Edison Research collects all Election Results for the National Election Pool, which consists of ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN
Loveland, Ohio – With Ohio Issue 1 and 2 on the ballot tomorrow, Edison Research has engaged Loveland Magazine to telephone them with local results as soon as the polls close. To provide their “projections” they do not wait until local boards of elections post results on the Internet. They need results as soon as they are posted on the door of local precincts.
Edison Research is the sole provider of election data, race projections, and analysis to ABC News, CBS News, CNN, and NBC News. In an effort to improve quality, streamline data collection, and expand election coverage in 2018, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, and NBC News ended their arrangement with the Associated Press for vote tabulation and now exclusively partner with Edison Research for these data. Edison Research projections are made in all 50 states for statewide races and ballot measures.
Tomorrow night when you hear projections about the results of Ohio’s abortion amendment or the legalization of marijuana, the data Loveland Magazine provided will go into the complex calculation of “projecting” winners and losers. If Steve Kornacki pulls out his “Big Board” Tuesday night and projects the outcome of the two big Ohio issues, he will be relying in part on data collected by Loveland Magazine.
Loveland Magazine will also publish local results tomorrow on the important Loveland School Board and City Council elections.
In a 3-2 decision, the Ohio Ballot Board rejected using the full amendment proposal text for voters to see, and the approved summary language leaves out protecting contraception, fertility treatment and miscarriage care
In a 3-2 split decision Thursday, the Ohio Ballot Board rejected using the full text of a proposed reproductive rights amendment on the ballot in November, adopting instead summary language written by the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office that was criticized for being incomplete and inaccurate.
The board’s approval of the language – which is now titled Issue 1 for the November general election – was the next step in the process of voters deciding whether or not the Ohio Constitution will include the right to abortion, as well as contraception, fertility treatment, miscarriage care, and continuing one’s own pregnancy. Those last four items were all left out of the language approved by the ballot board majority.
The summary language does not change what the actual amendment would state in the constitution, but would be the last representation of the amendment voters read before the casting their approval or rejection.
The full text of the amendment will be available at boards of elections during the election, but not in the ballot booths with voters. LaRose said posters with the text will be accessible at voting locations.
In the summary language approved by the board, the medical term “fetus” is changed to “unborn child,” and the amendment’s “decision” language is changed to “medical treatment.”
The leader of the Ohio Ballot Board, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, said the changes were made by “staff” of the board, though Democratic board member and state Rep. Elliot Forhan said “I would assume that the buck stops with the secretary of state.”
LaRose during the meeting also said that, “having worked extensively on drafting this, I do believe it’s fair and accurate.”
LaRose has been vocal in his opposition of the amendment, even saying the effort around the previous Issue 1, which would have changed the threshold to approve a constitutional amendment had it not been roundly defeated, was targeting the abortion rights fight specifically.
At the beginning of Thursday’s meeting, he prefaced the board’s activity by saying the group was not there to “debate the merits” of the amendment or the marijuana ballot initiative also on the table at the meeting.
Ohio Ballot Board member, State Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, speaks at the Ballot Board meeting Thursday. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original article.)
Board member and state Sen. Theresa Gavarone, however, gave a speech in the middle of the meeting harshly criticizing the amendment and calling it “a bridge too far,” even after multiple comments by LaRose about the neutrality with which the board was supposed to conduct their business.
“This is a dangerous amendment that I’m going to fight tirelessly against,” Gavarone said. “But that’s not why we’re here today.”
Gavarone also claimed, as anti-abortion groups throughout the state do as well, that the amendment is “an assault on parental rights.” Neither the amendment nor the summary approved by the board mention parental rights of any kind.
The senator continued her comments during the board meeting, saying the true nature of the amendment “is hidden behind overly broad language,” despite the fact that the board summary took out pieces of the full text.
The summary passed by the board does not include a list of the rights to “reproductive decisions” spelled out in the ballot measure, including contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one’s own pregnancy, and miscarriage care, all of which would be impacted under the new constitutional amendment.
A clause in the proposed amendment that says “the state shall not, directly or indirectly, burden, penalize, prohibit, interfere with, or discriminate against” the exercise of the amendment by an individual or an assistant of the individual was reduced to “the citizens of the state of Ohio” in the summary.
The phrase “the citizens of the state of Ohio” is also used in the clause summarizing a prohibition of abortion that would only happen if a pregnant patient’s physician finds the pregnancy to be viable.
The phrase “pregnant patient” in the ballot measure was changed to “pregnant woman” in the summary.
Ohio Ballot Board member, State Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson, D-Toledo, speaks at the Ballot Board meeting Thursday. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original article.)
State Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson, the other Democratic member of the ballot board, made two motions to change the language of the summary to bring back the full text or certain clauses of the actual amendment text into the approved language.
“The full text is clear, it’s concise and it’s direct, which is one of the requirements that’s needed for us to present to voters in the state of Ohio,” Hicks-Hudson said.
Both motions were rejected 3-2, with LaRose, Gavarone and the final board member, Bill Morgan, voting against the motions.
Morgan didn’t speak during the meeting other than to register his votes, and didn’t specifically comment on the amendment discussion or language afterward.
“I think it’s what we were supposed to do, what the ballot board does,” Morgan told the OCJ.
Groups for and against the initiative anticipated potential issues with the board’s decision, with pro-abortion rights group Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights requesting that the ballot language mirror the amendment itself, so voters could see the entire constitutional change when they vote in November.
Lauren Blauvelt, a member of the coalition, decried the changes made to the language, and said the group is considering a lawsuit to fight back.
“The entire summary is really propaganda and we are going to talk about all of the reasons why Ohio voters should just be able to see the language for what it is,” Blauvelt said after the board meeting.
Anti-abortion groups argued against using the full text, saying it was unnecessary, and Ohio Right to Life president Mike Gonidakis pushed back on calls for a lawsuit against the summary.
“Any litigation filed on this is going to be thrown out by the Ohio Supreme Court because the statutory responsibility of the ballot board is to provide a fair and accurate representation. That’s what the law requires, and that’s what they did today,” Gonidakis said.
Gonidakis said he did not work with anyone on the ballot board on the summary language, but he wished the language was “stronger.”
Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, talks to the press after the Ohio Ballot Board meeting Thursday. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original article.)
“Look, at the end of the day, people are going to make up their minds before they go in the ballot box anyways, and they’re not going to go in and then try to figure out what they want to do by reading something on a screen,” he said.
The proposed amendment has gone through a rollercoaster of activity since the Ohio Ballot Board approved the measure in March as compliant with the regulations for a constitutional amendment proposal, allowing a petition campaign that resulted in nearly 500,000 supporting signatures from Ohio voters.
Amid all the necessary hoops through which the abortion rights campaign has jumped, abortion rights groups have also had to battle against lawsuits attempting to block the amendment from voters. Another lawsuit alleged the Ohio Ballot Board hadn’t taken enough time or consideration before certifying that the amendment was compliant.
The Ohio Supreme Court rejected both lawsuits, clearing the way for voters to see the issue in the Nov. 7 general election.
SUSAN TEBBEN
Susan Tebben is an award-winning journalist with a decade of experience covering Ohio news, including courts and crime, Appalachian social issues, government, education, diversity and culture. She has worked for The Newark Advocate, The Glasgow (KY) Daily Times, The Athens Messenger, and WOUB Public Media. She has also had work featured on National Public Radio.
A proposed recreational marijuana law will be on Ohio’s November ballot after all.
The Secretary of State’s office verified 4,405 additional valid petition signatures — bringing the grand total to 127,772, Secretary of State Frank LaRose said Wednesday in a letter to the campaign. 124,046 signatures were needed.
The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol’s statute initiative would legalize and regulate cultivation, manufacturing, testing and sale of marijuana to Ohioans 21 and up. It would also legalize home grow for Ohioans 21 and up with a limit of six plants per person and 12 plants per residence, and impose a 10% tax at the point of sale for each transaction.
“We are grateful to the thousands of Ohioans who helped us get to this point and are excited to bring our proposal to regulate marijuana like alcohol before Ohio voters this coming Election Day,” spokesperson Tom Haren said.
This comes after the coalition initially came up just short of collecting enough valid signatures. The coalition submitted 223,176 signatures in July, but only 123,367 were found to be valid signatures. They recently submitted 6,545 additional signatures after the 10-day cure period.
Hamilton County submitted the most valid signatures with 1,914. Next was Franklin County with 711 and Montgomery County with 626.
Megan Henry is a reporter for the Ohio Capital Journal and has spent the past five years reporting in Ohio on various topics including education, healthcare, business and crime. She previously worked at The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA Today Network.
One Person One Vote spokesman Dennis Willard introducing Deidra Reese from Ohio Unity Coalition at the ‘No’ campaign party. (Photo by Nick Evans for Ohio Capital Journal)
The Republican-backed effort to make amending the state constitution more difficult lost by 14 points according to unofficial results
The Republican-led effort to make amending Ohio’s constitution more difficult has failed.
