Early voting has begun for the election on August 8th. On the ballot this year is Issue 1. I am one of the proud sponsors of Senate Joint Resolution 2, the legislation that was thoroughly crafted, debated, and supported by a super majority of legislators in both the Ohio House and Senate, that put Issue 1 on the ballot for consideration by Ohio voters. The purpose of this message is to clear the air on some of the misinformation surrounding Issue 1, and introduce the true purpose of my effort to protect Ohio’s founding document.
The motive behind Issue 1 is simple—we want to ensure that well-funded, out-of-state special interests no longer have the ability to manipulate Ohio’s Constitution. For example, in 2009, tens of millions of dollars flooded Ohio’s airwaves so that casino operators would have a complete monopoly on casinos. In fact, the amendment was so bad that our Constitution stipulates that the casinos can only exist on the land they currently occupy.
Ohio is one of the few states that allows for citizen-initiated changes to its Constitution. Further, Ohio has one of the lowest thresholds for passage of a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment. To show just how much of an impact that out-of-state special interests have had on Ohio, compare us to our southern neighbor. Kentucky does not allow for citizen-initiated constitutional amendments and their Constitution has been amended 43 times. Whereas the Ohio Constitution has undergone 174 changes. These aren’t changes to ensure rights or even make government better—they are preferred policy goals on which hundreds of millions have been spent to enshrine them in Ohio’s founding document.
To be clear, I believe Ohioans should have the right to initiate changes to the Constitution and Issue 1 does not affect that. What it does is increase the threshold to ensure that our state’s most important document needs significant support before it is altered.
Opponents claim this is undemocratic. The sad but funny thing is while they lie to Ohioans about what this measure really does, partisan groups like the Ohio Democratic Party, League of Women Voters, Planned Parenthood, ACLU, and the NAACP all require votes of 60% or more to change their founding documents or bylaws. Why the hypocrisy?
Ohioans elect State Representatives, State Senators, and a Governor to create policy for the state. If elected leaders support good policies, then their voters will likely reward their efforts by re-electing them. If elected leaders support bad policies, then their voters will likely opt to replace them. In fact, if the legislature or Governor is not doing what Ohioans want, citizens already have the ability to initiate policy changes at the ballot box. That will not change under Issue 1.
The Ohio Revised Code ensures that policy can be altered based on what Ohioans want—even in heated times. Ohio’s Constitution is meant to defend our rights and was never intended by founders to be changed in the heat of the moment or at the whim of what out-of-state millionaires or billionaires feel is in their best interest.
Should Issue 1 fail, radical and rich special interests from outside Ohio will come in and impose their will. In a few short years, our beloved state could look more like California, New York, New Jersey or Illinois. That is certainly not what I want and I have no doubt the vast majority of Ohioans don’t want that either.
This is a momentous step in the right direction to protect Ohio, our constitution, and Ohioans from groups who seek to benefit themselves, not us. I encourage you to get out between now and August 8 to vote Yes on Issue 1.
State Sen. Theresa Gavarone
