Why a Special Election in August is Unnecessary and Costly to Prevent Abortion Expansion in Ohio

I am against killing babies and I am against empowering politicians to spend $30 million for a special election. Think of how many adoptions could be paid for with $30 million.

Ohio legislators are at it again, proposing costly solutions to a problem that could easily be solved with a much simpler approach. The issue at hand is the use of paid petition gatherers from outside advocacy organizations to put constitutional ballot initiatives on the ballot in off-election years. Specifically, the ballot initiative to expand abortion in Ohio. This has allowed non-Ohio well-funded left-wing organizations to change the Ohio Constitution with minimal voter turnout.

One of the proposed solutions is to raise the threshold for passage of a constitutional ballot initiative from a simple majority to 60% and to have a special election this August to head off abortion expansion at the pass. They need to do this in August, so if the baby-killing initiative is successful, it will need to garner more than 60% of the vote for passage.

The 60% solution is a costly and unnecessary solution that does not prevent outside organizations from using paid petition gatherers to put outside-of-Ohio-borne and financed ballot initiatives on the ballot.

In fact, it only guarantees that more money will be spent on advertising to ensure that their efforts will be successful. The result is that only the ultra-wealthy - like George Soros will be able to attempt to change the Ohio Constitution. Keep in mind this special August election will cost Ohio taxpayers at least $30 million. This is a classic case of overcomplicating a simple issue.

The Ohio legislature should instead pass legislation (rather than attempt to amend the Ohio Constitution) to prohibit petition gatherers from being paid. This is a much simpler and cost-effective solution that will immediately kill outside efforts to amend the Ohio Constitution to expand Abortion and save taxpayers millions of dollars. It is not necessary to amend the Ohio Constitution to achieve this goal, as it can be accomplished by amending the Ohio Revised Code.

Yes, a state can prohibit petition signers from being paid to collect signatures for ballot initiatives.

States have the authority to regulate the initiative and referendum process, which allows citizens to propose and enact laws or constitutional amendments through the gathering of signatures on petitions. Many states have established regulations on the collection of signatures, including requirements for petition circulators to register with the state, restrictions on who can circulate petitions, and limits on the compensation that circulators can receive.

Several states have prohibited paying petition circulators on the grounds that it could lead to fraud, misrepresentation, or other abuses of the process. In these states, it is typically illegal to pay signature gatherers on a per-signature basis, like in Ohio, but they may receive a flat fee or hourly wage for their work. Ohio, can however, prohibit any payment to petition gatherers.

In addition to prohibiting paid petition gatherers, Ohio legislators should during the regular general election this year consider amending the Ohio Constitution to only allow ballot initiatives to be placed on the ballot in even-numbered election years. This would ensure that ballot initiatives are voted on by a larger and more representative portion of Ohio voters, making it less likely that a ballot initiative that is not popular among Ohio residents will pass.

Another amendment that Ohio should consider is requiring a video signature for ballot initiatives. This would make the process more secure, less anonymous, and less costly. By requiring a video signature, those who sign for ballot initiatives will have a record of their advocacy for the issue. You want to support baby-killing? Fine, to do so you will lose your anonymity and there will be a video for the world to see.

It is time for Ohio legislators to stop wasting taxpayer money on unnecessary solutions and focus on simpler and more cost-effective solutions to the issue of outside advocacy organizations using paid petition gatherers to influence the Ohio Constitution. It is clear that prohibiting paid petition gatherers and amending the Ohio Constitution to limit ballot initiatives to even-numbered election years are two such solutions that should be pursued and would not cost the Ohio Taxpayer $30 million.