Dear Speaker Cupp and President Huffman:
We, the undersigned organizations, oppose any effort to drastically curtail the ability of citizens to successfully carry out ballot initiative campaigns. Any such effort will be met by broad opposition from diverse organizations and voters across the state.
Ohio has a time-honored tradition of citizen campaigns. Since 1912, Ohioans from across the political spectrum have utilized the right to amend our Constitution via the petition process. We are proud to live in a state that gives voters the right to direct democracy and the ability to have a real say in politics. We see no justifiable reason, after over 100 years, to suddenly make this already challenging process even harder.
Proposals like this are extremely unpopular with voters, even in more conservative states. A proposal to require a supermajority for passage was handily defeated by the voters of Arkansas just a few weeks ago, and the voters of South Dakota repudiated one in June 2022.
Ohioans are well aware that citizen-initiated ballot campaigns are not easy, requiring hundreds of thousands of verified signatures and a strict geographical distribution across at least half of Ohio’s 88 counties.
The process is not overused. There hasn’t been a citizen-initiated ballot measure before voters since 2018. Over the past 10 years, there were only four elections with ballot measures through signature collection. In the past 50 years, there were 28 years without a citizen initiative on the ballot. Of those elections that had a ballot measure, only a handful of the elections had more than one issue for voters to consider.
This is NOT a good-government reform. Making the ballot initiative process even harder for citizens groups will have the opposite of the desired effect: it will make it almost impossible for anyone except big money special interests to successfully pass a ballot initiative in Ohio.
Even when initiatives to amend the constitution fail, they have spurred a deeper public dialogue and legislative action. Some examples:
- Voters defeated the pro-marijuana citizen initiative in 2015, but the campaign raised awareness and support for medical marijuana. The following year, the Ohio General Assembly passed legislation to legalize marijuana for medical treatment.
- Citizens groups were in the process of collecting signatures for an anti-gerrymandering ballot initiative in 2017. As a result of their efforts, the legislature was prompted to negotiate with the citizens groups and put forth a bipartisan proposal. Voters approved this congressional redistricting reform proposal in May 2018.
- Voters defeated the Drug Relief Act in 2017, but attention to the issue prompted the state to begin investigating middle brokers ripping off the system and costing Ohio consumers millions of dollars
We ask you to reject any proposal that would take power away from the voters. This type of proposal is unpopular with voters and rigs the game against Ohioans. We deserve better.
Thank you for considering this letter.
Signed:
- ACLU of Ohio
- AFSCME Council 8
- All Voting is Local Ohio
- Alla Baba Temple No.53
- Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.
- Between the Waters
- Black Environmental Leaders Association
- Black Lives Matter Cleveland Inc.
- Black, Out and Proud
- Bold New Democracy
- CAIR-Ohio
- Campbell Education Association
- Campus Vote Project
- Capital District (Ohio Education Association)
- Central Ohio African American Chamber of Commerce
- Char and Chuck Fowler family foundation
- Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio
- Cleveland Bi+ Network
- Cleveland VOTES
- Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO)
- Columbus Community Bill of Rights
- Columbus Community Rights Coalition
- Columbus Urban League Young Professionals
- Common Cause Ohio
- Communications Workers of America D4
- Crazy Faith Ministries
- Crooked River Action
- Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus
- Dayton Area SURJ
- DSA-Cleveland
- East Canton Educators Association
- EPIC Ensuring Parole for Incarcerated Citizens
- Equality Ohio
- ETC by US
- Fair Districts Ohio
- Faith Choice Ohio
