There is a great deal of confusion circulating in Darke County regarding Issue #1. There’s also a great deal of deception about it, but more on that in a moment.
The progressives are playing a two-step game with the Ohio Constitution: one step in AUGUST (defeating Issue #1), and one step in NOVEMBER (passing the The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety amendment to the Ohio Constitution).
Let’s talk about the second step first, the NOVEMBER step.
The progressives are proposing an amendment to the Ohio Constitution that will put children and the unborn at risk. This amendment has the very real potential of taking a child’s gender identity, medical gender transition decisions, and abortion decisions, out of the hands of the parents. The language of the amendment is intentionally very vague, and open to wide-ranging interpretation. This amendment will be voted on in NOVEMBER.
I will write a second article in a few days explaining why this terrible “Reproductive Freedom” amendment is an unmitigated disaster for parents and children, and must be defeated. As things stand now, all that is necessary for that terrible amendment to become enshrined in the Ohio Constitution is a simple majority vote (fifty percent plus one vote) in NOVEMBER.
Which brings us to the first step. The progressives want to defeat Issue #1 in AUGUST. They want you to vote NO to Issue #1. Why?
Because Issue #1 raises the bar for amending the Ohio Constitution. In other words, if Issue #1 passes in AUGUST, it will make it harder to pass the Reproductive Freedom amendment in November.
I’ll expose the efforts to mislead the voters practiced by these people in just a moment, but first I will state the matter simply:
YES on Issue #1 in AUGUST will make it harder for the progressives to win in NOVEMBER.
NO on Issue #1 in AUGUST will make it much easier for the progressives to win in NOVEMBER.
Issue #1 is about making it more difficult for special interests groups to trample on the rights of the rest of us. At the present time, a mere majority vote (fifty percent plus 1 vote) is all that is required to permanently amend the Ohio Constitution. Issue #1 would have two principal effects: it would raise the bar to sixty percent. It would also make it more difficult to get a proposed amendment initiative on the ballot, by requiring the signatures of at least five percent of the voters in every county in the state (five percent based on the total number of votes in the last gubernatorial election in each particular county).
Before we expose the basic dishonesty of the ad campaigns that the progressives are publishing, let’s take a moment to understand the relationship of the Ohio Constitution to legislative acts. The Constitution is the citizen’s first line of defense against unwise, unfair, or unconstitutional legislation. When a legal case is brought that challenges a state law, the state judiciary uses the text and words of the Constitution to determine whether the law in question should be upheld, or struck down in whole or in part.
If citizens believe that the Constitution is not adequately protecting their rights, or believe that laws have been passed that are unjust, they can attempt to gather enough signatures to put a constitutional amendment initiative on the ballot to correct the problem. Once the amendment is on the ballot, if a sufficient number of citizens vote for it, it becomes part of the Constitution, providing boundaries around what the Legislature may and may not enact.
A well-written Constitution protects the rights of the citizens, including the helpless and vulnerable, against powerful individuals or special interests whose priorities collide with those of the citizens. Consequently, the Constitution is not a document that should be easily tinkered with. It should be protected by making it harder to amend.
What about my charges of deception?
#1. The League of Women voters is posting an advertisement entitled, “Protect Ohio’s Constitution, Vote No on Issue 1.” It is true that the current Constitution can be amended by simple majority. Issue #1 would change that, raising the bar from 50% to 60%. The higher requirement does a better job of protecting the Constitution from powerful special interest groups. At the very least, League’s claim is misleading. Voting down Issue #1 does not protect the Constitution, but leaves it in its current state of vulnerability to powerful, well-heeled special interest groups, like Planned Parenthood and other sexual revolutionaries.
#2. That same ad claims that passage of Issue #1 eliminates majority rule in Ohio. It does not. Another ad claims that Issue #1 would allow 40% of voters to “make decisions for the rest of us.” Totally false. Normal legislative acts in Columbus would continue to pass with a simple majority, as they do now. Issue #1 would not change that at all.
If the progressives want laws that favor their ideology, they can propose and pass them in the Legislature with a simple majority vote. Issue #1 will not change that! But they should not be allowed to tinker with the Constitution on the basis of a simple majority. By the way, ask yourself, why do the bylaws of the League of Women Voters require a two-thirds vote to change them, when that same organization wants a State Constitution protecting the rights of millions to be changed at the whim of a simple majority? What happened to “one person, one vote”?
And as long as we’re talking about majority rule, ask yourself: has there ever been a time in America where a majority oppressed a minority? How did that turn out? Not good at all. Do you really think it’s a good thing to enshrine that possibility of oppression in the Ohio State Constitution? I don’t.
#3. That same ad claims that Issue #1’s passage “will render the ability to present a voter-led petition virtually impossible.” That’s a totally false claim. Issue #1 only raises the bar regarding petitions that propose to amend the Constitution—but not for other petitions. The text of Issue #1 is explicit: “Require that any initiative petition filed on or after January 1, 2024 with the Secretary of State proposing to amend the Constitution of the State of Ohio be signed by at least five percent of the electors of each county based on the total vote in the county for governor in the last preceding election.”
The problem for the progressives is the requirement in Issue #1 that sufficient signatures be collected from ALL of Ohio’s counties. Issue #1 does in fact require that, but it only applies to initiatives to amend the Constitution, not to other ballot initiatives. I believe this portion of the Issue #1 language would actually benefit all Ohioans, not just those in large cities. Ask yourself: does it often wind up being the case that the voters in Columbus or Cincinnati or even Dayton have a very different set of values from the voters in Darke County? Do you want a few large cities to be able to crowbar the state Constitution in liberal, progressive directions? Wouldn’t it be more fair if ALL the counties of the state had a voice as to whether or not an amendment initiative to the Constitution was placed on the ballot? This is what Issue #1 would accomplish.
I’m voting YES for Issue #1, and so should you.
In my next piece, I will explain the disaster that will face Ohio parents in November if Issue #1 does not pass.
VOTE YES FOR ISSUE #1
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