To the Editor:

Why change the rules of democracy to make it even harder for citizens to exercise their constitutional right to bring important issues to a vote? The current process already makes it difficult for voters to amend the Constitution.

Since 1912, the Ohio Constitution has reserved certain citizen-led powers to the people in the form of the initiative and the referendum. The only meaningful direct democracy power that Ohio citizens have is to submit and vote on constitutional amendments.

During the past 111 years, 71 proposed citizen-initiated constitutional amendments have appeared on the ballot, with 19 passing. This 27% passing average can be contrasted with the 69% passing average of amendments proposed by the General Assembly, where voters approved 108 of the 156 amendments proposed by the legislature.

We have more than a century of history protecting the citizens’ right to provide a check on power when it comes to deciding which issues are important. I urge voters not to be tricked by confusing ballot language or partisan ads claiming the need to protect our constitution from irrelevant issues.

This special election is not about any one issue as much as it is about the Ohio legislature and its special interest groups consolidating power for themselves. Issue 1 was poorly constructed and pushed forward during a low turnout and extremely costly special election.

VOTE NO on Aug. 8 to protect 111 years of Ohio voter power and the right of citizens to decide what issues matter to Ohioans.

Erin Salva

Mount Vernon