As of 11:45 p.m., unofficial results for the Aug. 8 special election show voters rejected Issue 1 57% to 43%. The Associated Press called the race at 9 p.m. While precincts were still reporting late into the night and absentee ballots will continue to roll in, the 13 point margin offered a resounding victory to a broad coalition of Issue 1’s opponents.
“The majority still rules in Ohio,” One Person One Vote spokesman Dennis Willard said from the podium at the ‘No’ campaign’s watch party.
Deidra Reese from Ohio Unity Coalition put it differently.
“I kept saying to my friends that we were going to beat the brakes off ‘em,” she said. “And that’s what we did, y’all.”
In addition to imposing a higher threshold for adoption, the measure would’ve made it much harder to put amendments on the ballot in the first place. Organizers would have faced minimum signature requirements in all 88 counties instead of the current 44 county benchmark.
Those vast implications and supporters’ transparent intention to undermine an upcoming abortion rights amendment scrambled the map. Although statehouse Republicans were able to lean on substantial supermajorities to place Issue 1 on the ballot, their effort played out in fits and starts.
Then Speaker Jason Stephens slow-walked the proposal past the deadline for May’s primary election, but supporters weren’t done. They aimed instead for August and proposed legislation undoing a prohibition on such elections they’d approved just months earlier. That legislation eventually died in committee, but lawmakers decided to schedule an August election anyway by writing it into their resolution.
In a split decision the Ohio Supreme Court allowed it to go forward.
The saga tested loyalties among traditional conservative allies. Some groups sat out — remaining neutral or even voicing opposition. Others held their noses and grasped for any justification other than fighting reproductive rights.
It tested party loyalties as well. Supporters’ claims that a higher threshold would “protect” Ohio’s constitution, weren’t able to overcome the knee-jerk reaction against its anti-majoritarian changes.
The No party
As early returns rolled in, people milled around a firefighters union banquet hall in Columbus. They balanced paper plates loaded with party cut pizza and salad, awkwardly sneaking in bites between greetings. There was an excited hum as they repeatedly updated election trackers on their phones. About an hour after polls closed, the One Person One Vote coalition declared victory.
Willard said voters saw Issue 1 for what it was.
“A deceptive power grab, designed to silence our voices and diminish our voting power,” he said. “We defeated Issue 1 because an enormous coalition that spans ideological divides came together to defend democracy.”
Representatives from that coalition — firefighters, organized labor, advocates for reproductive rights, and minority voters — joined Willard on the podium. Ohio Education Association president Scott DiMauro called it the “biggest baddest broadest most diverse nonpartisan grassroots coalition.”
“More than 200 organizations said no way are we letting Issue 1 pass,” DiMauro told the crowd. “They didn’t just say no, they said…” The crowd roared out the “hell no” DiMauro was looking for.
Dr. Marcela Azevedo, co-founder of Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights. (Photo by Nick Evans for Ohio Capital Journal)
The AFL-CIO’s Tim Burga called out the “hypocrisy and dishonesty” behind the proposal. Dr. Marcela Azevedo — Issue 1’s chief target as part of the group that put an abortion rights measure on the ballot — praised the “overwhelming” enthusiasm among opponents.
The Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights leader agued, “The unprecedented turnout truly demonstrates that Ohioans are passionate about protecting their own rights, and also protecting their ability to self-govern.”
Looking forward, Ohio Democratic Party chair Liz Walters crystalized what the outcome means for voters.
“This fall, Ohioans will have a chance to stand up about reproductive rights in the state,” she said, referencing the abortion rights amendment appearing on November’s ballot.
“They’ll have a chance to tell these same out of touch politicians that health care choices belong to families, not to politicians,” she added.
The Yes campaign
The mood was subdued at the Ohio GOP Protect our Constitution Vote Yes watch event hosted by Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima.
“I’m personally very disappointed,” he said. “I think it’s a question that was worth asking of the voters, not only because of the two issues that are on the ballot in November, but the six to 10 that are planned over the next couple of years. … The question really is, are we going to allow our constitution to be amended on a regular basis.”
Huffman didn’t hold back on spreading the blame.
“One thing that hurt us in the election was the length of time of the campaign,” he said.
Huffman said they would have had a better chance of passing the amendment had it been on the May ballot.
“Until May 10, we didn’t know there was a campaign,” Huffman said. “So it took us a long time to put the campaign together to execute the campaign.”
Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, and Ohio Rep. Jim Hoops, R-Napoleon, speak to the media about the results of the August special election on Aug. 8. (Photo by Megan Henry for Ohio Capital Journal.)
