Ohio Equal Rights volunteers are fanning out across Pride events statewide in a high-speed sprint to collect roughly 442,958 valid signatures for each of two proposed constitutional amendments they hope to land on the November ballot. Campaign leaders say they plan to staff booths at more than 120 Pride celebrations, as well as in larger cities throughout June, even as they weigh whether to press both measures this year. The proposals would add a sweeping equal-rights clause to the Ohio Constitution and repeal the state’s 2004 ban on same-sex marriage, after the Ohio Ballot Board split the original combined measure into two separate questions last year.
As reported by Cleveland.com, campaign co-chair Lis Regula said organizers are making “day-by-day” decisions on whether to push for the November ballot and are trying to avoid burning out volunteers. Regula told the outlet the group has been finalizing a detailed "pride plan" and expects June to be a decisive month for signature gathering.
Organizers must submit 442,958 valid signatures for each amendment by a July 1 filing deadline, according to Ohio Equal Rights, and those signatures must include minimum totals from at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties. The county-distribution rule and other verification steps are laid out by the Ohio Secretary of State, which explains how statewide petitions are vetted and certified.
Two questions, double the work
State election officials ruled in July 2025 that the original single proposal actually contained two distinct measures, forcing activists to conduct parallel petition drives instead of one unified push. The Ohio Ballot Board’s 3-2 party-line decision meant organizers had to gather the full signature total twice, once for an Equal Rights amendment and again for a separate Right to Marry amendment, a split chronicled by Spectrum News and other local outlets at the time.
Why Pride events?
Organizers say Pride festivals let volunteers connect with dense crowds of likely signers in a single afternoon, while also recruiting partners and handing out literature in one concentrated burst. The campaign’s FAQ points to a strategy of “attending various events across the state, such as Pride events” to extend reach and build local relationships, according to Ohio Equal Rights.
Next steps and the test ahead
Ohio Equal Rights is trying to balance its push across urban hubs and smaller communities, spreading volunteers and materials statewide while saving enough energy for the final weeks before the deadline. Regula declined to disclose the campaign’s current signature count and reiterated that the group is “making day-by-day decisions” about whether to mount a full November ballot push, according to Cleveland.com.
Legal hurdles
Even if organizers collect hundreds of thousands of signatures, Ohio’s process still runs the petitions through a series of legal checkpoints. County boards of elections examine part-petitions, the Ohio Secretary of State reviews overall sufficiency, and the Ohio Supreme Court handles challenges to signature counts on a tight schedule. State guidance gives campaigns only a narrow cure period and requires supplemental filings if county quotas fall short, steps described in the Ohio Secretary of State’s initiative materials.
