Unconstitutional Portion of Charter on Voter-Led Ballot Issues Eliminated

For this upcoming election, it now takes 780 signatures, rather than 2,584 signatures, to get a charter amendment on the ballot.

City Council unanimously passed legislation July 14 that eliminates a portion of Stow's charter deemed unconstitutional by and an .

The city's charter previously said a petition would require the signatures of 20 percent of registered voters in the last gubernatorial election. That would have meant petition circulators would need to gather 2,584 signatures for this election — which is not in line with the Ohio Constitution.

The state's Constitution requires signatures from 10 percent of voters from the last municipal election on petitions to place an issue on the ballot, or in this case — 780 signatures, which is now the guideline Stow follows.

The issue was brought to light when residents and began to put a charter amendment on the ballot to reduce council's pay. 

In April, .

To find out how many signatures have already been collected to put a charter amendment on the November ballot to reduce council's pay from $14,950 to $8,400 annually, check back with Stow Patch.

The citizen initiative will be submitted to council for examination and then given to the Summit County Board of Elections for certification and placement on the November ballot.