The Ohio Attorney General’s Office has accepted the summary of a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at eliminating qualified immunity for peace officers. This decision follows a ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court, which led to a re-evaluation of the petition summary that was initially rejected due to its lack of a title.
Attorney General Dave Yost’s office had previously dismissed the petition summary submitted on July 15, citing the absence of a title as the reason. However, on November 8, the Ohio Supreme Court clarified that according to state law, the attorney general is only authorized to evaluate the content of a petition summary and not its title.
After reassessing just the summary, Yost deemed it “fair and truthful,” thus allowing it to proceed in the process. Despite this certification, Yost expressed his ongoing concern about the omission of a title. “I stand by my position that the title of a proposed constitutional amendment is an indispensable piece to determining whether the summary of it is fair and truthful,” he wrote in communication with the petitioners.
With this certification from Yost’s office, attention now turns to the Ohio Ballot Board. The board must determine if the proposal constitutes a single or multiple constitutional amendments. If approved by the board, petitioners will need to gather signatures from registered voters amounting to at least 10% of those who voted in the last gubernatorial election.
The full text of both Yost’s certification letter and the petition is available for public viewing.
