Putting issues to voters may get harder

As lawmakers COLUMBUS — move swiftly to change how citizens can put issues on the statewide ballot, grass roots groups are calling foul, saying it would strip direct democracy rights that Ohioans have held for more than a century.

The League of Women Voters of Ohio, Common Cause Ohio and 90 other groups Tuesday announced opposition to the proposed changes.

Citizens have two paths to changing policy via the statewide ballot: citizen-initiated statutes or citizen-initiated constitutional amendments. These direct democracy rights are embedded in the state constitution.

In recent decades, some of the most significant public policy changes arrived in Ohio via ballot issues pushed by citizen groups.

Among the issues groups have placed on the ballot are:

■ Efforts to tie minimum wage increases to inflation;

■ Outlawing same-sex marriage;

■ Banning smoking at indoor workplaces and legalizing casino gambling.

The threat of a ballot issue has indirectly pressured lawmakers to take action on thorny topics such as medical marijuana and reform of how the state’s legislative districts are drawn.

House Joint Resolution 19, which legislative leaders put on a fast track for action in the lame duck session, would require petitions for proposed constitutional amendments be submitted by April 1, up from early July; limit the time petition signatures are valid to 180 days; and mandate that citizen-initiated constitutional amendments must pass by at least 60 percent of the vote instead of a simple majority.

Over the past century, Ohio voters have approved 1 in 4 citizen-driven constitutional amendments. Ohioans have rejected 52 such measures and approved 17 between 1913 and 2015, according to a summary from the Ohio Secretary of State.

Senate President Larry Obhof, R-Medina, and House Speaker Ryan Smith, R-Bidwell, have said they oppose the cottage industry that lets moneyed special interests buy a constitutional change that benefits them.

In recent years, out-of-state groups put issues on the ballot such as last year’s effort to change drug crime penalties.

The resolution also calls for making the citizen-initiated statute process a little easier by reducing the required signatures, reducing petition regulations and blocking the Ohio General Assembly from changing or repealing any aspect of a voter-approved citizen law for a year.

If lawmakers pass the resolution, it would have to be approved by a statewide vote. Contact this reporter at 614224-1624 or email Laura. Bischoff@coxinc.com.