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It's not often that statewide politics in Ohio take such a prominent position during an off-year election, but that's where we find ourselves as we near the middle of July.
In most cases at this point in the election cycle, there really aren't a lot of candidates to talk about or issues to debate. Yes, there sometimes is talk about an upcoming congressional race or the occasional discussion about who might decide to run for village mayor or a seat in the U.S. Senate, but, by and large, it's traditionally a time of quiet on the political front, with the unofficial start of the local campaign season coming sometime around the Jefferson County Fair, which will open Aug. 14 at Friendship Park in Smithfield.
That's not the case this year, though.
For weeks now, discussion has been heating up about Issue 1, which will appear on the ballot in the Aug. 8 special election. It will be the only item voters see when they cast their votes.
The issue seeks to change the way resident-driven changes to the state constitution can make it onto the ballot. If the issue passes, it would bring about a major change to that process, mainly by requiring petitions with signatures from all 88 counties and, more important, raising the threshold for passage from the current 50 percent plus one to 60 percent.
How the vote goes in August could likely have an effect on a proposed amendment that would make abortion rights a part of the state's constitution. Backers of that proposed change on July 5 delivered more than 700,000 petition signatures to the office of Secretary of State Frank LaRose. That's close to double the 413,446 valid signatures needed to gain a spot on the ballot.
That supporters of the proposed amendment were able to gather that many signatures is impressive, whatever side of the issue you fall on. Generally, it is expected that those who gather the petitions need to collect about twice the number of signatures that are needed.
That should, experts say, allow a big enough margin for error that should still produce the number of signatures needed after the validation process is complete.
LaRose and the election boards in each county are in the process of making those determinations.
That means officials will be going through a lot of signatures while working toward the Thursday deadline. Just consider our region: For the abortion issue, LaRose's office reports, 352 signatures were submitted from Jefferson County and 136 signatures were submitted from Harrison County. Belmont County saw 266 signatures submitted. The number in Carroll County was 1,216 and the number in Columbiana County was 4,088.
There are, it turns out, a lot of reasons why a signature would be invalid. The biggest mistake, Rob Nichols, a spokesperson for LaRose, told Jeremy Pelzer of cleveland.com in March, is that the person who signed the petition is not a registered voter.
Other reasons can include using an address that does not match the one that is part of the signer's voter registration and not residing in the county where the signature was collected.
Lost in all of the discussion about statewide issues for the November ballot was the status of a measure that would change state law -- and not the constitution -- and relax restrictions on marijuana. It would allow an Ohioan 21 and older to purchase and possess 2.5 ounces of marijuana and 15 grams of concentrates. It also would allow an individual to grow six plants, with a household limit of 12.
Since it's a change in the Ohio Revised Code and not the constitution, supporters had to meet a lower threshold to get the proposal on the November ballot. They only need 124,046 valid signatures from 44 counties, and they submitted 222,198 signatures. And, since it is not seeking a change in the constitution, it would pass with a simple majority if it makes it to November.
It's a number that includes 52 signatures from Jefferson County, 44 from Harrison County, 17 from Belmont County, 336 from Carroll County and 1,291 from Columbiana County, LaRose's office said.
What remains to be determined, then, is whether or not the abortion issue will make it to the ballot -- and, based on the number of signatures that were turned in on July 5, that appears to be a safe bet -- just how many votes will be needed for it to pass -- that's something we can't know for sure until Aug. 8 -- and if Ohioans will get the chance to vote on a change in the state's marijuana laws in November.
All of this is working to turn what would normally be a routine election season into one that will gather increasing amounts of interest from voters across the state -- and observers from around he country.
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No matter where they stand on the issues, our readers like to make their views heard by writing letters to the editor. Here's a reminder: The deadline to submit a letter to the editor about the Aug. 8 election will be July 27. And, if you are really looking ahead, the deadline for letters about the candidates and issues for the Nov. 7 election will be Oct. 26.
Newspapers remain a great forum for the exchange of ideas -- submissions from all sides of every issue are welcome, and we look forward to sharing them with you.
(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is executive editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times.)
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