He also pointed the finger at Ohio Republicans who opposed Issue 1 — including former Govs. John Kasich and Bob Taft and former Ohio Republican Attorney General Betty Montgomery.
“There were some key folks on our side of the aisle, Republicans, especially who actively oppose this, some pretty vociferously,” Huffman said.
He said the Ohio GOP will likely try to make it harder to amend the constitution again.
“But perhaps not in the same kind of atmosphere that we have had over the past 10 or 12 months,” Huffman said.
Ohio Representative Jim Hoops, R-Napoleon, said Ohio’s voting maps showed the urban and rural counties were divided over Issue 1.
“What we’re looking at here in the state are issues that we need to bring people together instead of being divisive,” he said. “And I think, you know, as we move forward, those are the kinds of things we have to look at.”
Despite Tuesday’s election results, Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis said he feels great about the November election.
“When you have weed and you have abortion on the ballot in November, we’re going to solidify our conservative base here in Ohio and vote no on both of them this November,” he said.
Nick Evans has spent the past seven years reporting for NPR member stations in Florida and Ohio. He got his start in Tallahassee, covering issues like redistricting, same sex marriage and medical marijuana. Since arriving in Columbus in 2018, he has covered everything from city council to football. His work on Ohio politics and local policing have been featured numerous times on NPR.
Megan Henry is a reporter for the Ohio Capital Journal and has spent the past five years reporting in Ohio on various topics including education, healthcare, business and crime. She previously worked at The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA Today Network.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Loveland, Ohio – For the upcoming Tuesday, August 8 Special Election next week, Ohio voters will have the chance to vote on a statewide ballot issue: Issue 1 – Raising the standards to qualify for an initiated constitutional amendment and raising the bar to pass any constitutional amendment at the ballot box.
This “Satewide Issue Report”, from the Ohio Secretary of State includes the official ballot language, explanation, arguments for and against, and the full text of Issue 1.
Issue 1 does not “protect our constitution;” it does the opposite.
Jennifer Ginder is a writing consultant, wife and mother of two college-aged daughters in Loveland, Ohio.
by Jennifer Ginder
I voted no last week on Issue 1 because it would end simple majority rule, making my vote matter less.
The language on the actual ballot is confusing, so it’s important to know the facts. Issue 1 would make it harder for citizen groups to change the Ohio Constitution by raising the percentage of people who have to vote “yes” to future proposed amendments from 50% +1 (majority) to 60% (super majority). It would also require that petition signatures be obtained from all of Ohio’s 88 counties rather than the current 44. This means a single county without enough signatures could kill an entire initiative. Issue 1 also eliminates the 10-day “cure” period, during which amendment campaigns can collect additional signatures if needed due to invalid signatures being tossed out.
The “Vote Yes” campaign rhetoric is misleading and designed to divide and create fear. While proponents initially insisted Issue 1 was only about protecting the integrity of the constitution, they now say the quiet part out loud: they want to stop the popular reproductive rights amendment from passing.
So, Issue 1 is designed to protect the Ohio Constitution from the will of Ohio voters.
● Issue 1 does not “protect our constitution;” it does the opposite. The campaign itself is funded by an Illinois billionaire and supported by a handful of powerful interest groups. Issue 1’s onerous requirements would make it nearly impossible for citizen groups to get an amendment on the ballot and passed. This would invite more – not less – influence by wealthy, out-of-state interests because they will be the only forces that can afford to participate in the process. The current citizen-led amendment process is ambitious and comprehensive.
● Rather than wait for the general election in November, where we typically vote on important, statewide questions, we are having a special election on August 8 for this proposal only. Lawmakers voted for this even though it will cost taxpayers $20 million, and even though they passed a law last December prohibiting special elections in August.
● Some say the constitution has been amended too many times already. But most of those changes were initiated by the legislature, not citizen groups. Over the last 111 years, only 19 of 71 citizen-initiated amendments have been adopted.
● Opposition to Issue 1 is widespread and bipartisan. It includes all of Ohio’s living former governors and five attorneys general, mayors and local leaders, as well as more than 200 hundred organizations.
Issue 1 is not about reproductive rights or any other, single issue. It’s about control, and would effectively eliminate citizen-led amendments in Ohio, regardless of their objective. When legislators are not responsive on issues important to us – like school funding, responsible gun ownership, minimum wage, or gerrymandering – we will have no recourse if Issue 1 passes. No checks and balances. Please join me in voting no on Issue 1.
Loveland, Ohio – Loveland Magazine seeking Issue 1 proponents for a sit-down video interview in our LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV studio. Must be a Loveland Area resident and preferably actively working in the community to get Issue 1 passed.
