Readers share pros, cons of Ohio Issue 1 | Voice of the People

Constitution should not be changed often

Issue 1 on the Aug. 8 ballot concerns whether it should take 60% of the votes to amend the Ohio Constitution. I support Issue 1. The principle of majority rule properly applies to legislation, but ought not apply to the Ohio Constitution. Rather, the constitution should be difficult to amend and should not be subject to change depending upon whether any political faction can cobble together a simple majority at a given moment.

Examine how the Founding Fathers wrote the U.S. Constitution. According to Article 5, it requires not just one, but three, super-majority votes for an amendment to become effective. First, two-thirds of the House of Representatives must approve the amendment. Second, two-thirds of the Senate must approve it. Finally, 75% of the states (38 of 50) must individually ratify the amendment.

Why would the Founding Fathers make it so difficult to amend the U.S. Constitution? The reason is that a constitution creates the core institutions of government, defines their powers and specifies fundamental rules and procedures that the government must obey. Constitutional stability is a central value, particularly in polarized times.

Voters should vote yes on Issue 1.

Bernard A. Smith, Akron

Defeat MAGA menace

Americans value our freedoms — our freedom to vote, to elect who governs in our name and to have an equal say in the decisions that impact our lives.

After countless court cases showed that claims of 2020 election fraud were false, those who love democracy would never expect that those claims would become the basis of future legislation. But love of democracy is not a core value for MAGA Republicans in Congress or our statehouses. They are still playing to the false distrust in election administration fomented by Donald Trump and other Republicans who lied about the credibility of mail-in voting and the 2020 election results.

House Republicans’ American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act seeks to nationalize some of the voter suppression policies that Republican-run states like Ohio passed after Trump lied about voter fraud in 2020.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose was in Washington and spoke at a press conference touting the “advancements” he claims were made in Ohio to bolster election confidence and encouraging MAGA House Republicans to pass the ACE Act.

LaRose and his MAGA Republican counterparts in Congress are deliberately spreading false claims against our elections so they can turn us against each other, take away more of our freedoms and get and hold onto power.

On Aug. 8, Nov. 7 and every election after that, we have a choice. Together, we can defeat the MAGA Republicans who are trying to impose their will and take away our freedoms.

Sherry McMillen, Cuyahoga Falls

Republicans failing Ohio

In 2015, Ohio voters passed an amendment to the state’s constitution that mandated fair and representative voting districts. The Republicans have ignored that amendment and subsequent Ohio Supreme Court rulings in drawing up maps that rig the system in their favor.

Republican Larry Householder was sentenced to 20 years behind bars for taking bribes to pass legislation that handed more than $1 billion in subsidies to FirstEnergy, while dismantling much-needed renewable energy standards.

Just a year ago, Republicans passed a bill that prohibited August special elections, telling us that they were unnecessary and too expensive. They also passed some of the most extreme legislation in the country, taking away women’s rights to make their own health care decisions. Advocates for women decided to go through the difficult process of getting an amendment to the state constitution that would overturn these cruel laws. Republicans decided that a special election was needed to change the rules for getting amendments on the ballot.

In the meantime, Ohio ranks in the bottom third of all states in education, health care, infrastructure, the natural environment and other indicators.

Ohioans are sick and tired of Republican gaslighting.

Rick Bohan, Akron

Racist team names must change

Congratulations on Sunday’s Beacon Journal headline piece "Guardians path remains unfollowed" on the name/logo change and the impact on local high schools and communities that have Indian names and logos. In spite of the major victory of Cleveland changing its Indian imagery, the region’s high schools and communities are still holding on to theirs. Schools and communities resist changing their traditions, but it can and should be done.

Some traditions are steeped in racism, if not cultural insensitivity. Those of us involved in the Native American popular sports names and logos issue understand that racism is deeply embedded. History shows that racism is most successful when people do not even realize the racism. This complex issue is as simple as the chant: “Native Americans are people, not mascots.”

Your article makes clear that the consciousness-raising work is not done. While Cleveland’s nationally beloved pro team changed its logo and name, it’s now beyond time for our local high schools and communities to “teach respect, not racism” to our children. These culturally insensitive names and images must go.

Michael Anderson, Barberton

US EPA should listen to Mayor Horrigan

Mayor Dan Horrigan’s recent op-ed highlighted how bottom-up solutions to environmental problems prepared by local communities are better suited for addressing issues than top-down mandates from the federal government. He’s correct.

Unfortunately, the U.S. EPA has a long history of crafting rules and regulations that put their desired outcomes above the needs of local communities and often discount local knowledge and expertise.

For example, the EPA is considering a new rule regulating emissions from existing power plants. These new restrictions will force power plants to close and saddle Americans with higher electricity bills. And because the rule focuses specifically on coal plants, Eastern Ohio and other Appalachian communities that rely on coal for jobs and power will be gutted.

One size does not fit all when tailoring environmental and energy regulations. Each rule must be custom fit, considering regional factors and how the community will be impacted.

