Legislators should not choose their voters. Voters should choose their representatives. A Secretary of State should not actively work to suppress the voter’s voice.
At the height of the last presidential campaign, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose commented on the election in a guest column in the Dayton Daily News: “Many things are different in 2020, but one thing will never change: Your vote counts.”
Since then, LaRose has fought hard to ensure that her voice does not count as much as it should.
Ohio’s top elections official is a key figure in a concerted and sustained effort by Republicans to confuse Ohioans and weaken the influence of their votes.
His latest heinous plan—a transparent scheme to undermine the Citizens Not Politicians anti-gerrymandering and redistricting amendment—is perhaps the most shameful.
As chairman of the once-nonpartisan Ohio Ballot Board, LaRose helped draft ballot language that falsely claimed that the “Citizens, Not Politicians” amendment would encourage rather than curb gerrymandering and give voters less control over district drawing, among other false statements.
Jim Renacci: Citizens, not politicians, a fraud. Faulty amendment must be rejected
It’s a bleak picture regarding Question 1, the constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot in November.
In a 3-2 vote along party lines, the Republican-led Elections Committee is seeking to present a distorted version of the Citizens, Not Politicians plan to replace politicians with a 15-member Citizens’ Commission that is consistently incapable of drawing fair congressional and state legislature districts.
It is one thing to make political statements against Issue 1, as Governor Mike DeWine has done, while simultaneously proposing other ideas.
But this wording shows how afraid Republicans are of losing their most important trick for manipulating political support and maintaining power.
The language of the ballot paper is intentionally misleading
The proposed new commission would be comprised of Democrats, Republicans and independents representing the state’s diverse geographic areas and populations. Current and former politicians, party officials and lobbyists would be excluded from the commission.
The election committee’s language represents a betrayal of Ohio voters, who should expect honesty from its secretary of state and his two Republican colleagues on the committee, Senator Theresa Gavarone of Bowling Green and retired Ohio Bankers League lobbyist William Morgan.
The misleading wording on the certified ballots contradicts previous rulings by the Ohio Supreme Court.
In the 1981 case Bailey v. Celebrezze, the state Supreme Court ruled that the language on the ballot “must fairly and accurately present the question or issue to be decided in order to ensure a free, intelligent and informed vote by the average citizen.”
Poor election language is part of a vicious circle
LaRose’s antics are sad but not surprising. Such undemocratic tactics are part of the former Eagle Scout’s modus operandi.
Although LaRose had long touted the security of Ohio’s elections – in 2020, fraud was found in just 0.0005% of the 5.9 million votes cast – he supported a bill that would give Ohio one of the strictest voter ID laws in the country in 2023.
Mike Curtin: Frank LaRose has abandoned his commitment to impartiality. The election board’s decision is proof of that.
That same year, LaRose and other members of the Elections Board drafted inaccurate and misleading language for both the state’s reproductive rights amendment and a law that would have required a qualified majority for voter-initiated constitutional amendments.
Voters in Ohio are underestimated
The organization “Citizens Not Politicians” has filed a lawsuit against the wording of the vote to change the redistricting of the electoral districts.
Among other things, the language on the ballot misleads voters about the amendment’s impact on the unfortunately toothless anti-gerrymandering language that voters approved in 2015 and 2018. Issue 1 would replace those amendments because Republicans completely ignored their requirements – as ruled by the Ohio Supreme Court – and forced proponents to develop a new approach.
In our view, the justices of the Ohio Supreme Court have no choice but to reject this language and protect their own credibility.
More: Issue 1 supporters sue Ohio Ballot Board over wording of redistricting
Voters saw through LaRose’s fraud in 2023 by approving the abortion amendment and rejecting the Orwellian changes to the voter-initiated constitutional amendments.
They will no doubt see through LaRose’s latest plan to suppress the will of the people so that Ohio lawmakers can continue to decide on voting districts.
Legislators should not choose their voters. Voters should choose their representatives. A Secretary of State should not actively work to suppress the voter’s voice.
These are not partisan statements.
The votes of Ohioans should count.
This editorial was written by Dispatch Opinion and Community Engagement Editor Amelia Robinson on behalf of The Columbus Dispatch editorial staff.. Editorials are fact-based assessments of important issues in the communities we serve. They do not reflect the opinions of our reporters, who strive to be neutral in their reporting.
