TOLEDO – Early voting began this week in the state of Ohio, and as the Toledo Free Press has previously reported, there are a number of high-profile races on the ballot this year: from governor to U.S. Senate. But in addition to candidates, voters can also expect to see a few issues on their ballot as well.
Issue 3
Statewide, voters are deciding whether or not to enshrine Ohio’s existing requirement of photo ID to vote in the state constitution. Issue 3 would define approved forms of photo ID as:
• an unexpired Ohio driver’s license or state identification card;
• a United States passport or passport card;
• or a United States military identification card, Ohio National Guard identification card, or United States Department of Veterans Affairs identification card.
Provided state law already requires voters to show identification before casting a ballot, this constitutional amendment, put on the ballot by Republicans in the Ohio Statehouse, has been criticized for its duplication and viewed as unnecessary.
Its supporters in the General Assembly (a group that includes only Republican lawmakers) have argued that a constitutional amendment would make it more difficult for future legislative assemblies to change the law. However, if a proposal to do just that clears the state legislature anytime soon, it will only be because a coalition of lawmakers — which would have to include every Democrat and many Republicans, or Republicans alone — voted to advance it.
Democrats in state government have no ability to pass legislation without the support of Republicans, due to the GOP having a supermajority in both chambers. In other words, eliminating voter ID is not something a party in the superminority could do on its own. (To be clear, eliminating Ohio’s voter ID requirement is not something for which Democrats have expressed support.) Issue 3 has been endorsed by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, as well as her opponent, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy.
Here’s a rundown of ballot issues exclusive to Toledo/Lucas County.
Issue 8 | Toledo Lucas County Public Library
The Toledo Lucas County Public Library is asking voters to approve a five-year, three-mills operational levy, which would cost taxpayers $105 for every $100,000 of their property’s county-estimated value. It’s estimated that the levy, if passed, would raise $34 million annually. TLCPL Executive Director Jason Kucsma told the TFP that Issue 8 would close the gap created by state funding cuts and allow the library to bring back hours it was forced to eliminate. A more in-depth look at Issue 8 can be found here.
Issue 9 | Toledo Public Schools
Toledo Public Schools is putting before voters an ask of new funding “for the purpose of current expenses.” This five-year, 6.9 mills levy would cost taxpayers $242 for every $100,000 of their property’s county-estimated value. State cuts to public school funding, along with fewer students being enrolled, have resulted in increased financial pressure on TPS — a story playing out in school districts large and small throughout the state of Ohio.
Issue 13 | Imagination Station
The Imagination Station is seeking a renewal of its existing 0.17 mill levy for a period of five years. The cost to taxpayers is $3 per $100,000 of county-evaluated property value. Issue 13 would collect an estimated $1.3 million annually for the downtown Toledo science center.
Issue 16 | City of Toledo’s Proposed 0.25% Income Tax
For residents of the City of Toledo, there are a few things they, exclusively, will see on their ballot.
To begin, Issue 16, which is being billed as a new source of funding for “neighborhood safety expenditures,” including the city’s police and fire departments, as well as “criminal gang disruption” (a term Issue 16’s ballot language leaves to the imagination).
Issues 17, 18, & 19 | Proposed Amendments to the City of Toledo Charter
Issue 17, if passed, would amend the City of Toledo charter in the following ways:
• Expand the definition of a city “employee,” which currently reads as “one who serves the City in the classified civil service,” to also include “members of the unclassified service.”
• Increase the power delegated to city council members over personnel decisions. Currently, the charter allows members to choose a clerk and “such other officers as are necessary.” This proposed amendment would allow members to also determine “the conditions of employment for its officers and employees, including matters such as hiring, discipline, and termination.”
• Change the classification of council officers and employees as members of the “classified civil service” to the “unclassified service.”
Context | Who the “unclassified service” currently includes:
(a) Officers elected by the people.
(b) The City Auditor and the secretary and the auditing assistants to the City Auditor.
(c) Directors of departments, Commissioners, and other heads of divisions.
(d) Members of boards or commissions, and the chief administrative officers thereof.
(e) The Mayor’s Executive Assistant, secretary, and assistants.
(f) One (1) secretary for each department, board or commission.
(g) The legal assistants to the Director of Law.
(h) The Clerk of the Council and one (1) secretary to the Clerk of Council.
— Toledo City Charter, Chapter I, Section 171
Issue 18, if passed, would amend Toledo’s charter in these ways:
• Remove the requirement that candidates who’ve filed a nominating petition for a primary election provide written acceptance of their party’s nomination with election authorities.
• Require any potential write-in candidate to declare their intent to run on state-prescribed forms.
• Increase the number of allowable days, from which an election must be held on a ballot initiative or referendum, from 75 to 90.
• Require that petitions to initiate a city ordinance, hold a referendum on an existing ordinance or council resolution, or amend the city charter, be filed “consistent with forms prescribed by the state.”
Issue 19, if passed, would amend the city charter to require that city council members approve proposed charter amendments in the form of an ordinance, rather than a resolution. It would also rewrite the city’s current charter amendment process, laid out here, and replace it with language proposed by city council in this ordinance, #305-26.
(a) How an amendment is proposed. An amendment to this Charter may be proposed in either of two ways:
(1) Through an ordinance approved by a two-thirds vote of all the members of the Council, providing for the submission of the proposed amendment to the electors; or
(2) By a petition setting forth the full text of the proposed amendment, signed by not less than ten percent of the electors of the City, and filed with the Clerk of the Council.
(b) Duty of the Council upon a sufficient petition. The Clerk shall determine the sufficiency of a petition as provided in this Charter and shall certify that determination to the Council. Upon certification that a petition is sufficient, the Council shall forthwith pass an ordinance providing for the submission of the proposed amendment to the electors.
(c) Election. The ordinance shall provide that the proposed amendment be submitted to the electors at the next regular municipal election occurring not less than sixty nor more than one hundred twenty days after passage of the ordinance. If no regular municipal election will occur within that period, the ordinance shall provide for a special election to be held within that period.
(d) Notice to the election authorities. Upon passage of an ordinance submitting a proposed amendment, the Clerk shall notify the election authorities of its passage and shall request that they provide for the election.
(e) Notice to the People. Notice of the proposed amendment shall be made in the manner provided by Article XVIII, Section 9 of the Ohio Constitution, including newspaper advertising as authorized by the laws of the State of Ohio.
(f) Effect of approval. If a majority of the electors voting on a proposed amendment approve it, the amendment becomes a part of this Charter.
(g) Certification to the Secretary of State. Within thirty days after the adoption of an amendment, the Clerk shall certify a copy of the amendment to the Ohio Secretary of State.
— Toledo City Council Ordinance 305-26
