Ohio voters passed redistricting and anti-monopoly ballot issues, but voted against a marijuana legalization proposal sponsored by ResponsibleOhio.
Of the three proposals up for a vote in Tuesday's election, only one was rejected: Issue 3, the ballot measure that would have legalized recreational and medical marijuana in Ohio.
Ohio voters passed Issues 1 and 2. Issue 1 will reform the way legislative districts are drawn in Ohio, and Issue 2 is designed to limit the power of monopolies in elections.
Voters in Athens County overwhelmingly rejected Issue 3, with about 64 percent of residents voting against the issue and about 36 percent voting for it. About 64 percent of Ohio voters voted "no" on the issue, with more than 97 percent of precincts reporting as of press time, according to the Ohio Secretary of State's website.
Councilman-elect Peter Kotses, D-At Large, although personally having voted for it, said he was not surprised by the results because of all the voices from different sides encouraging people to vote "no."
Issue 3 was sponsored by ResponsibleOhio. It would have permitted the sale of recreational marijuana at 1,100 locations statewide. The issue also would have allowed a person who is over 21 and held a license to grow and use up to eight ounces of marijuana and four flowering marijuana plants.
Although some opposed the measure due to a general opposition to marijuana, others opposed it because they said it creates a monopoly benefitting investors who bankrolled the issue’s campaign, although those investors have refuted the claim, according to a CNN article.
Councilwoman Jennifer Cochran, D-At Large, said Issue 3 wouldn’t help local farmers and small business people, referring to it as “corporatization.”
“It was just not a good bill,” Jake Fenzl, president of the Ohio University College Democrats, said.
Fenzl also said it was “silly” that ResponsibleOhio “thought they could get away with the monopoly.”
While the state as a whole voted in favor of Issue 2, Athens County voters rejected the measure with about 53 percent of votes cast against it. About 52 percent of Ohio voters voted "yes" on Issue 2, with more than 97 percent of precincts reporting as of press time.
Issue 2 prohibits using the Ohio Constitution to create a monopoly, oligopoly or cartel for one’s financial benefit. It also prohibits using the Ohio Constitution to grant an exclusive commercial interest, right or license. The bipartisan Ohio Ballot Board is required to determine if proposed amendments violate the prohibitions.
One aspect of the ballot issue, which received some criticism, prohibits any proposed constitutional amendment appearing in this election that “creates a monopoly, oligopoly, or cartel for the sale, distribution, or other use of any federal Schedule I controlled substance,” according to language in the proposed amendment.
Cochran said Issue 2 was a “knee-jerk reaction” to Issue 3 and doesn’t think voters should amend the Ohio Constitution “willy-nilly."
Kotses said he went back and forth on Issue 2, but ultimately voted for it.
Issue 1 passed in Ohio with about 72 percent of Ohioans voting in favor of the measure, with more than 97 percent of precincts reporting as of press time. In Athens County, about 74 percent of the total votes on Issue 1 were cast in favor of the issue.
Issue 1 will amend the Ohio Constitution in an effort to prevent gerrymandering, or the drawing of legislative districts that benefits one political party over another. It will create a bipartisan redistricting commission containing seven members, two of which must be from the minority party in the state.
The amendment requires a bipartisan majority vote for any final district plan to be adopted. If the members of the minority party don’t agree with the redistricting plan, it only goes into effect for four years, rather than the usual 10.
Cochran said Issue 1 made more sense to voters than did Issue 2 and 3.
“It’s a very good reform that we desperately need,” Fenzl said.
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