Ohio Issue 1, is a ballot measure regarding the process for proposing and approving amendments to the Ohio state constitution. It will be before voters in a special election on August 8.
The Ohio Chamber of Commerce is supporting a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that has huge implications for such issues as abortion, gun control, and even democracy itself.
But Steve Stivers, president and CEO of the chamber, isn’t willing to talk about those things as his organization joins the effort to make it much harder for voters to amend the Ohio Constitution.
The Chamber last month came out in support of a proposal by Ohio’s Republican-controlled legislature that would make it far harder for voters to gather enough signatures to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot. It would also require a majority of at least 60% to pass it instead of the current 50%. In doing so, the Chamber is joining forces with Ohio Right to Life, the Buckeye Firearms Association, and an out-of-state, election-denying billionaire.
The measure, Issue 1, will be on the ballot Aug. 8 because Republicans in the legislature last month reversed a ban on such elections that they passed just last year because voter turnout in the dog days of summer is typically abysmal. In August 2022 it was 7.9%.
On May 11, Stivers issued a statement saying the Chamber takes no position on abortion rights — even though the measure it’s supporting is intended to block a voter-initiated abortion-rights amendment that is expected to appear on the November ballot. Stivers also said the group isn’t taking a position on other “social” issues that are popular with voters, but the Republican supermajority in the state legislature — declared an unconstitutional gerrymander multiple times by a bipartisan Ohio Supreme Court — seems determined to stymie.
“The Ohio Chamber Board voted today to take no position on the November election’s reproductive rights issue,” Stivers said. “The Ohio Chamber is a business association and takes positions on business issues, not social issues. While we support protecting our constitution in August, this has everything to do with subjects like minimum wage, employment at-will, and other business issues.”
That ignores businesses’ interest in avoiding unpopular legislation such as Ohio’s harsh abortion restrictions passed out of an extremely gerrymandered legislature. A survey conducted last August indicated that a third of job seekers wouldn’t even consider working in states with strict abortion limitations and that 27% percent of workers in states with the most restrictive abortion laws wanted to leave.
But Stivers, a former Republican congressman, has declined to discuss such things. Since issuing the May 11 statement, the Chamber hasn’t responded to requests for an interview with Stivers, and it ignored written questions that were sent as a follow-up.
Lack of transparency
The refusal of the state’s most prominent business organization to discuss the ramifications of a constitutional change it’s supporting adds another undemocratic layer to an initiative that already has many, said Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, which opposes State Issue 1. She said the Chamber and its members will sink lots of corporate money into the fight to cut voters’ power, but it doesn’t want to be open with them.
“One of the challenges with corporate donations and business organizations is that the money does the talking,” Turcer said. “It gets spent on elections, but we don’t hear directly from the people behind it. And we should expect to hear that because at the end of the day, a corporation doesn’t get to vote. At the end of the day, a corporation is an artificial entity. (Behind them are) human beings making decisions and we should understand what is happening. Or at least the press should have an opportunity to ask questions.”
The position the Chamber is taking in favor of State Issue 1 is out of step with four former governors of both parties, five former Ohio attorneys general, and more than 240 organizations — such as Turcer’s — who are adamantly opposed to the measure because they believe it would effectively lock Ohio voters out of their state Constitution.
The provision Issue 1 seeks to change was championed by former President Theodore Roosevelt as a way to force an unresponsive government to address the public’s concerns.
Adopted in 1912, it sets a high bar for voters to gain access to the Ohio Constitution. It requires supporters of an amendment to gather a large number of voter signatures (413,000 for the abortion-rights amendment planned for the November ballot) and it requires that a given number of them be gathered in each of 44 counties in the various regions of the state. After all that, it also has to gain a majority of the vote to become part of the Constitution.
Under Issue 1, Republicans in the legislature, anti-abortion groups, pro-gun groups — and the Chamber — want to require 60% of the vote for an amendment to pass, even as they try to pass the restriction under the current, 50% requirement. In other words, they’re trying to get a simple majority in a low-turnout Aug. 8 election to pass an amendment saying that a 40% minority can quash future amendments supported by 59.9% of Ohio voters.
Issue 1 “is a proposal to substantially diminish the most significant power held by the people, the power of initiative petition to amend the Ohio Constitution. Our Constitution leaves no doubt about this,” Ohio Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner, wrote in a partial dissent published on Monday. She was dissenting because she thought the court didn’t go far enough in ruling that parts of Issue 1 are “likely to mislead voters.”
