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October 13, 2005
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October 13, 2005 |
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EDITORIAL Ballot issues create needed reform Ohio voters can help bring real change to the state’s electoral and political processes during the Nov. 8 election, making contests more competitive, changing who runs the election system in the state and making it easier for people to vote. The Nov. 8 General Election will feature a package of four amendments that aim to change how politics is played in Ohio. The issues were placed on the ballot by a group called Reform Ohio Now, a coalition described as mainly Democrats, labor unions and groups interested in political reform. Numbered 2 through 5 on the ballot, the issues would amend the Ohio Constitution. Issue 2 would allow all registered voters to vote by mail or in person at county boards of election or other designation locations up to 35 days before an election. Voters would not have to give an excuse to cast an absentee ballot, as they do now, which limits the number of people who can vote absentee. Issue 3 would amend the state’s campaign contribution laws, limiting the amount an individual could contribute to statewide candidates to $2,000 and to legislative candidates to $1,000, per election. The current limit is $10,000 for candidates seeking either level of office. It also would limit an individual’s total contribution to $25,000 to state candidates, political parties and political action committees. It would also ban corporate contributions to political parties. Issue 4 would overhaul how Ohio’s legislative and Congressional districts are created, by placing a five-member commission in charge of redrawing the district every 10 years, after the federal census. The panel would have the authority to select redistricting plans that create the most districts that promise competitive races, without dividing cities or counties. Any group or individual could submit a political map to the commission. Issue 5 would strip the elected secretary of state of his authority to oversee elections and give the responsibility of administering statewide elections and county boards of election to a nine-member board. Out of the four proposals, Issue 4 is the most significant since it offers an intriguing opportunity to make more races more competitive. Right now, the state Legislature draws U.S. House districts, and a board made up of the governor, secretary of state, state auditor and a member of each party from the Legislature creates Ohio’s legislative districts. The current system is designed to protect candidates and their parties from competition. Districts are drawn to provide safe races that incumbents, especially members of the party in power, will win. That’s why a pathetically small number of incumbents in the U.S. House ever lose elections and why most legislative and Congressional districts are dominated by one party. The current system puts the interests of politicians and the political parties ahead of voters. Placing responsibility of political mapmaking in the hands of an independent commission, as Issue 4 would do, could do more than make contests more competitive. It could also tune out the extremists on both sides of the political spectrum. Instead, candidates who seek the political center and offer compromises will increase their odds of winning on Election Day, since a candidate would not be able to rely solely on his base of support to win a race. While Issue 4 could have the most dramatic effect on Ohio’s political system, the other three amendments are important parts of the effort to level the political playing field in the state. As a package, the four amendments will improve our democratic process. Voters would have an easier time casting ballots. Reasonable limits would be set on campaign contributions, making small donors more important. Elections would be more competitive. Elections would be overseen by a bipartisan board, not an overly partisan secretary of state. Issues 2 through 5 deserve voters’ support.
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