The
Kent Stater
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF KENT STATE UNIVERSITY
election 2015
Ohio voters approve redistricting issue Karl Schneider Copy Editor
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@kentwired KentWired.com
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2015
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UP IN SMOKE:
Ohio voters reject pot
With more than 90 percent of precincts reporting, Ohio voters overwhelmingly approved Issue 1, which will create a bipartisan, public process for drawing legislative districts. Seventy-one percent of voters approved the issue, and 29 percent voted no. “Ohio voters spoke loud and clear that they want a redistricting process that is fair and transparent and ensures every Ohioan has their voice heard at the Statehouse,” said Fair Districts for Ohio co-chair Vernon Sykes. According to the ballot language, Issue one would allow a bipartisan approach to redrawing the district maps in 2021. The 99 House and 33 Senate districts are redrawn every 10 years after the decennial census. Issue 1 marks the fourth attempt that Ohio citizens have tried amending the current redistricting process. The current process lets a five-member board select the district maps. The current members of the board are the governor, state auditor, secretary of state and two other members hand-picked by the legislative leaders of the two major political parties. The new amendment would allow for a seven-member board to redraw the district maps. Along with the governor, state auditor and secretary of state, Issue 1 allows for four more members selected by the majority and minority leaders of the General Assembly, according to the ballot language. A bipartisan, majority vote of four members will be required to finalize any final plans for the districts. The citizen-born Issue 1 will “ensure a transparent process by requiring public meetings, public display of maps and a public letter explaining any plan,” according to the ballot. “This issue is proof that when you work together in a bipartisan manner, you can accomplish great things,” said Fair Districts for Ohio co-chair Matt Huffman. “I’m thankful for the support of so many groups on this campaign, and to the voters of this state for this overwhelming victory.”
Clint Datchuk / The Kent Stater Voters cast their ballots at Franklin Elementary School in Kent, Ohio, on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015.
kschne21@kent.edu
Portage County election results delayed due to server issues Emily Mills Managing Editor Portage County's election results were delayed Tuesday night due to a server malfunction, according to the Portage County Board of Elections website. "We are working closely with our vendor and the Secretary of State’s office to rectify this situation," the website said. "We will post results as soon as they are available." Follow @KentWired on Twitter for updates. emills11@kent.edu
Eslah Attar / The Kent Stater Election officials wait in line to turn in ballots at the Portage County Board of Elections on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015.
Kassi Jackson / The Kent Stater Poll workers arrive at the Portage County Board of Elections office in Ravenna on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015, after the polls closed. The poll workers organized the ballots before bringing them to the elections office.
Richard Mulhall City Reporter The push to legalize recreational and medicinal marijuana, and the fight to prevent legalization, has been a tug-ofwar controversy that finally came to a head Tuesday when Ohio voters approved Issue 2 and rejected Issue 3. State Issue 3, which would have granted a monopoly for the commercial production and sale of marijuana for recreational and medicinal purposes, failed, with only 35.65 percent of voters approving the issue with more than 90 percent of precincts reporting. Issue 3 would have allowed adults 21 years and older to purchase, possess or transport and share up to one ounce of marijuana for medicinal or
recreational use. It would also allow a person with a license to grow, use and share up to eight ounces of homegrown marijuana, including up to four flowering plants at a time. It also would have created a network of 10 authorized growing facilities, called Marijuana Growth, Cultivation and Extraction facilities, operating independently of one another to prevent collusion. However, the issue would have given exclusive rights for commercial marijuana growth, cultivation and extraction to the self-designated owners of these 10 parcels of land statewide, leading many to say it would create a monopoly on the marijuana industry in Ohio. Because Issue 3 failed and Issue 2 passed, the effort to legalize marijuana in Ohio is
Sam Karam / The Kent Stater Voters fill the poll booths at the Kent State Student Recreation and Wellness Center on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015.
now dead. The passage of Issue 3 allows the Ohio Ballot Board to regulate further ballot initiatives and measures involving monopolies. Issue 2, the anti-monopoly amendment that protects the initiative process from being used for personal economic benefit, was narrowly passing with 51.89 percent of the vote with more than 90 percent of precincts reporting. Also known as the Ohio Initiated Monopolies Amendment, Issue 2, is a constitutional amendment proposed by the Ohio General Assembly that will ban special interest groups from amending the Ohio Constitution to create monopolies, oligopolies and cartels. The amendment, which was created by lawmakers in response to Issue 3, will ban
petitioners from using the Ohio Constitution to grant a commercial license for their own personal, financial benefit, according to Ballotpedia. Issue 2 was drafted to combat Issue 3 because Issue 3 would commercially monopolize the industry for at least four years (potentially longer if the Marijuana Control Commission doesn’t approve additional growers sooner rather than later). Issue 2, on the other hand, prohibits such monopolies and cartels from being made. It will also prevent any proposed constitutional amendments that create a monopoly, oligopoly or cartel intended for the sale and distribution of specified controlled substances. rmulhal1@kent.edu
Ohio voters reject legal pot, OK redistricting measure Julie Carr Smyth Associated Press Ohio voters rejected a first-of-itskind proposal Tuesday that would have legalized both medical and recreational marijuana, following an expensive campaign, a legal fight over its ballot wording and an investigation into the proposal's petition signatures. At the same time, voters approved a legislative redistricting overhaul that had been a priority of both political parties. Issue 1 revises the system for drawing Ohio's 33 state Senate and 99 state House districts. By giving the minority party a larger say, the proposal is intended to reduce gerrymandering of district boundaries for partisan purposes. The constitutional amendment
known as Issue 3 was targeted by a separate ballot issue Tuesday's Issue 2 that took aim at its network of 10 exclusive growing sites controlled by the campaign's deep-pocketed private investors. That issue banning monopolies from Ohio's constitution was leading with 53 percent of the statewide vote with about half of precincts reporting. The marijuana question, Issue 3, would have allowed adults 21 and older to grow, possess and use pot recreationally and made cannabis available for medical uses in the same vote, a unique approach nationally. Some who voted "no" didn't like that a small group of investors would have exclusive rights to grow pot commercially. "I can't believe I voted no when it was finally on the ballot," said Marty Dvorchak, 62, of the northern Cincin-
nati suburb of Fairfield. "I think it's ridiculous that marijuana is illegal." University of Cincinnati student Natalie McClorey, 22, said she also didn't like the exclusive arrangement but voted yes because it's progress. She said she thought most students would vote the same if they vote. In a last-minute legal scuffle, a judge ordered polls in Cincinnati and surrounding Hamilton County to remain open for an extra 90 minutes leading to a delay in reported results statewide. A few precincts in southwest Ohio's Hamilton County reported problems getting voters their ballots because of poll workers' unfamiliarity with a new electronic check-in system being used for the first time. The marijuana legalization campaign, ResponsibleOhio, sought the extension citing
those problems. Cheryl Davis, 46, who voted in Cleveland, said she uses marijuana to help alleviate chronic pain in her back and voted in favor of legalization. Marijuana "helps me be comfortable in my daily living," she said. State lawmakers mounted the separate anti-monopoly initiative, Issue 2, in an effort to target the marijuana proposal's network of exclusive growing sites and undercut legalization. It would prohibit monopolies, oligopolies and cartels that deliver economic gain to individuals from being inserted into Ohio's constitution. Beth Zielenski, 40, a West Chester mother of one, said she voted "no"
because a lot of things need to be worked out on marijuana regulation, particularly with edible pot products, before it's legalized.