Like Brunner, Turcer argues that the effort to enhance the power of the gerrymandered legislature relative to the voters is undemocratic. And — along with former Republican Gov. Bob Taft — she argues that even from the standpoint of its supporters, the measure is shortsighted.
“It’s problematic that organizations decided to make it harder for citizens to change the Constitution because they don’t like specific policies. But it’s not always going to be 2023,” Turcer said. “There are a number of different ways we can improve the state and leaving that to a minority of Ohio voters is really scary. It’s really scary to think that a majority of voters — whether it’s 55% or 58% — approve of something, but they can’t actually put that policy in place.”
Misleading claims
Adding to accusations that the proposed change is anti-democratic are the misleading reasons proponents have given for needing it.
Stivers, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, and other proponents argue that voter access needs to be ratcheted down to “protect” the Ohio Constitution from monied out-of-state interests. But when he announced an earlier version of the measure last year, LaRose couldn’t point to any examples of such interests amending the Constitution in the past.
At the same press conference last year in which LaRose claimed he was trying to protect the Constitution, he also claimed that he was thinking long-term. He said he wasn’t trying to block the expected amendment protecting abortion rights.
The Republican majority members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission in 2021 and 2022. Top row from left, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Secretary of State Frank LaRose. Bottom row from left Ohio Auditor Keith Faber, then-House Speaker Bob Cupp, and Senate President Matt Huffman. Official photos.
LaRose also denied that he wanted to foil another attempt by Ohio voters to stop extreme gerrymandering after he and other Republicans on the state Redistricting Commission ignored repeated orders by the state Supreme Court to follow earlier amendments passed with 70% of the vote. The Republican commissioners last year ran out the clock on the process and lawmakers in the consequently unconstitutional districts voted to put the amendment that would make it much harder for Ohio voters to amend the Constitution on the Aug. 8 ballot.
In her dissenting opinion Monday, Justice Brunner said that by ignoring constitutional prohibitions against gerrymandering, Republican leaders make it easy to come up with the needed votes for the legislature to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot while making it almost impossible for voters to do the same.
“If the General Assembly continues to ignore (anti-gerrymandering) orders of this court regarding the state legislative redistricting process, gaining a three-fifths vote should not be difficult for it to accomplish,” she wrote.
Lack of candor
Turcer of Common Cause said that business groups such as the Chamber ignore issues like gerrymandering at their peril. That’s because lawmakers from gerrymandered districts have every incentive to cater to the most charged-up elements of their base and ignore everybody else. It‘s an engine that produces extreme legislation that can prompt boycotts, protests and require businesses to provide special benefits to protect employees.
“The folks who do support Issue 1 and the special election clearly don’t care about gerrymandering — the manipulation of district lines to manipulate elections and policy,” Turcer said. “Gerrymandering has a profound consequence for our business leaders and the business community. It is extremely short-sighted to not think about how challenging it will be to do a citizen initiative with the news rules that are in place.”
LaRose again demonstrated in May that he was being less than forthright when he claimed his support for the effort was only out of concern for the future integrity of the Ohio Constitution, and not current fights over abortion and gerrymandering.
“That’s not what this kind of a change should ever be about,” LaRose said last November.
The lack of candor about their reasons for wanting to effectively lock Ohio voters out of the state Constitution seems to extend even to the name of the campaign committee supporting the measure: Save Our Constitution.
It’s possible that Stivers, the Chamber, and other business interests are narrowly focused on stopping a minimum wage hike to $15 an hour — which enjoys the support from 60% of the public.
The Chamber might also be responding to pressure from legislative Republicans. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that GOP leaders last month put the arm on corporate lobbyists to contribute to the Issue 1 push as they draw up a multi-billion dollar state budget that is of great interest to the companies the lobbyists represent.
Either way, Turcer said, the Chamber and its members are trying to water down democracy for their own, narrow purposes.
“For political expediency, they would like to make it harder for us to participate in direct democracy,” she said. “They would prefer to dilute the power of voters rather than promote their own policy agenda with voters.”
MARTY SCHLADEN
Marty Schladen has been a reporter for decades, working in Indiana, Texas and other places before returning to his native Ohio to work at The Columbus Dispatch in 2017. He’s won state and national journalism awards for investigations into utility regulation, public corruption, the environment, prescription drug spending and other matters.
Loveland Schools are worth fighting for! Keeping our school district strong in turn will keep our beloved Loveland community thriving, protect our home values and make our neighborhoods enticing to outside buyers. We, as proud Lovelanders, will stand behind the #yesforloveland movement. This is our family’s story and why we are so passionate about supporting the Loveland School District.
