I would like to urge all registered voters to join me in voting yes on Issues 2 through 5 tomorrow.

As you know, the state of Ohio has been awash in scandals for the past year.’#160; The Reform Ohio Now issues provide first-step solutions to these problems.’#160;

‘#160;Issue 2 provides for no-faultabsentee ballot voting so that anybody who wants to vote through the mail can do so.’#160;

Currently there are a fixed number of reasons that people must provide to get an absentee ballot, including being out of the county on Election Day, being 62 years or older, or infirmed.’#160;

Other states, such as Oregon, have no-fault absentee voting which increased participation.’#160;

Think back to last year’s election in the Student Union precincts.’#160; Many students waited over an hour to cast their votes in an important election.’#160;

At Kenyon College, students waited until 3 a.m. to cast votes!’#160; Think of how many students were disenfranchised because they couldn’t wait in lines that long.’#160;

Voting “yes” on Issue 2 allows anyone to vote by mail.’#160; Those who vote in person will have shorter waits.

‘#160;Issue 3 reduces the amount of money individuals can contribute to state campaigns. Money plays too big of a role in politics.’#160; Republicans in state government recently voted to raise the individual contributions to $10,000.’#160;

Given the recent scandals surrounding Tom Noe and other big corporate donors, we should reduce the influence any single individual can have on politics.’#160; We need fewer Tom Noes, not more.’#160; Reducing this limit will be a positive first step.’#160;

‘#160;Issue 4 creates a bipartisan commission to redraw legislative districts so that each district is highly competitive.’#160;

Ohio has gerrymandered districts in which incumbents are generally safe.’#160; Even if the opposition party comes up with a credible candidate, the districts are so skewed to favoring one party that there is little chance that an incumbent can be defeated.’#160;

Last election cycle in Ohio Congressional races, the closest a challenger came to an incumbent was 17 percent, hardly a late-night election nail-biter!’#160;

Healthy competition is vital for a democracy to thrive.’#160; Incumbents must constantly feel the pressure of defeat to ensure that they work hard and stay in touch with their constituents.’#160; The current system has little incentives for our representatives to work hard.’#160; Once they get in, there is little chance for them to be defeated.’#160;

‘#160;Issue 4 has politicians of both parties running scared.’#160; Republican and Democratic incumbents are frightened that they will lose their safe districts.’#160;

Vote “yes” for Issue 4 and I bet that we will see lots more of our representatives.’#160;

Issue 4 is truly a non-partisan issue.’#160; Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California has endorsed Issue 4.’#160; He thinks all states should redraw legislative districts to best serve the voters, not one political party or the other.’#160;

‘#160;Issue 5 takes the election duties out of the Secretary of State’s office.’#160; There is an inherent conflict in having a partisan, elected official manage the state electoral process.’#160; The person who counts the votes should not have a direct interest in particular contests.’#160;

Last year, the Secretary of State was the chairman of the Ohio Bush-Cheney campaign, creating a conflict of interest.’#160;

A “yes” vote for Issue 5 takes election oversight duties away from a partisan politician and puts the duties into a bipartisan commission.’#160; Conflicts of interest will be eliminated.’#160;

‘#160;Ohio is awash with corruption.’#160; Partisan politicians have a vested interested in maintaining the status quo.’#160;

Voting “yes” on Issues 2 through 5 will send a message to corrupt politicians that we refuse to put up with their shenanigans.’#160; Their passage will not solve all of our state’s problems but is an important step in the right direction.’#160;

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Send comments to Mike at [email protected]