- Faith in Public Life
- Felony REENTRY ALUMNI TRAINING INC
- Fifth Christian Church Disciples of Christ
- Firelands Indivisible
- Forward Ohio
- Freedom ROC
- Gahanna Democrats and Friends
- GrassRoot Ohio Radio/Podcast
- Green Environmental Coalition
- H4OE
- Harrison Hills Teachers’ Association
- HEAL Ohio
- HeartbeatMovement Incorporated
- Heartland Conference UCC
- Heights Coalition for Public Education
- Honesty for Ohio Education
- Howland Local Teachers’ Association
- Hunger Network in Ohio
- Indivisible Central Ohio
- Indivisible Central Ohio – Thursday Action Subgroup
- Indivisible Central Ohio East
- Innovation Ohio
- Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center
- InterReligious Task Force on Central America
- Kent Environmental Council
- LEAD Ohio
- Leadership At Its Best & Phi Beta Sigma Beta Omicron Sigma Chapter
- League of Women Voters of Ohio
- Licking County NAACP
- LOVEboldly
- Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry
- Madison Local Education Association
- Mobilize the Vote NEO
- National Council of Jewish Woman/ Cleveland
- New Voices for Reproductive Justice
- North Canton Classified Personnel Association
- Northeast Ohio Action Team, ACLU
- Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition
- Ohio Nuns on the Bus
- OCSEA/AFSCME Local 11
- Ohio A. Philip Randolph Institute
- Ohio AFL-CIO
- Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans Educational Fund
- Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies
- Ohio Association of Foodbanks
- Ohio Association of Professional FireFighters
- Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE-AFSCME)
- Ohio Citizen Action
- Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence
- Ohio Coalition on Black Civic Participation
- Ohio Coalition To End Qualified Immunity @ HeartbeatMovement Incorporated
- Ohio Conference of Branches of the NAACP
- Ohio Conference-American Association of University Professors (AAUP)
- Ohio Education Association
- Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund
- Ohio Fair Courts Alliance
- Ohio Families Unite Against Police Brutality
- Ohio Families Unite for Political Action and Change
- Ohio Farmers Union
- Ohio Federation of Teachers
- Ohio Move to Amend
- Ohio National Organization for Women
- Ohio Nurses Association
- Ohio Organizing Collaborative
- Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights
- Ohio Poor People’s Campaign
- Ohio Progressive Action Leaders
- Ohio Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC-OH)
- Ohio Student Association
- Ohio Veterans Network
- Ohio Voter Rights Coalition
- Ohio Women’s Alliance
- Ohio Women’s Alliance Action Fund
- OPAWL- Building AAPI Feminist Leadership
- Opportunities Peoples Justice Leaders (Opjl)
- Orange Teachers Association
- Organize! Ohio
- Our Revolution Ohio
- PARMA E. A.
- Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
- Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio
- Policy Matters Ohio
- Positive Women’s Network, PWN-USA-Ohio
- Pro-Choice Ohio
- Progressive Peace Coalition
- ProgressNEO
- Promise of Democracy Foundation
- Public Education Partners- Ohio
- Rank the Vote Ohio
- REACH: Responding with Empathy, Access, and Community Healing
- Red Wine & Blue
- Represent Justice
- Rural Organizing
- Save Ohio Higher Ed
- SEIU/District 1199, WV/KY/OH
- Shaker Heights Anti Racism Coalition
- Sierra Club
- Single Payer Action Network Ohio
- South Range Education Association
- Southeast Progressives of Franklin County
- SPAN OHIO
- St. Vincent de Paul- St. T. Conference
- Struthers EA
- Summit Recovery Hub
- Tallmadge Teachers’ Association
- Teacher of Men
- The Black Men’s Voting Collective
- The Freedom BLOC
- The Ohio Council of Churches
- The ReSisters of Central Ohio
- Theis Research & Consulting
- Thrive at Life: Working Solutions
- TransOhio
- TRM Works
- UAW
- UFCW Local 1059
- UFCW Local 75
- Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio
- United Church of Christ
- United Returning Citizens
- United Steelworkers – District 1
- Veteran Rehab and Refuge
- Vote Responsibly
- Westerville Progressive Alliance
- Working Families Party
- YWCA Greater Cincinnati
