Calls for Ohio Constitutional Conventions
For primary sources on Ohio’s four constitutional conventions, such as journals and debates and proceedings, see Ohio Constitutional Law and History - Primary Sources
For secondary sources on Ohio Constitutional Conventions, see the Bibliography - Secondary and Other Sources - Ohio Constitution.
Table of Votes on Holding Constitutional Conventions Under the 1802 and 1851 Constitutions
(Appendix A from The Ohio State Constitution, A Reference Guide, Steven H. Steinglass & Gino J. Scarselli , KFO401 1851 .A6 S74 2004 )
Under Article XVI, section 3, of the 1851 Constitution, the question of whether to hold a constitutional convention is presented to the voters every 20 years. Due to strong public support, the General Assembly submitted the question to the voters one year earlier in 1910. The Table below lists the votes on whether to hold a constitutional convention and includes the pre-1851 rejection of a call for a constitutional convention in 1819 and the approval of one in 1849. The links are to the text of proposals to hold a constitutional convention.
Date of Election |
Result |
Vote For |
Vote Against |
1802 Constitution |
|||
Failed |
6,987 |
29,315 |
|
Passed |
145,698 |
51,167 |
|
1851 Constitution |
|||
Passed |
267,618 |
104,231 |
|
Failed |
99,789 |
161,722 |
|
Passed |
693,263 |
67,718 |
|
11-8-1932 |
Failed |
853,619 |
1,056,855 |
11-4-1952 |
Failed |
1,020,235 |
1,977,313 |
11-7-1972 |
Failed |
1,291,267 |
2,142,534 |
Failed |
1,672,373 |
2,660,270 |
Other Information on Calls for Constitutional Conventions :
- 1897 Proposal for a Constitutional Convention. In 1897, the General Assembly approved by joint resolution that the electors of the state vote on whether to hold a Constitutional Convention in 1898. On June 25, 1897, the Ohio Supreme Court held that the proposal was defective, and it was not submitted to the electorate. State ex rel. Attorney General v. Kinney (1897), 56 Ohio St. 721.
- 1952 Call for a Constitutional Convention. Reilly, A., Summary of the Campaign for and Against the Constitutional Convention, 25 Ohio Bar 685-88 (1952). PDF copy.
- Walker, Harvey, ed., _An Analysis and Appraisal of the Ohio State Constitution 1851–1951_. Cincinnati, Stephen J. Wilder Foundation, 1951. KFO401 1951. A285. (link to catalog) pdf doc.
- 1992 Call for Constitutional Convention Ballot Language
Information on 2012 Call for a Constitutional Convention :
- 2012 - Voters will be asked whether Ohio should hold a constitutional convention. See The Ohio Constitution: Is It Time for a Rewrite?, Pro by Thomas Suddes, Con by Steven H. Steinglass, The Plain Dealer, Dec. 17, 2006.