COLUMBUS, Ohio – Opponents of a new law that bans patrons at strip clubs from touching dancers failed to turn in enough signatures to force a referendum asking voters to overturn it, the state’s elections chief said Monday.
The law, which had been held up by a petition drive since Sept. 4, will take effect in a matter of days, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said.
The coalition of strip club owners that tried to get the issue on the Nov. 6 ballot failed to get enough signatures on petitions in at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties. They have met the threshold in just 15 counties, with 16 counties yet to report, Brunner said.
Those counties are expected to report within a day or two. Brunner will certify the remaining reports, and the new law will take effect, said Jeff Ortega, a spokesman for the secretary of state’s office.
The new law prohibits strippers from touching customers or each other during a performance and allows no nude dancing after midnight.
Citizens for Community Values, a Cincinnati-based conservative group that pushed for the law, argues that the restrictions will reduce crimes such as prostitution and illegal drug use and decrease blight in neighborhoods where strip clubs operate.
The new restrictions on strip clubs were passed by the Republican-controlled legislature in May and allowed to become law by Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland without his signature.
The Vote No on Issue 1 Campaign needed at least 241,366 valid signatures – a number that equals 6 percent of the total vote cast in the 2006 governor’s race – plus at least 3 percent in 44 counties to place the issue on the ballot.
Last month, the group submitted 125,430 valid signatures and was given 10 additional days to make up the deficiency.
The group may now challenge the law’s constitutionality in court, but no decision has been made, said Sandy Theis, a spokeswoman for Vote No on Issue 1.
“Obviously, we’re pretty disappointed by what we’ve seen today. It’s always bad when the censors win,” Theis said.