September 07, 2005

Ohio election reform measures certified for ballot

Four proposed constitutional amendments to dramatically overhaul Ohio's election system were certified yesterday for the Nov. 8 ballot even as a court hearing looms tomorrow that could change that.

Secretary of State Ken Blackwell certified that Reform Ohio Now, a Democrat-leaning coalition of watchdog groups, garnered 353,094 valid signatures of registered voters statewide, 30,000 more than required. The petitions had also cleared the hurdle of getting enough signatures to equal 5 percent of those who voted in the 2002 gubernatorial election in at least 44 counties. The petitions cleared that hurdle in 72 counties, according to Mr. Blackwell.

The four ballot questions would ask voters to:

- Remove the process of redrawing congressional and state legislative districts after each U.S. Census out of the hands of elected officials and hand it to a new board on which no elected official could sit.

- Strip the secretary of state of his election oversight authority and give it to a new statewide elections panel.

- Allow voters to cast absentee ballots up to 35 days before an election without having to state a reason.

- Revamp campaign contribution limits."

The article is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at September 7, 2005 08:12 AM