Letter to the Editor: Let Voters Decide Fate of HB194

Dear Editor:

At the 11.5 hour (Friday afternoon, March 16), the Ohio Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee suddenly added to its schedule for Wednesday, March 21, a bill, SB295, to legislatively repeal HB194, the vote suppressing but euphemistically termed “voter enhancement bill.” After quick passage last year, the bill won the right of voter referendum with the gathering of over 330,000 voters’ signatures, which effectively froze HB194’s enactment, and was to allow voters to vote on it next November.

Their actions to repeal the law before November’s ballot would not only set an outrageous precedent for Ohioans, obliterating the sacred and constitutional right (Ohio Constitution, Article 2) for the voters’ voice on matters where legislators similarly speed through and/or ignore others’ input before passage. This last-resort, hugely effort-filled citizen action of referendum petitioning has necessarily become frequently used in Ohio during the last year, .

Also those same legislators, after they do their own repeal, especially without facing voters’ voices and heightened public awareness, once again gain free reign to enact laws similar to the ones due for the ballot, or worse ones — making the huge effort of circulating referendum petitions unendingly futile.

Even worse regarding SB295, it has become known that the senate GOP already has on tap “substitute election bills” and/or amendments, ready to be voted on after repeal, as early as Wednesday or slightly later, but again with little to no voter input. The substitute bills, as of 3:30 p.m. on Friday, were not released or known by Sen Coley's legislative assistant (David Reedy) nor by Sen Shirley Smith. Yet the Committee on Government Oversight and Reform’s agenda says that all testimony, amendments, and a vote could occur today.

Though the Secretary of State claims such legislative repeal of HB194 would reduce costs (of putting HB194 on the ballot as slated) and “voter confusion,” it’s a clear avoidance of another SB5 election humiliation. But more, it’s an outright violation of Ohio citizen's rights to ask for a referendum. Such action can only discourage any future campaigns on other issues because the ruling majority could simply repeal the referendum issue before the election. Also, the regular kind of law making practice in Ohio’s capitol represented here — in great haste, confusion, allowing almost no debate, and in great rush and secrecy — is certainly a terrible way to make law, especially election law.

I hope all media will give this immediate investigation and wide publicity; and that all citizens of Ohio will let your voices be heard by your Ohio senators and representatives.

Adele Eisner