Our family relocated from Orlando, Florida to Cincinnati in the summer of 2016. This change was met with a lot of resistance by myself and our girls, who were 12 and 8 at the time. We were faced with leaving the community we loved and the only home our girls had ever known. Getting the move right was essential, to set our family unit up for success in our new home. Where did we start? The area school districts.
In Orlando, our girls had grown into a young school district and a developing area, with one elementary and middle school to choose from. After 10 years in the area, our school district had grown to encompass three elementary schools, two middle schools, and a new high school. My husband and I sat on community growth committees, held school PTA board positions, and volunteered countless hours in the classroom, at fundraisers and community events. We assisted in the effort to make our neighborhood one of the best in the Orange County School District. We knew what a successful educational community looked like and we felt it was essential to make the right choice for the future of our girls in our relocation.
In researching the Cincinnati area, we toured every surrounding school district. The final school on our list was Loveland. We feared that the opportunities and programs would be lacking, as it was a smaller school district. Boy, were we wrong.
In Loveland, we were greeted by enthusiastic administration and teachers who took the time to talk directly to our girls and answer their questions. We had top-notch tours and even had a sit-down meeting with the superintendent, assistant superintendent, and the person who would be our daughter’s high school counselor. The girls instantly felt like they would feel safe and welcomed in the Loveland schools. The district’s forward thinking mindset, focus on growth, and developing a well rounded, competitive student was supremely impressive.
We knew Loveland was the right choice when we left that meeting. Not only were there educational opportunities here, including a thriving gifted program and course options such as foreign language and college prep courses, but the district had top-notch music and arts programs which were of very high importance to both our girls. Loveland was providing music programs from the elementary level up. The high school arts programs were known as some of the best in the Cincinnati area. These opportunities solidified our decision.
We wanted to get a sense of the Loveland community as well. We explored the quaint downtown, enjoyed the local restaurants, and toured a dozen homes before we ended up buying in a beautiful, homey neighborhood where we were instantly greeted by welcoming neighbors. We had found our home and a place where we felt confident our girls would thrive and above all, be happy. And they have flourished here. Each of our girls had different needs in the classroom and they were both met with phenomenal teachers and support. They each threw themselves into drama, music, and show choir. They were exposed to and tried new things including runners club, intramural sports, student government, and volunteerism.
Our oldest has now graduated and was set up to enter college with 32 hours of college credit classes allowing her to easily double major in two rigorous programs. The Loveland High School experience gave her the tools to enter into the world confident and prepared. Anna was exposed to a broad range of activities, including music, art, student media, Showchoir, and student leadership groups in addition to a multitude of course options from financial planning to AP and College Credit Plus opportunities. And she took advantage of it all. She had a remarkable high school experience and was set up to get into highly competitive college programs.
Our youngest is now a junior and is in the college preparation stage. While her high school experience began during the COVID-19 pandemic, she continues to have a wonderful high school life in her classes and extracurriculars including athletics, music, and show choir. We are so thankful for her dedicated school counselors and teachers and for the arts programs that have given her hope and comfort in spite of the challenges of these last couple of years due to the pandemic and unfortunate cuts in the Loveland schools. She has grown immensely into a hard-working student, performer, athlete, and a Tiger through and through. At Loveland, Avery has learned resilience through compassionate district leaders, teachers and mentors.
Even while navigating the challenges of failed levies, Loveland has kept excellence and the dedication to their students at the forefront. No matter what challenges the district may face, the foundation of community and excellence prevails. The opportunity for students to experience a vast, well-rounded education is there. But the reality is that many of those beloved, winning programs our children have been blessed with are now on the chopping block.
We have hope that the community will step up and value the importance of a strong school district and how important it is to set our children up for future success.
Our children in the younger grades should have the same opportunities to enter their years after high school prepared, motivated, and competitive. It’s up to each of us to fight for our schools and to keep Loveland thriving.
We are Lovelanders now and we won’t give up on our schools or this community. I hope you will join in the fight to keep Loveland strong and get out and vote #yesforloveland.
____________________________________
Kim and Dan Colletto live in the Miami Trails Neighborhood
Loveland, Ohio – Below is the partial draft of the minutes of the Loveland School Board meeting that was held last night. The Board authorized a “Resolution of Necessity” to request that the Hamilton County Auditor certify the projected revenues for a 4.90 Mill levy for the General Election on November 8.
Members Eileen Washburn. Eric Schwetschenau, Kevin. Dougherty, and Jonathan Eilert voted, “Yes”. Kathryn Lorenz did not attend the meeting.
