To the Editor:

Just say no!

Issue 1 on the Aug. 8 Special Election ballot is a costly attempt by Ohio legislators to slip one by Ohio voters.

Issue 1 seeks to limit the right of ordinary citizens to initiate and pass constitutional amendments that would be favored by a majority of Ohioans by imposing a 60% requirement for passage. And that is assuming future citizen-initiated issues could even make it to the ballot since Issue 1 would also make that process significantly more difficult than it has been for more than 100 years.

Astonishingly, the legislature last year banned August special elections to prevent special interests from stealthily passing ballot issues when voters weren’t paying attention. Yet they have made an exception for themselves, ordering a special election this August to thwart any citizen-initiated Constitutional amendments in the future.

And here is the greatest irony of all: Issue 1, proposed by a handful of power-hungry legislators, requires only a 50%-plus-one majority to pass instead of the 60% majority it seeks to impose on future citizen-proposed amendments.

Don’t let Ohio’s legislators consolidate their power at the expense of our cherished “one man, one vote” tradition. Show up at the polls on Aug. 8, and just say no to Issue 1.

Sam Barone

Mount Vernon