Democracy is at risk in Ohio, and leaders at the Ohio Statehouse are leading the charge. However, thanks to pressure by average Ohio citizens who believe in the people-driven ballot process, a measure that would make it more difficult for Ohioans to amend the
state's constitution remained in limbo as of yesterday. Ohioans are encouraged to contact their leaders in the Statehouse to oppose House Joint Resolution 19.
According to the Gongwer News Service, "Mary Nordstrom, a citizen who has participated in multiple amendment
signature drives, said in written testimony the changes will act to
discourage future campaigns to change the constitution."
"Corporate owners and the powers that be do not want citizens to rock
the boat of their well-oiled machine," said citizen Carolyn Harding, according to the article. "With the new
restrictions of HJR19, the only entity that could get a constitutional
amendment on the ballot would be a corporate-driven initiative with deep
pockets."
Contact Statehouse leaders now and tell them Ohio citizens don't want HJR 19:
House Speaker Ryan Smith - 614-466-1366
Senate President Larry Obhof - 614-466-7505
Take Action
Urgent action is needed to prevent Ohio lawmakers from blocking citizen-led ballot initiatives. Our representatives in Columbus are fast-tracking House Joint Resolution (HJR) 19, a proposal that would make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for citizens to bring issues to the ballot.
Add your name to stop this attack on direct democracy in our state. We are here to progress forward, ensuring every voice counts in Ohio.
This resolution would require citizen-initiated constitutional amendments to get an astounding 60 percent of the vote to pass. Currently Ohioans only need a simple majority. Additionally, it would limit the number of days that signatures are valid and would require volunteers to gather signatures in the winter months––when the days are short and cold.
If this resolution passes, Ohioans would lose a powerful means of
making change in our state. The cost of running a
statewide ballot initiative would be so high that only wealthy,
out-of-state interests would be able to bring issues to the ballot––not average Ohioans, like we did with Senate Bill 5 in 2011.
OCSEA is one of nearly 100 organizations that have stood up to oppose this egregious assault on Ohio’s democracy. Will you join us? Sign the petition now>>
Ohio's citizens need and deserve access to direct democracy.
Ballot
initiatives are:
-
an effective way to push
legislators to act on issues of grave importance to the electorate that have otherwise been ignored;
- a proven way to make progress
on issues of concern to Ohio citizens such as redistricting reform and minimum wage.
The signature requirements were already steep and will
now be much steeper. This doesn't help when voter turnout is already low.
Raising the requirements will favor groups with access
to large amounts of money. We should not be doing anything to give
out-of-state groups with deep pockets an unfair advantage over Ohio citizens.
New requirements in HJR19
mean only 180 days to collect signatures, between Oct 1 and April 1. Volunteers are not willing or able to collect in the fall and winter months, which means only initiatives backed and funded by big money groups hiring paid signature collectors are likely
to stand a chance at getting an initiative on the ballot.
Raising the passing rate
to 60 percent means more money will be required for a “yes” campaign, again giving the advantage to groups––most likely from out of state––with deep pockets.
The changes mandated in HJR19 for statutory initiatives will also have a dampening effect on direct democracy.
Raising the percentage of
signatures required from 3 percent to 5 percent means a much more substantial signature collection effort.
The
prohibition on the legislature amending/suspending the law for 12 months
is not substantial enough to motivate citizens to prefer going for a statutory rather than constitutional initiative.