SB 63 Ohio Senate · 136th Legislature (2025-2026)

Prohibit use of ranked choice voting; withhold funding for use

Summary

To amend sections 3501.01 and 5747.502 and to enact sections 3505.011, 3513.141, 5747.504, and 5747.505 of the Revised Code to generally prohibit the use of ranked choice voting and to withhold Local Government Fund distributions from a municipality or chartered county that uses ranked choice voting.

Issues: ✗ Budget & Taxes

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

May 2025

Senate Passage

May 2025

House Passage

Feb 2026

Signed into Law

Jun 2026

Introduced Jan 28, 2025 Signed Jun 16, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

As Passed by the House → As Enrolled · 5 edits · Mar 17, 2026

MODERATE

This bill amends Ohio election laws to explicitly ban ranked choice voting and instant runoff voting in all elections. It establishes financial penalties, withholding state funds from any municipality or county that adopts these voting methods. The bill also expands the definition of election terms and strengthens requirements for petition signatures and public access to election records.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a general prohibition to include specific financial consequences for local governments using ranked choice voting, affecting municipalities, counties, townships, and qualifying villages.

REQUIREMENT

Added a blanket prohibition against using ranked choice voting or instant runoff voting for any election in Ohio, except where permitted by the state constitution.

Modified petition signature requirements and verification procedures, clarifying rules for joint candidates and extending public inspection periods for election petitions.

FISCAL

Created a mechanism to withhold Local Government Fund distributions from any municipality or county that passes a resolution or ordinance approving ranked choice voting.

DEFINITION

Added detailed definitions for new terms including 'ranked choice voting,' 'photo identification,' and various voter status categories like 'independent candidate' and 'party candidate.'

ENFORCEMENT

Added specific procedures for the Secretary of State to notify tax commissioners when a locality is ineligible for state funds due to adopting ranked choice voting.

As Passed by the Senate → As Passed by the House · 7 edits · Feb 25, 2026

MODERATE

The House version expanded the bill's scope to include additional election petition procedures and definitions, while maintaining the core prohibition on ranked choice voting and the financial penalties for municipalities that use it. The changes add new definitions for election terms, modify petition signature requirements for minor parties, and introduce specific rules for public access to petition records. The financial penalty mechanism remains largely the same, though the House version clarifies how funds are withheld and deposited into a safety fund.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include detailed amendments to election petition filing and verification processes, adding new definitions for various election terms and clarifying rules for minor parties and public records access.

DEFINITION

Added numerous new definitions for election terms such as 'primary election,' 'presidential primary election,' 'political party,' 'independent candidate,' 'nonpartisan candidate,' and specific identification documents.

Added specific definitions for 'ranked choice voting' and 'instant runoff voting' to clarify what methods are prohibited by the bill.

REQUIREMENT

Added new requirements for petition signature thresholds, specifically reducing the minimum number of signatures required for minor party candidates to one-half of the standard amount.

Added new provisions requiring petition papers to be made available for public inspection and detailing the process for handling public records requests for these documents.

Modified the petition filing deadlines and verification timelines for general election candidates, changing specific dates and extending the window for signature verification.

Added new requirements for annual reporting of traffic camera fines by local authorities, with specific penalties for failure to file these reports.

FISCAL

Added a new provision creating the 'Ohio highway and transportation safety fund' to receive money withheld from municipalities using ranked choice voting, intended for public safety improvements.

Floor votes · Senate May 14, 2025 · House Feb 26, 2026

How they voted

27–5

Passed

Total votes 32

May 14, 2025

D Democratic9

4 Yea 5 Nay

55% Nay

R Republican23

23 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 12, 2026

Legislature · Passed

Sent To The Governor

legislature

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Concurred in House amendments

upper

Feb 26, 2026

House · Passed

House Vote: pass (65-26)

house

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed

lower

May 21, 2025

Committee

Referred to committee

lower

May 20, 2025

Introduced

lower

May 14, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed

upper

Jan 29, 2025

Committee

Referred to committee

upper

Jan 28, 2025

Introduced

upper

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors