
printed in fourteen-point boldface type shall precede the title,
which shall be briefly expressed and printed in eight-point type. The
summary shall then be set forth printed in ten-point type, and then
shall follow the certification of the attorney general, under proper
date, which shall also be printed in ten-point type. The petition
shall then set forth the names and addresses of the committee of not
less than three nor more than five to represent the petitioners in
all matters relating to the petition or its circulation.
Immediately
above the heading of the place for signatures on each part of the
petition the following notice shall be printed in boldface type:
"NOTICE
Whoever
knowingly signs this petition more than once; except as provided in
section 3501.382 of the Revised Code, signs a name other than one's
own on this petition; or signs this petition when not a qualified
voter, is liable to prosecution."
The
heading of the place for signatures shall be substantially as
follows:
"(Sign
with ink. Your name, residence, and date of signing must be given.)
_______________________________________________________________
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
A
Rural
Route or
B
other
Post-
C
Signature
County
Township
office
Address
Month
Day
Year
_______________________________________________________________
(Voters
who do not live in a municipal corporation should fill in the
information called for by headings printed above.)
(Voters
who reside in municipal corporations should fill in the information
called for by headings printed below.)
_______________________________________________________________
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
A
City
Street
B
or
and
C
Signature
County
Village
Number
Ward
Precinct
Month
Day
Year"
_______________________________________________________________
The
text of the proposed amendment shall be printed in full, immediately
following the place for signatures, and shall be prefaced by "Be
it resolved by the people of the State of Ohio." Immediately
following the text of the proposed amendment must appear the
following form:
"I,
_________, declare under penalty of election falsification that I am
the circulator of the foregoing petition paper containing the
signatures of _________ electors, that the signatures appended hereto
were made and appended in my presence on the date set opposite each
respective name, and are the signatures of the persons whose names
they purport to be or of attorneys in fact acting pursuant to section
3501.382 of the Revised Code, and that the electors signing this
petition did so with knowledge of the contents of same. I am employed
to circulate this petition by ________________________________ (Name
and address of employer). (The preceding sentence shall be completed
as required by section 3501.38 of the Revised Code if the circulator
is being employed to circulate the petition.)
(Signed)
________________________
(Address
of circulator's permanent
residence
in this state)
__________________________________
(Circulator
license number) ________________________
WHOEVER
COMMITS ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS GUILTY OF A FELONY OF THE FIFTH
DEGREE."
(B)
If the measure proposes a law, the heading of each part of the
petition shall be prepared as follows:
"INITIATIVE
PETITION
Law
proposed by initiative petition first to be submitted to the General
Assembly."
In
all other respects, the form shall be as provided for the submission
of a constitutional amendment, except that the text of the proposed
law shall be prefaced by "Be it enacted by the people of the
state of Ohio."
The
form for a supplementary initiative petition shall be the same as
that provided for an initiative petition, with the exception that
"supplementary" shall precede "initiative" in the
title thereof.
(C)
The general provisions set forth in this section relative to the form
and order of an initiative petition shall be, so far as practical,
applicable to a referendum petition, the heading of which shall be as
follows:
"REFERENDUM
PETITION
To
be submitted to the electors for their approval or rejection"
The
title, which follows the heading, shall contain a brief legislative
history of the law, section, or item of law to be referred. The text
of the law so referred shall be followed by the certification of the
secretary of state, in accordance with division (B)(2)(b) of section
3519.01 of the Revised Code, that it has been compared with the copy
of the enrolled act, on file in the secretary of state's office,
containing such law, section, or item of law, and found to be
correct.
The
circulator of a referendum petition is not required to provide a
circulator license number.
(D)
The secretary of state shall prescribe a form for part petitions to
be submitted during the ten-day period beginning on the first day
following the date that the secretary of state notifies the
chairperson of the committee interested in the petition that the
petition has an insufficient number of valid signatures. The
secretary of state shall provide to each particular committee a
different form that contains a unique identifier and that is separate
from the forms prescribed in divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this
section. The secretary of state shall make the form available to the
committee only as described in division (F) of section 3519.16 of the
Revised Code. The form shall not be considered a public record until
after the secretary of state makes it available to the committee
under that division.
The
form shall comply with the requirements of Section 1g of Article II,
Ohio Constitution and, except as otherwise provided in this division,
with the requirements of divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section.
Sec.
3519.06.
No
initiative or referendum part-petition is properly verified if it
appears on the face thereof, or is made to appear by a satisfactory
evidence:
(A)
That the statement required by section 3519.05 of the Revised Code is
not properly filled out;
(B)
That the statement is not properly signed;
(C)
That the statement is altered by erasure, interlineation, or
otherwise;
(D)
That the statement is false in any respect;
(E)
In
the case of a statewide initiative petition, that the circulator does
not hold a valid circulator license as required under section 3519.11
of the Revised Code;
(F)
That
any one person has affixed more than one signature thereto.
Sec.
3519.11.
(A)
A person who circulates a statewide initiative petition shall hold a
valid circulator license issued under this section.
(B)
A person who wishes to circulate a statewide initiative petition may
apply to the secretary of state, on a form prescribed by the
secretary of state, for a circulator license. The form shall require
all of the following:
(1)
That the applicant provide the applicant's name, date of birth, and
current residence address;
(2)
That the applicant sign a statement affirming the truth of the
information the applicant has submitted;
(3)
That the form be notarized within one year before the date the form
is submitted to the secretary of state.
(C)
Not later than ten business days after receiving a valid application
for a circulator license under division (B) of this section, the
secretary of state shall issue a circulator license to the applicant.
The license shall include a unique license number and shall be valid
for twenty-four months after the date it is issued.
(D)
A person who has been issued a circulator license under this section
may apply for a renewed or updated license in the same manner as for
an initial license.
(E)
The secretary of state shall deny a person a circulator license, and
shall revoke a person's existing circulator license, if the secretary
of state determines that the person is not qualified to circulate a
statewide initiative petition.
(F)
The secretary of state shall maintain a registry of current and
previously licensed circulators and make it available to the boards
of elections for purposes of verifying part-petitions. The registry
shall include all of the following concerning each circulator:
(1)
The person's name;
(2)
The person's circulator license number;
(3)
The issue date and expiration date of the person's license.
(G)
A completed application for a circulator license and the registry of
circulators described in division (F) of this section are not subject
to disclosure as public records under section 149.43 of the Revised
Code.
Section
2.
That
existing sections 3501.01, 3501.38, 3503.06, 3519.05,
and
3519.06 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section
3.
A
part-petition of a statewide initiative petition, as defined in
section 3501.01 of the Revised Code, as amended by this act, that is
signed by one or more electors before the effective date of this
section is not invalid on the ground that the part-petition does not
meet the requirements of the Revised Code, as amended by this act, so
long as the part-petition meets the requirements of the Revised Code
that were in effect on the day before the effective date of this
section.