Letters: Anti-voter resolution shows Frank LaRose is not qualified, doesn't love Ohio
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
'Pesky details' make a difference
Secretary of State Frank LaRose and members of the Ohio General Assembly want to pass House Joint Resolution 6, a bill to make it harder for Ohio citizens to amend the state constitution.
Frank LaRose: There's no 'knife to the neck' of voters on constitutional changes
Currently Ohio voters must have a simple majority, 50% plus one, to get a proposed amendment on the ballot — either voter initiated or proposed by the General Assembly.
LaRose wants a 60% majority for voter-initiated proposals - only. The General Assembly will still operate under the old rules needing a 50% majority.
And why might this be important?
There are reproductive rights voters who are wanting and working towards having a constitutional amendment ballot initiative to ensure reproductive rights.
These pesky details make a difference.
Thomas Suddes:GOP wants to crush your voting power to make it harder to restore abortion rights
Maybe it was not voter apathy
Dispatch reported that the majority of Franklin County registered voters did not vote in the last election due to apathy.
In terms of eligible voters (citizens over 18 years old) the turnout was even lower.
More:In some Franklin County precincts, almost everybody stayed home on Election Day
Rather than apathy the low turnout was more likely caused by voter rejection of all the candidates on the ballot. No voter is obligated to turn out and vote for candidates he does not support.
Despite all the money the candidates spend and the voter incentives (mail-ins, early voting ), voter turnout has remained low for the past 20 years.
The same percentage of voters continue to vote just by different means. The absolute increase in voter turnout is caused by general population growth not increased voter interest.
Those who continue to vote are motivated more by civic duty than candidate support.
These letters are available free: Support the exchange of local and state ideas by subscribing to the Columbus Dispatch.
Frank LaRose failed to love this state
Secretary of State Frank LaRose offered his thoughts about the best way to govern Ohio.
He presumed to tell Dispatch readers on Dec. 9 that a simple majority of voters should not be able to pass amendments to the Ohio Constitution.
Keep in mind that he and his fellow Republicans on the redistricting commission ignored the requirements of an Amendment passed by 71% of Ohio's voters.
Mike Curtin:In 'historic abuse of power,' Ohio lawmakers seek to steal your voice| Mike Curtin
These voters attempted to stop the gerrymandering which has enabled one-party rule.
Voters believed that passing this amendment would improve the party balance in Ohio's Senate and House; that more moderate, less extreme law-making could prevail.
LaRose now worries about straining our elections system.
What has really strained our elections system is the extreme right-wing attacks at the local level all over this Country.
Very few Republicans had the honesty and fortitude and love of country to speak the truth to Donald Trump's big lies. Trump has been lying about elections since 2016 or before. Honorable and patriotic people should have the decency to say so.
LaRose is not qualified to tell anyone how to best govern this state. He failed to follow the Ohio Constitution, and he failed to love this state enough to combat the Trump lies.
Majority rule is enough, and so was 71%.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Letters: Connection between house joint resolution and gerrymandering
