I’ve consistently said Issue 1 is about protecting Ohio’s constitution and that it would apply to every future proposed amendment, the most immediate being abortion, minimum wage, livestock agriculture, election integrity and redistricting reform. In California, they’ve even considered an amendment to tax sugary drinks, so who knows what’s coming our way.
Here’s what we do know: Ohio’s constitution can be bought by anyone with a big enough checkbook. If you have money to fund a deceptive ad campaign, you can convince voters to change our constitution with a simple majority vote. In recent years, gambling and marijuana interests have funded campaigns to amend exclusive business deals into our state’s founding document. The casino industry alone spent nearly $50 million in 2009 to carve into the Ohio Constitution’s pages the actual street addresses for their Vegas-style gambling facilities.
You’ll hear opponents of Issue 1 say it’s passage will bring about the demise of democracy or the end majority rule. That’s absurd hyperbole. The current system allows political minorities to bypass the legislative process by inserting their radical policy agendas directly into the constitution. All they need is a fat wallet and a deceptive ad campaign to buy a slim majority vote.
Truth be told, voting yes on Issue 1 reinforces majority rule by requiring a broad, bipartisan consensus of voters, 60 percent, to amend our state constitution. Issue 1 also requires the approval of voters in all 88 counties, not just a select few, to put a proposed amendment on the ballot. How is this so outrageous when amending the U.S. Constitution requires agreement from at least 75 percent of the states?
Even our own General Assembly needs at least 60 percent of its members to propose a constitutional amendment. Many of Issue 1′s opponents protect themselves by requiring similar thresholds to amend their own bylaws, including the Ohio Democratic Party, the League of Women Voters, the Ohio Education Association and the AFL-CIO. The hypocrisy of these groups is as rich as their campaign coffers, which have so far outspent Issue 1 supporters by more than two-to-one. You know something’s up when special interests spend that much money to oppose a public standard they all practice privately.
Finally, you’ve heard that Issue 1 removes the right of citizens to propose laws directly to the people. That, too, is blatantly false. Ohio has a longstanding citizen-initiated statute process, where laws can be taken directly to the ballot and passage only requires a simple majority. Our constitution deserves a higher standard.
One of our nation’s most accomplished founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, once cautioned that and treachery are the practice of those who lack the intelligence to be honest. Issue 1 opponents are using a lot of tricks and treachery lately. Don’t fall for it. Protect Ohio’s constitution. Join me in voting “Yes” on Issue 1.
Frank LaRose is the Secretary of State of Ohio.
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