Overview

• The Ohio Ballot Board voted 3-2 along party lines on July 9 to divide the citizen-initiated Equal Rights Amendment into separate measures addressing marriage repeal and anti-discrimination protections.
• Backers must now secure individual Attorney General summaries and roughly 443,000 valid signatures per initiative to qualify for the ballot.
• One proposal would officially repeal Ohio’s unenforceable 2004 same-sex marriage ban, while the other would add explicit constitutional safeguards against discrimination for protected classes including sexual orientation and gender identity.
• Republicans argue the split lets voters back one amendment without the other, a logic critics label as politically motivated obstruction.
• The Ohio Equal Rights Campaign is evaluating a court challenge even as it prepares parallel signature drives for a likely November 2026 vote.