Issue 1
To create an appointed redistricting commission not elected by or subject to removal by the voters of the state Proposed Constitutional Amendment Proposed by Initiative Petition To repeal Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of Article XI, Repeal sections 1, 2 and 3 of Article XIX, And enact Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of Article XX of the Constitution of the State of Ohio
A majority affirmative vote is necessary for passage.
The proposed amendment would: 1. Repeal constitutional protections against gerrymandering approved by nearly three-quarters of Ohio electors participating in the statewide elections of 2015 and 2018, and eliminate the longstanding ability of Ohio citizens to hold their representatives accountable for establishing fair state legislative and congressional districts. 2. Establish a new taxpayer-funded commission of appointees required to gerrymander the boundaries of state legislative and congressional districts to favor either of the two largest political parties in the state of Ohio, according to a formula based on partisan outcomes as the dominant factor, so that: A. Each district shall contain single-member districts that are geographically contiguous, but state legislative and congressional districts will no longer be required to be compact; and B. Counties, townships and cities throughout Ohio can be split and divided across multiple districts, and preserving communities of interest will be secondary to the formula that is based on partisan political outcomes. 3. Require that a majority of the partisan commission members belong to the state’s two largest political parties. 4. Prevent a commission member from being removed, except by a vote of their fellow commission members, even for incapacity, willful neglect of duty or gross misconduct. 5. Prohibit any citizen from filing a lawsuit challenging a redistricting plan in any court, except if the lawsuit challenges the proportionality standard applied by the commission, requirements pertaining to an incumbent election official’s residence, or the expiration of certain senators’ terms, and then only before the Ohio Supreme Court. 6. Create the following process for appointing commission members: Four partisan appointees on the Ohio Ballot Board will choose a panel of 4 partisan retired judges (2 affiliated with the first major political party and 2 affiliated with the second major political party). Provide that the 4 legislative appointees of the Ohio Ballot Board would be responsible for appointing the panel members as follows: the Ballot Board legislative appointees affiliated with the same major political party would select 8 applicants and present those to the Ballot Board legislative appointees affiliated with the other major political party, who would then select 2 persons from the 8 for appointment to the panel, resulting in 4 panel appointees. The panel would then hire a private professional search firm to help them choose 6 of the 15 individuals on the commission. The panel will choose those 6 individuals by initially creating a pool of 90 individuals (30 from the first major political party, 30 from the second major political party, and 30 from neither the first nor second major political parties). The panel of 4 partisan retired judges will create a portal for public comment on the applicants and will conduct and publicly broadcast interviews with each applicant in the pool. The panel will then narrow the pool of 90 individuals down to 45 (15 from the first major political party; 15 from the second major political party; and 15 from neither the first nor second major political parties). Randomly, by draw, the 4 partisan retired judges will then blindly select 6 names out of the pool of 45 to be members of the commission (2 from the first major political party; 2 from the second major political party; and 2 from neither the first nor second major political parties). The 6 randomly drawn individuals will then review the applications of the remaining 39 individuals not randomly drawn and select the final 9 individuals to serve with them on the commission, the majority of which shall be from the first and the second major political parties (3 from the first major political party, 3 from the second major political party, and 3 from neither the first nor second major political parties). 7. Require the affirmative votes of 9 of 15 members of the appointed commission to create legislative and congressional districts. If the commission is not able to determine a plan by September 19, 2025, or July 15 of every year ending in one, the following impasse procedure will be used: for any plan at an impasse, each commissioner shall have 3 days to submit no more than one proposed redistricting plan to be subject to a commission vote through a ranked-choice selection process, with the goal of having a majority of the commission members rank one of those plans first. If a majority cannot be obtained, the plan with the highest number of points in the ranked-choice process is eliminated, and the process is repeated until a plan receives a majority of first-place rankings. If the ranked-choice process ends in a tie for the highest point total, the tie shall be broken through a random process. 8. Limit the right of Ohio citizens to freely express their opinions to members of the commission or to commission staff regarding the redistricting process or proposed redistricting plans, other than through designated meetings, hearings and an online public portal, and would forbid communication with the commission members and staff outside of those contexts. 9. Require the commission to immediately create new legislative and congressional districts in 2025 to replace the most recent districts adopted by the citizens of Ohio through their elected representatives. 10. Impose new taxpayer-funded costs on the State of Ohio to pay the commission members, the commission staff and appointed special masters, professionals, and private consultants that the commission is required to hire; and an unlimited amount for legal expenses incurred by the commission in any related litigation. If approved, the amendment will be effective 30 days after the election.
