CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — A citizen effort to put a Circleville ordinance to a public vote has failed at the signature stage, election officials have determined.
The referendum petition challenging Ordinance 09.53.2026 needed at least 1,385 valid signatures — 35 percent of the 3,957 Circleville votes cast in the November 2022 governor’s election, the threshold set by Ohio Revised Code Section 731.29. The petition committee turned in 1,486 signatures, but a Pickaway County Board of Elections review of registration status, residency and signature validity verified only 1,011, leaving the effort 374 signatures short.
The board’s certification, signed Oct. 19 by Director Jon J. Smith and Deputy Director Paul Hastings, was followed by an Oct. 21 letter from Circleville City Auditor Mark C. Bidwell declaring the petition invalid. Because the petition did not qualify, the ordinance will remain in effect and the measure will not appear on the ballot.
Copies of the board’s verification report are available to the petition committee through the city auditor’s office.
