Vote NO on Issue 1.
If you haven’t recognized the pattern yet, the political left says one thing even as they do exactly the opposite. Issue 1 is no exception. They “say” Issue 1 ends gerrymandering when it enshrines gerrymandering into the Ohio Constitution in a way that overwhelmingly benefits them. If this passes, Democrats will control the legislative lines in Ohio. As a result, they will produce district maps that will give them control of the Ohio House and the Ohio Senate.
Issue 1 is not a grassroots Ohio initiative. Cleveland.com reported on July 31, 2024 that the group backing Issue 1 “raised $23 million from January through June; 85 percent coming from out-of-state contributors.” Out-of-state (and foreign) entities want to change Ohio’s constitution again! Tell them to go pound sand by voting NO on Issue 1! Visit https://www.ohioworksinc.com/ to get a breakdown on funding.
Issue 1 creates a commission of unaccountable bureaucrats who are chosen by four retired judges, an unknown private hiring firm, and the commission members themselves. Once appointed, Ohio voters cannot remove any commission member even if they commit a felony. The voters have no say over this commission or its members!
Issue 1 grants these unelected commission members virtually unlimited power to spend Ohio tax dollars. Unbelievably, commission members will set their own salaries. They could also force Ohio taxpayers to cover as many expensive lawyers as they need. Under Issue 1, Ohioans would be footing the bill for commission members they didn’t choose.
In the last decade, Ohio voters have overwhelmingly approved anti-gerrymandering legislation at the ballot box. The maps produced since that legislation passed have withstood leftist lawsuits and been deemed constitutional all the way to the Supreme Court. As of now, if you don’t like your district, you can vote those who drew it out of office. Under this proposed amendment, Ohio voters would have no control over the people drawing their legislative lines. This is not the American way!
Issue 1 is so bad, that it has even come to the attention of the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, who posted the following on Truth Social:
“Ohio Democrats and left-wing special interest groups are spending more than $26 million to rig Elections through the Issue 1 redistricting scam. Issue 1 would guarantee that unqualified redistricting commissioners are not accountable to Ohio voters, and would be impossible to remove them it they abuse their power – Issue 1 will cost Ohio taxpayers millions of dollars, and would force the State to pay redistricting commission lawyers unlimited legal expenses, with no accountability. Ohio voters need to stop this Democrat takeover of legislative redistricting. Vote No on Issue 1. Stop the Steal!”
These are my personal views, the expression of which are protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution, regardless of how hard others may try to silence me by claiming I have no right to publicly express them.
Vote No on Issue 1!
Dan Cecil,
Sidney
