Vote FOR Issues 2-5 on November 8th

Us Ohioans will be given a rare opportunity this November 8 to change the rules governing our elections process. Four petition-sponsored amendments, Issues 2, 3, 4, & 5, are up for statewide voter approval. I urge you to vote yes for them. They are common sense issues that only help to benefit the Ohio voter, as I will explain below...

Here is a rundown of each Issue:

Issue 2: Makes it easier to vote by giving all Ohioans the option to vote by mail.
Right now an Ohioan can only request an absentee ballot if they have a qualified reason, such as military service or that they will be out of town on election day. Issue 2 simply allows anyone who wishes to vote via absentee ballot to do so. No big deal really... it was easy enough to say you'd be out of town to vote and get one anyway... this means you don't have to make up an excuse.

Issue 3: Help bring the influence of money back under control in elections thorugh responsible regulation of campaign contributions.
Right now an individual can contribute up to $20,000 a year to a candidate. While some may argue that the flow of money to campaigns is free speech, the influence of big money in Ohio politics means that those who have the money are given preferential treatment over those who do not; an unequal governance that goes against the one-man one-vote ideal of Democracy. Why should the poor not be given equal access to government? This amendment would limit individual campaign contributions to $2,000 for statewide candidates and $1,000 to legislative candidates, ban corporate contributions, and require full disclosure so you'd know who contributes and how much they contributed to each candidate. The idea is to restrict those with big bags of money and an agenda not in the people's best interest from buying our government and our candidates.

Issue 4 - Ends Gerrymandering once and for all by putting an Independent Commission in charge.
Every 10 years, after the Census, the political party in majority gets to draw our congressional district boundaries. No surprise, they draw them in a way to benefit their party the most. Areas of the opposition party, which should guarantee a seat in the house for that party, are split into other districts so that they the party drawing the map can have the majoirty in both districts.

The Gerrymander, for those who never learned about it in US government class, goes was a congressional district drawn in 1812 by Mass. Gov. Elbridge Gerry to favor his party, as seen to the right. Today's gerrymandering is more subtle, but the practice is still alive and well. In 2003, Republicans in Texas redrew their congressional districts in a way that allowed them to pick up 5 seats. Passage of issue 4 would move our congressional districts out of the reach of partisan politics using the following rules:

1 The first member would be appointed by the state appeals court judge with the longest continuous service. The second member would be appointed by the next senior appeals court judge from a different political party.
2 The first two commission members then would appoint the other three, including one member not affiliated with a political party.
3 Any person or group could submit a congressional and legislative redistricting plan, and the commission would choose the plans judged to create the most competitive districts without dividing up counties and cities.
4 The first districts under the plan would be in effect in the 2008 elections. After that, new plans would be chosen in the year after each census, starting in 2011.

Issue 5 - Places a bi-partisan Board of Supervisors in charge of Ohio's elections instead of a partisan politician.
Right now the Ohio Secretary of State oversees Ohio's elections. This position is held by a politician with an affiliation and loyalty to their party. Regardless of the Secretary of State's best intentions, there is always the possibility that they will make decsions that unfairly benefit their own party. To use a football analogy, it is the same as letting the Michigan team have their own referees call the Ohio State - Michigan game. Issue 5 is a good idea because it sets up a system that is fair. Besides, all of Ohio's 88 counties use the bipartisan system. Why should we use a different system for Ohio as a whole?

For more information on Issues 2-5, check out the Reform Ohio Now webiste.

And for those of you who like to see the fine print and legalese of the proposed Amendments, here is a link to the pdf...