Voter Rights Advocates Block Proposed Ohio ‘Reform’

An outpouring of grassroots, bipartisan opposition to a pending recommendation by the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission caused the commission to table that proposed recommendation concerning citizen-​initiated ballot measures — in what may be the last meeting of the commission.

The recommendation would have created numerous double standards between constitutional amendments proposed by citizens and those proposed by legislators — all advantaging legislators and disadvantaging citizens. The most outrageous provision would have required citizen-​initiated amendments to pass with a supermajority of at least 55 percent, while the very same amendment proposed by the legislature would only need 50 percent plus one for passage.

The full hearing can be viewed here. A synopsized version, here:

After Paul Jacob, president of Citizens in Charge, testified, a motion was made to table the recommendation. That motion passed with only a single dissenting vote, effectively ending the threat to the initiative rights of Ohioans.

Paul Jacob — president of Citizens in Charge … followed by the Commission’s vote

Here are the citizen leaders and groups that came to Columbus to testify:

Jack Boyle — a citizen leader in Solon, Ohio

Dane Waters — chairman of the Initiative & Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California

Ron Alban — a citizen leader in Kettering, Ohio

Corey Roscoe — the Ohio state director of the Humane Society of the U.S.

Robert Ryan — a Blue Ash, Ohio, councilman and head of the Ohio Patient Network, a medical marijuana advocacy group

John Adams — former State Representative
“My past service in the legislature has taught me many things – one of those would be not to trust and definitely to verify.”

Greg Pace — co-​founder of Columbus Community Bill of Rights