Reform Ohio Now, an organization created to reform Ohio's electoral system, has placed four controversial amendments on the ballot for the November election.
Reform Ohio Now came together last December in response to individuals' aversion to the 2005 elections, group spokesman Keary McCarthy said. According to the left-leaning group, these issues are important for every Ohioan.
This is a large issue for Ohio
McCarthy said. All four amendments will improve the democratic process throughout the state.
McCarthy said each Ohio voter is not receiving correct representation because of partisan election officials and gerrymandered congressional districts.
These four amendments on the ballot this November will be a big step in making each voter's voice heard, he said.
Issue 2, if passed, would allow any voter in the state to vote absentee up to 35 days before an election. Ballots would be available in each county for any voter who wanted them without providing a valid reason to vote absentee, McCarthy said. This would allow voters to take their ballots home and research the issues and candidates fully. He also said this issue could help reduce the long lines at polls that plagued many precincts last November.
Issue 3 attempts to reform the campaign finance system in Ohio. As of now, McCarthy said, Ohio has one of the highest campaign contribution limits in the state at $20,000 a year. This amendment would reduce the amount any one person can contribute to $2,000 a year. It also would close a loophole that currently allows children to donate as much as an adult. He said this loophole often is utilized by parents to donate above the limit to a campaign.
Issue 4 deals with gerrymandering of legislative districts. Because of the way districts are formed and redone, McCarthy said, only 13 seats in the House of Representatives were remotely competitive nationwide last election. This amendment would shift the authority of redistricting to an independent, bi-partisan committee. He said this would create more accountability for legislators, because districts would not have a disproportionate amount of either party.
Issue 5 would place a 9-member, bi-partisan board of supervisors in charge of elections, rather than one partisan leader. All 88 counties in Ohio currently use some sort of bi-partisan committee to oversee their elections, but Ohio as a state does not, McCarthy said. This issue also would let Ohioans vote by mail.
Opposition to these amendments is expected, but McCarthy said his organization has the facts to back up its arguments.
We expect an invigorating debate McCarthy said.
Ohio First, a right-leaning nonprofit organization formed in July, opposes these constitutional amendments. Group spokesman David Hopcraft said these amendments simply clog the political system.
Just what Ohio needs more bureaucrats with more of our money
Hopcraft said.
Issue 2 greatly increases the probability of fraud in elections, Hopcraft said. There is no telling who will receive ballots for registered voters, who will mail them and who will send them back, he said.
Issue 3 creates more loopholes than it closes, Hopcraft said. Wealthy candidates could simply buy an election, because one could donate as much of their own money as they wanted to their own campaign. Hopcraft added that Issue 3 also allows union dues to be contributed to a campaign and therefore increases and distorts the voice unions might have in a campaign.
Hopcraft said Issue 4 puts redistricting in the hands of appointed bureaucrats rather than elected officials, giving Ohio voters no say in the process. Hopcraft also claimed Democrats and Republicans do not live next door to each other, and districts would have to spread from heavily urban and Democratic areas to heavily rural and Republican areas.
A map of Ohio would make such districts look like noodles
Hopcraft said.
Issue 5 takes away the people's right to elect who is in charge of the elections, Hopcraft said. Instead of an elected official, an appointed board would control elections.
Samuel Gresham, director of outreach for Common Cause Ohio, said his nonprofit, nonpartisan organization supports Reform Ohio Now and its amendments because it supports the best form of government for citizens. Gresham said these amendments will greatly affect Ohio's elections if they are passed, and urged voters to choose wisely.
The opposition is going to throw a lot of mud
Gresham said, so it's important to understand these issues correctly.
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