{"id":2469,"date":"2025-07-16T18:33:44","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T18:33:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/statelocalgov\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=2469"},"modified":"2025-07-16T18:43:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T18:43:10","slug":"24-3-veto-referendum","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/statelocalgov\/chapter\/24-3-veto-referendum\/","title":{"rendered":"24.3 Veto Referendum"},"content":{"raw":"In Ohio, citizens have the power to challenge a new law through a process called a <strong>veto referendum<\/strong>. This process allows voters to decide whether a recently passed law should take effect or be repealed. It is a form of direct democracy that gives the public a say in the legislative process.\r\n\r\nHere\u2019s how it works: after the governor signs a new law, Ohioans have 90 days to organize a petition drive. To qualify for the ballot, they must collect a specific number of valid signatures from registered voters\u2014equal to 6% of the total votes cast in the most recent governor\u2019s election. These signatures must also come from at least 44 of the state\u2019s 88 counties, making it a statewide effort.\r\n\r\nIf enough valid signatures are submitted, the law is put on hold. It does not go into effect unless and until a majority of voters approve it in the next statewide election. If the majority votes \u201cno,\u201d the law is repealed. If the majority votes \u201cyes,\u201d the law goes into full effect.\r\n\r\nThe veto referendum is an important example of how everyday citizens can influence public policy in Ohio, especially when they believe lawmakers have passed a law that does not reflect the will of the people.","rendered":"<p>In Ohio, citizens have the power to challenge a new law through a process called a <strong>veto referendum<\/strong>. This process allows voters to decide whether a recently passed law should take effect or be repealed. It is a form of direct democracy that gives the public a say in the legislative process.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how it works: after the governor signs a new law, Ohioans have 90 days to organize a petition drive. To qualify for the ballot, they must collect a specific number of valid signatures from registered voters\u2014equal to 6% of the total votes cast in the most recent governor\u2019s election. These signatures must also come from at least 44 of the state\u2019s 88 counties, making it a statewide effort.<\/p>\n<p>If enough valid signatures are submitted, the law is put on hold. It does not go into effect unless and until a majority of voters approve it in the next statewide election. If the majority votes \u201cno,\u201d the law is repealed. If the majority votes \u201cyes,\u201d the law goes into full effect.<\/p>\n<p>The veto referendum is an important example of how everyday citizens can influence public policy in Ohio, especially when they believe lawmakers have passed a law that does not reflect the will of the people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":406,"menu_order":3,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-2469","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":458,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/statelocalgov\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/statelocalgov\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/statelocalgov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/statelocalgov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/406"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/statelocalgov\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2471,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/statelocalgov\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2469\/revisions\/2471"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/statelocalgov\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/458"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/statelocalgov\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2469\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/statelocalgov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/statelocalgov\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=2469"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/statelocalgov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=2469"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/statelocalgov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=2469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}