One person, one vote

Well, the semi-legal August vote had exactly one state wide issue on the ballot, and according to Akron's rag, Issue 1 went down. But no, it didn't. Yes, it did not pass, but it so succeeded with a million, seven hundred thousand and counting votes to a million five.

This initiative was entirely GOP sponsored. To start, Ohio's GOP controlled state legislature had decided August elections were too expensive and to end them. Yes, a good idea, until a "bad" citizen sponsored ballot item began gaining traction. It was speedily resurrected in hope of putting a greater obstacle in front of those who opposed  the GOP agenda. 

The GOP agenda: to support the Supreme Court's decision to end Roev.Rade, a woman's right to an abortion. The problem: a citizen initiative gained enough signatures (and then some) to make a new Ohio law, replacing that right. (An answer to the dare SCOTUS threw down!) The GOP solution: to change our constitutional right how a new law is put to a vote. Currently our constitution says citizens can initiate a new law by asking by majority, can it be placed for a vote at the next election.

The GOP was asking for a super majority. 60% of the voters had to request the initiative go to the ballot. So, not one person, one vote. 1.1 persons, one vote. That harks back to some evil days. Right here in the present, it says one woman needs to find another to make her vote count. The same applies to any man who supports her position. 

The majority GOP suddenly realized the first best way to thwart the citizen initiative  currently meeting all requirements for the November ballot was to make it more difficult to reach the ballot. A retrospective attempt, but who's counting legality? They threw the super majority on to a resurrected August vote. It will cost the State twenty million. Then it will cost each county an additional amount. Cuyahoga County has appropriated $3.2 million. And so forth and so on.

Those in favor of putting a super majority in place say it will prevent monied "Out of State interests, plus the ACLU, et.al" from hijacking our constitution. These are the sort of ideas that are thrown out to people afraid what they have will change. In my opinion, the way to change that is to organize, get out and vote for what you want. Don't simply make it more difficult for the opposition to make change.

One counter argument I heard made me laugh, quietly. It was that the majority of our counties are rural and it's more difficult to get out and vote. I pointed out that when they wanted Bush, they got out and voted. And then when they wanted O'Bama gone, they got out and voted for Trump. Twice. 

A supermajority makes no sense. As I learned in eighth grade civics, you change your constitution by amendment.

Ohio is the only state with an "abortion" issue potentially going to the ballot. We see the GOP is afraid of the outcome. Why? It's a woman who is pregnant. It is her decision to the course of the pregnancy, not the decision of the state! 

From The Farmer's Almanac for 2023. I wonder if it correlates?