What the editorial board advocated in the June 18 editorial was direct democracy or “mob rule” for the supreme law in Ohio, our state constitution. A 111-year history in Ohio of a simple majority threshold for a direct constitutional amendment is not a persuasive reason for the status quo. Ohio is one of less than a 1/3rd of states (16) that currently have the option for citizen-initiated direct state constitutional amendments, and 3 of those 16 states already require some version of a 60% threshold to pass. It is meaningful that our US Constitution can’t be amended except by a call from 2/3rds of Congress or a call from 2/3rds of state legislatures to propose an amendment, and then 3/4ths of States must ratify any proposed amendment. This is rightfully a very high bar to meet which assures a broad consensus in any constitutional amendments that pass. The editorial board suggests that the very high number of federal Constitutional amendments that fail is problematic, but our Founders designed our system that way for a good reason. A constitution is a brief document of guiding principles and should not be used for enshrining hot-button issues of the moment into detailed constitutional provisions; it’s the job of our elected legislators to craft laws that guide our daily lives. If our schools still taught civics, more people would understand that we are NOT a democracy, we are a representative republic! Pure or direct democracy is a “mobocracy” that never ends well and leads to tyranny. Ancient philosophers Plato and Socrates understood this and wrote about the danger of the masses proclaiming democracy as an unambiguous good. Our State of Ohio constitution deserves the same guardrail protections from ill-advised mobs as our US Constitution. Vote YES for a 60% threshold on Issue 1.
- Bill Scott, Dayton
Last month I attended a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of the Greater Dayton Area. The participants, Bob Taft (R), our former governor, and Mike Curtin (D), a former state representative, have joined many others in opposing Issue 1, the focus of a special election scheduled for August 8. Our right to amend the Ohio Constitution with signatures collected from 44 counties and 50%+1 of those voting in favor has existed since 1912. Both men stressed that under the procedures already in place, it is quite difficult to amend the Ohio Constitution. Of 71 citizen-led initiatives since 1912, only 19 were adopted. A serious concern that Taft and Curtin both expressed was asking voters to change the Ohio Constitution at an August election. Curtin said, “You don’t rush the most fundamental change to the Ohio Constitution in 111 years to a special August election designed for minimal voter turnout.” And Taft said, “I would describe this as perhaps the state leaders trying to game the system for whatever reasons they want to.” So please vote NO on August 8, and please encourage your family, friends, and neighbors to do the same.
- Jean Tarr, Centerville