(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — The Ohio Attorney General’s Office today rejected a petition for a proposed statute in support of vaccine choice and privacy because it did not contain enough verified signatures.
On Dec. 29, the Attorney General’s Office received a re-submitted summary for “Vaccine and Gene Therapy Choice and Anti-Discrimination,” a proposal to enact Section 3792.02 of the Ohio Revised Code. In essence, the statute would require the state to protect the privacy and freedom of Ohioans in their ability to abstain from vaccinations or gene therapy without unlawful discrimination.
A previous version of the petition was rejected on Dec. 9, 2021.
For a petition to be considered, it must contain the signatures of at least 1,000 qualified electors. Because the appropriate county elections boards confirmed that the submission lacked enough verified signatures, however, it was rejected.
With such petitions, the Attorney General’s Office typically determines whether the summary provided accurately represents the measure that Ohioans will be asked to approve. Because the petitioners did not reach the minimum number of signatures required, though, no determination was made about the summary.
A response letter sent today advises the petitioners, if they intend to re-submit again, to “review the statutory requirements for submitting petitions and part-petitions.”
The full text of the rejection letter and the petition can be found at www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/Petitions.