Trevor Lewis, The Buckeye Institute

Out-of-state mailers attack Issue 1

In response to the article regarding Issue 1, which is strictly about giving Ohioans a voice to decide the requirements for amending Ohio’s constitution in the future, there have been a significant number of out-of-state voices campaigning against the issue. There have been postcards and typed letters received from other states including Massachusetts, California and New Mexico against Issue 1. This is interesting because the citizens in those states do not gain or lose anything from the outcome of Issue 1. Are outsiders trying to influence Ohio’s constitution?

Sarah McGervey, executive director, Right to Life of Northeast Ohio, Akron

Ohio is not a Third World country

As we approach the Aug. 8 election on Issue 1, a yes vote would limit the electorate’s ability to place a check on the legislature, courts and executive branch. We need to understand supporting Issue 1 is more than just supporting abortion and gun rights. Rejecting it is about keeping a check on government so it can’t more easily subvert the will of the people.

Ohio’s legislature, courts and executive branch are held by one party, and now it’s seeking to solidify power via Issue 1. Just as politicians subverted redistricting (supported overwhelming in two citizen votes), they now seek to toss away our open-party system and limit the rights of citizens to amend the state constitution. All of these put government further away from voters and limit our ability to impact government.

We have watched in Third World countries how, once someone is in power, they chip away at citizen rights. Isn’t this what Issue 1, closed primaries and gerrymanded districts are all about? Sure, the short-term issue may be abortion rights but long term it restricts our rights to impact government. I don’t care which party is in power: I want citizens to have the ability to reasonably check it. If you vote yes on Issue 1, you are compromising our over 100-year power and our future rights for many years to come. Vote no on Issue 1.

Dwight Davis, Hudson

Don’t give away our rights with Issue 1

When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned 50 years of what had been ruled a constitutional right to abortion and referred the issue back to the states, Republicans said this is good. In Ohio and elsewhere, they passed laws making abortion nearly impossible to totally impossible to access.

And then a funny thing happened. The citizens of those states started to use their constitutions or ballot initiatives to democratically, by vote, start to overturn those laws, and the Republicans said this is very bad. This is not how it was supposed to work. And so it came to pass that Kansas begat Kentucky, which begat Michigan, which begat Vermont, which begat California, and, it suddenly became Ohio's turn to vote. Well, these Republicans didn’t spend all their time and effort to make Ohio one of the most gerrymandered states to let a little thing like the will of the people determine their own laws. So, what’s a good Republican to do? Why, of course, change the rules in the middle of the game!

I am begging Ohio Republicans to use their heads for something other than to hold up a MAGA hat. This has nothing to do with our constitution or democracy; if it did, they would have waited until November to put it on the regular ballot. This has everything to do with nullifying the abortion vote in November.

People around the world are protesting, fighting and even dying for the rights these power-hungry politicians are telling you to give up voluntarily.

I do not care what your stance is on abortion; that is not the issue here. What is on the ballot is who gets to make the constitutional amendments we have to live under. Please vote no on issue 1.

Stephen Dolin, Fairlawn

Issue 1 would harm Ohio more

Our legislators in Columbus are not serving Ohioans. Due to gerrymandering and the Republican supermajority in the legislature, we are being taken backward with policies most Ohioans don’t want. Polls show that most Ohioans are in favor of women’s reproductive rights and abortion access, LGBTQ rights, voting rights, more gun control, especially of assault weapons. Yet, the Ohio legislature has voted repeatedly to strip minorities, women, voters and gun control advocates of their rights, and approved more guns, not fewer on our streets.

Because of these backward policies, Ohioans’ living conditions are getting worse. We are already seeing a brain drain of our young adults who do not have the same mindset. This narrow-minded shortsightedness is costing us. Generation Z and millennials are, for the most part, more open and accepting of others. Younger generations may decide to leave or not move here because of such backward, bigoted and mean-spirited policies. We need to seriously consider how that will affect Ohio’s economy and future and vote these myopic legislators out of office.

The most recent example of their attempt to remain in power is Issue 1, which will be decided on Aug. 8. Ohioans will decide who will steer Ohio — a simple majority of voters or a partisan “club.” Issue 1 would require any proposed amendments to the Ohio Constitution to have 60% of those voting on it to pass, essentially giving the power to just 40% of voters. It would also make even placing an amendment on the ballot nearly impossible. Since 1912, amendments have needed 50% plus one of those voting on them — a simple majority — to pass.

Vote no on Issue 1.

Sue Yoder, Copley

School name hardly offensive

I had to chuckle about "Guardians path remains unfollowed." The article mentions the Chippewa Chipps. If you poll anyone outside Wayne County, they would not know what a Chipp is, let alone find the name offensive. Chipp is a shortened version of Chippewa and located in Chippewa Township, hence the name. Wayne County is named for General Mad Anthony Wayne, who was responsible for defeating the native people at the Battle of Fallen Timbers and expelling them from Ohio. Perhaps the county needs to change its name along with Miami, Delaware, Wyandot, Huron and Seneca counties if all Native American references are now offensive to the "woke." Don't we have more important issues at hand?

Steve Karl, Chippewa Township

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio Issue 1 pros, cons debated by ABJ readers in letters