This is the first of the two votes needed for the Board to place the operating levy on the ballot.
The Board of Education of the Loveland City School District, Counties of Hamilton, Clermont and Warren, Ohio, met in regular session at 6:00 P.M, on the 16th day of June, 2022, at the LMS/LIS Media Center, 757 S. Lebanon Road, Loveland, Ohio, with the following members present:
Mr. Kevin Dougherty Rev. Jonathan Eilert Dr. Eric Schwetschenau
Mrs. Eileen Washburn
The following members were absent: Dr. Kathryn Lorenz
Mrs. Washburn moved the adoption of the following resolution:
LOVELAND CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
RESOLUTION NO. 22-69
RESOLUTION DECLARING THE NECESSITY OF LEVYING AN ADDITIONAL TAX FOR CURRENT OPERATING EXPENSES IN EXCESS OF THE TENMILL LIMITATION AND REQUESTING THE COUNTY AUDITOR TO CERTIFY MATTERS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH.
WHEREAS, this Board of Education of the Loveland City School District (the “Board of Education”) anticipates levying an additional tax in excess of the ten-mill limitation as described herein;
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 5705.03 of the Ohio Revised Code, this Board of Education is required to certify to the County Auditor a resolution requesting the County Auditor to certify certain matters in connection with such a tax levy;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Education of Loveland City School District, Counties of Hamilton, Clermont and Warren, Ohio:
That pursuant to the provisions of Section 5705.21 of the Ohio Revised Code, it is necessary that an additional tax be levied in excess of the tenmill limitation for the benefit of the Loveland City School District (the “School District”), for the purpose of current operating expenses at a rate not exceeding four and nine-tenths (4.9) mills for each one dollar ($1.00) of valuation, which amounts to forty-nine cents ($0.49) for each one hundred dollars ($100.00) of valuation, for a continuing period of time.
That the question of the passage of said tax levy shall be submitted to the electors of the School District at an election to be held on November 8, 2022. If approved by the electors of the School District, said tax levy shall first be placed upon the 2022 tax list and duplicate, for first collection in calendar year 2023 for a continuing period of time. The tax shall be levied upon the entire territory of the School District and the ballot measure shall be submitted to the entire territory of the School District. The School District has territory in Hamilton County, Clermont County and Warren County, Ohio.
That pursuant to Section 5705.03 of the Ohio Revised Code, the County Auditor is hereby requested to certify to this Board of Education the total current tax valuation of the School District and the dollar amount of revenue that would be generated by the number of mills specified in Section 1 hereof, and the Treasurer of this Board of Education be and is hereby directed to certify forthwith a copy of this resolution to the County Auditor at the earliest possible time so that said County Auditor may certify such matters in accordance with such Section 5705.03 of the Ohio Revised Code.
That it is found and determined that all formal actions of this Board of Education concerning and relating to the adoption of this resolution were adopted in an open meeting of this Board of Education, and that all deliberations of this Board of Education, and of any of its committees that resulted in such formal action, were in meetings open to the public, in compliance with all legal requirements, including Section 121.22 of the Ohio Revised Code, and the rules of this Board of Education adopted in accordance therewith.
Dr. Schwetschenau seconded the motion, and the roll being called upon the question of adoption of the resolution the vote resulted as follows:
AYE: Mrs. Washburn, Dr. Schwetschenau, Mr. Dougherty, Rev. Eilert
NAY:
ADOPTED this 16th day of June, 2022.
Robert Giuffre’, Interim Treasurer
CERTIFICATE
The undersigned hereby certifies that the text of the foregoing resolution is taken and copied from the record of proceedings of a meeting of the Board of Education of the Loveland City School District held on June 16, 2022. The undersigned further certifies that the same has been compared by me with said record and it is a true and correct copy thereof, together with a true and correct copy of excerpts from the minutes of said meeting to the extent pertinent to the consideration and adoption of said resolution.
Robert Giuffre’, Interim Treasurer
RECEIPT
The undersigned hereby acknowledges this day receipt of a certified copy of the foregoing resolution.
County Auditor, Hamilton County, Ohio
Date: June ___, 2022
CERTIFICATE OF COUNTY AUDITOR
Pursuant to a resolution of the Board of Education of the Loveland City School District, adopted on June 16, 2022, the undersigned county auditor of Hamilton County, Ohio hereby certifies that the total current tax valuation of such school district is $___________________, and that the dollar amount of revenue that would be generated by four and nine-tenths (4.9) mills per year as specified in such resolution is $___________________ per year, assuming that the tax valuation of such school district remains the same throughout the life of the levy.
