Ex-Ohio GOP Govs. John Kasich, Bob Taft blast plan to make it harder to amend constitution
Gov. Mike DeWine signaled that he'll sign a bill allowing an August election so voters can decide whether it should be harder to amend the Ohio Constitution.
Haley BeMiller
- The Ohio Senate voted last week to place a ballot question before voters that, if passed, would require 60% of the vote to enact proposed amendments, instead of 50% plus one.
- The debate comes as advocates collect signatures on a proposed November ballot question to enshrine abortion access in Ohio.
- The Ohio House still needs to consider the resolution and election bill, and it's unclear whether there's enough Republican support.
Gov. Mike DeWine signaled Monday that he'll greenlight an August election so voters can decide whether it should be harder to amend the Ohio Constitution.
DeWine's predecessors think both the election and proposed amendment are bad policy.
"Ohio is stronger when we can all lend our voices and we all have an equal chance to participate in the work of our state's democracy," former Republican Gov. John Kasich said. "I’ve experienced that firsthand having policies backed by myself and a majority of the legislature's members overturned at the ballot box and it never occurred to me to try to limit Ohioans' right to do that. It wouldn't have been right then, and it isn't right now."
Bob Taft to lawmakers:Don't put right Ohioans have had 100 years on chopping block
The Ohio Senate voted last week to place a ballot question before voters that, if passed, would require 60% of the vote to enact proposed amendments, instead of 50% plus one. Separate legislation passed by Senate Republicans would create a special August election solely for this issue, months after lawmakers limited August elections.
The debate comes as advocates collect signatures on a proposed November ballot question to enshrine abortion access in Ohio.
The Ohio House still needs to consider the resolution and election bill, and it's unclear whether there's enough Republican support. But DeWine told reporters Monday that he'll sign off on the August election if it reaches his desk. (He doesn't need to approve the proposed amendment.)
"If they do it," DeWine said. "Look, I don't know what the Legislature's going to do, and you don't either. None of us know what they're going to do."
Former GOP, Democratic governors align on 60% threshold
DeWine's comments came hours after former Gov. Bob Taft, a Republican, urged proponents of the resolution to abandon their pursuit. In a letter to lawmakers, Taft argued raising the voter threshold to 60% could jeopardize future bond issues that fund schools, road improvements and efforts to protect the environment,
Taft, who served as secretary of state before becoming governor in 1999, also said August elections are too expensive for the turnout they attract.
"For more than 100 years, amendments to the Ohio Constitution have been decided by a simple majority vote," Taft wrote. "The decision to change such a deeply embedded practice should not be made at a low turnout election."
Secretary of State Frank LaRose has countered similar claims, saying a high-profile statewide issue would attract record turnout for August.
Kasich, for his part, saw ballot initiatives work against his own interests in 2011 when voters overturned a law he championed to restrict collective bargaining. That involved the state's referendum process, which the Legislature's current proposal would not change.
Democrats who once held the governor's mansion echoed the same concerns as Kasich and Taft.
“To not take a deep breath and not think about what’s truly good for the state, not for the moment, is in my view a failure to honor the oath that one took in joining the Legislature," former Gov. Dick Celeste said, adding that it shouldn't be a partisan issue.
Former Gov. Ted Strickland said the effort is a "shameful attempt" to keep Ohio women from making decisions about their reproductive health at the ballot box.
“I guess I can understand why some politicians that have a gerrymandered hold on the state have would like to take away the direct voice of the people," Strickland said. "That would give them all power."
Columbus Dispatch reporter Peter Gill contributed.
Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.