Buckeye Reporter

Ohio State Senate Majority Leader Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) recently cautioned Ohioans that the flurry of outside spending on ballot initiatives in California is not unique to that state. McColley argues that without the protections in Issue 1, Ohio's Constitution could continue to be a target for expensive amendment campaigns from out of state interests.

“California is not unique, as Ohio has had its share of greedy out of state interests seek to permanently inscribe their own sweetheart deal into our constitution," the senator said. "From the casino amendment in 2009 to the failed recreational marijuana amendment in 2015, wealthy out of state business interests have showed there is no limit to their greed and that they would spend whatever amount necessary to clear Ohio’s uncommonly low threshold for constitutional amendments.”

In 2022 alone, special interest groups spent more than $800 million supporting or opposing ballot initiatives in the state of California, according to OpensSecrets.org. Only three initiatives of the nine proposed passed and two failed to qualify for placement on the ballot.                   

A November 2022 news release from Ohio's Secretary of State Frank LaRose stated that of the prior three petition-based constitutional amendment campaigns, "special interests have spent more than $50 million on media advertising, political consultants, and more to support their passage, failing on two of them."   

"Because of the ease of amending Ohio’s founding document, the Ohio Constitution has become a tool used by special interests to permanently change our form of government to their liking," Secretary of State LaRose told the Buckeye Reporter earlier this year.   

 In a statement to the Lima Reporter, State Rep. Tim Barhorst (R-Fort Loramie) of Ohio's 85th District said that Ohio's Constitution "is the most unprotected and most vulnerable of all the 50 state constitutions in our great country. The Ohio Constitution must be protected from out of state interest groups that spend millions of dollars to destroy our values."                   

According to the Buckeye Reporter, "a roster of left-leaning advocacy groups" have come out against Issue 1. These groups include Black Lives Matter Cleveland, Black Lives Matter Dayton, Pro-Choice Ohio, Black Out and Proud, the Cleveland Bi+ Network, Columbus New Liberals, Democrat Socialists of America-Cleveland, Ensuring Parole for Incarcerated Citizens, New Voices for Reproductive Justice and the Ohio Federation of Teachers. This month, the Ohio Communist Party and Ohio Citizen action both enlisted drag queens to help support the Vote No campaign.                 

The changes made in Issue 1 are "designed to help protect the Ohio Constitution from continued abuse by special interests and out-of-state activists," so that it can serve as a framework for the state's government as they assert it was intended to be,  according to the Ohio Secretary of State's office.