A proposed referendum to overturn Bellefontaine City Council’s prohibition on the sale of recreational, adult-use marijuana has failed to meet the signature threshold required to move forward, the Logan County Board of Elections confirmed Thursday morning.
At the board’s meeting, officials determined that only 317 of the 440 submitted signatures were valid — well short of the 367 needed.
According to Deputy Director Kandie Horton, there were many reasons for rejecting signatures, including illegibility or that they came from individuals residing outside the Bellefontaine city limits.
The board unanimously voted to reject the petition, which aimed to challenge the city’s current ban on adult-use marijuana sales.
Under Ohio election law, the board is responsible for verifying that the petition contains valid signatures from at least 10% of Bellefontaine voters who cast ballots in the most recent gubernatorial election. In this case, that meant a minimum of 363 valid signatures from registered voters living within the city limits.
Board of Elections staff reviewed each signature individually, comparing names and addresses to the official voter rolls.
Had the petition met the requirement, it would have been sent to the City Auditor’s office and then forwarded to the Ohio Secretary of State for placement on the November ballot.
With the failure to certify enough valid signatures, the referendum will not appear before voters this fall.
