COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost rejected a petition to ban vaccine mandates and passports throughout the state due to a lack of signatures, his office announced Friday.

Yost, who is among a group of state attorneys general trying to block the Biden administration from requiring employers to mandate COVID-19 vaccine, previously rejected the petition Dec. 9. Yost’s office said the language in the summary was not a fair and truthful representation of the proposed statute. It’s not uncommon for petitions to be rejected for this reason. 

On Dec. 29, Yost’s office received an updated petition. For a petition to be considered, it must contain the signatures of at least 1,000 qualified electors, Yost’s office said. 

Because the updated petition failed to have 1,000 qualified signatures, Yost was unable to make a determination on the summary. 

The petition was circulated by Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom. The group has rallied against Ohio’s COVID-19 health orders. 

The petition circulated as Republicans in the General Assembly could not come to an agreement on bans on vaccine mandates throughout the state. 

The petition attempted to place a ban on schools, employers and venues from requiring vaccines. It also attempted to ban schools, employers and venues from inquiring about vaccine status. 

Yost’s office said that the petitioners can resubmit their petition. 

If the petitioners are able to get their summary language approved with enough signatures, the next step would be to determine whether the proposal contains a single law or multiple laws. Once that is determined, petitioners can begin collecting additional signatures. 

If the group is successful in collecting 132,000 signatures from valid Ohio voters, the initiative would go before Ohio lawmakers, who could accept the proposal as presented. If lawmakers decline, the question could go before voters.