Issue 2
PROPOSED ORDINANCE
Village of Leesburg
A majority affirmative vote is necessary for passage.
Shall the Village of Leesburg have the authority to aggregate the retail electric loads in the Village of Leesburg, and for the purpose, enter into service agreements to facilitate for those loads the sale and purchase of electricity, such aggregation to occur automatically except where any person elects to opt out?
Issue 3
PROPOSED TAX LEVY (ADDITIONAL) Village of Mowrystown A majority affirmative vote is necessary for passage
An additional tax for the benefit of Village of Mowrystown for the purpose of current expenses that the county auditor estimates will collect $20,000 annually, at a rate not exceeding 5 mills for each $1 of taxable value, which amounts to $175 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value, for 5 years, commencing in 2024, first due in calendar year 2025.
Issue 4
PROPOSED CHANGE OF PLAN
(By Petition)
Village of Greenfield
(name of city or village)
A majority affirmative vote is necessary for passage
Shall the municipal corporation of Greenfield abandon the ____City Manager___ plan and adopt
the ____Federal Plan___ as provided in sections 705.71 to 705.86 of the Revised Code?
Issue 5
LOCAL LIQUOR OPTION
GREENFIELD SOUTH-10
La Bamba of Southern Ohio, L.L.C., dba La Bamba (El Canon)
A majority affirmative vote is necessary for passage.
Shall the sale of wine and mixed beverages, and spirituous liquor be permitted for sale on Sunday by La Bamba of Southern Ohio, L.L.C., dba La Bamba (El Canon), an applicant for a D-6 liquor permit authorizing on/off premise sales of wine and mixed beverages, and on-premise sales of spirituous liquor, who is engaged in the business of operating a restaurant at 1444 Jefferson Street & Patio, Greenfield, OH 45123 in this precinct?
Issue 6
PROPOSED TAX LEVY (RENEWAL)
Clay Township
A majority affirmative vote is necessary for passage.
A renewal of a tax for the benefit of Clay Township for the purpose of maintaining and operating township cemeteries, that the county auditor estimates will collect $14,000 annually, at a rate not exceeding 0.5 mill for each $1 of taxable value, which amounts to $13 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value, for 5 years, commencing in 2025, first due in calendar year 2026.
Issue 7
PROPOSED TAX LEVY (RENEWAL)
Marshall Township
A majority affirmative vote is necessary for passage.
An additional levy for the benefit of Marshall Township for the purpose of providing and maintaining fire apparatus, appliances, buildings, and sites therefore, and sources of water supply and material, and the payment of permanent, part-time or volunteer fire-fighters or fire-fighting companies to operate the same, including the payment of the firefighters employer’s contributions required under Section 742.34 of the Revised Code, and to purchase ambulance equipment, and to provide ambulance, paramedic or other emergency medical services operated by a fire department or fire-fighting company that the county auditor estimates will collect $100,000 annually, at a rate not exceeding 3.9 mills for each $1 of taxable value, which amounts to $122 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value, for 5 years, commencing in 2024, first due in calendar year 2025.
Issue 8
LOCAL LIQUOR OPTION
FAIRFIELD WEST-34
1st Stop, Inc. d/b/a Highland 1st Stop
A majority affirmative vote is necessary for passage.
Shall the sale of beer, wine and mixed beverages be permitted by 1st Stop, Inc. d/b/a Highland 1st Stop, an applicant for a C1 and C2 liquor permits who is engaged in the business of operating a convivence store at 8021 State Route 28 Leesburg, OH 45135 in this precinct?
Issue 9
PROPOSED TAX LEVY (REPLACEMENT AND DECREASE)
Highland County A majority affirmative vote is necessary for passage
A replacement of two existing levies, being a reduction of 0.3 mills, to constitute a tax for the benefit of Highland County for the purpose of providing sufficient funds to carry out its necessary requirements and health programs that the county auditor estimates will collect $699,000 annually, at a rate not exceeding 0.7 mills for each $1 of taxable value, which amounts to $25 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value, for 5 years, commencing in 2025, first due in calendar year 2026.
Issue 10
PROPOSED TAX LEVY (RENEWAL)
Highland County
A majority affirmative vote is necessary for passage.
A renewal of a tax levy for the benefit of Highland County for the purpose of providing funds for the support of children services and the care and placement of children that the county auditor estimates will collect $710,000 annually, at a rate not exceeding 0.9 mill for each $1 of taxable value, which amounts to $24 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value, for 5 years, commencing in 2024, first due in calendar year 2025.
