Hannah Report 7/5/12
Voters First Only Issue to File; GOP Criticizes Redistricting Measure
While petition circulators have been out collecting signatures on issues ranging from medical marijuana to clean energy, only one group officially filed for the November 2012 ballot by the July 4 deadline, and the opposition has already come out strong against it.
Voters First, a group seeking to place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would create an independent citizens commission to draw congressional and General Assembly lines, announced it had filed 450,533 signatures on Tuesday. The group needs 385,245 valid signatures in order to qualify.
Republicans quickly responded to the filing of the issue, saying it is mainly being funded by Democrats.
"It is hard to take this group's claim of nonpartisanship seriously when they are being led by a coalition of Democrats," said Mike Dittoe, a spokesman for House Speaker William Batchelder (R-Medina). "Once Ohioans learn that this amendment excludes more than half of all Ohioans from participating, involves an unelected judiciary in a politically unprecedented way and likely prevents access to many public records in the redistricting process, voters will see there is a better way to reform the current system. Democracy and accountability lose if this amendment passes."
While petition circulators have been out collecting signatures on issues ranging from medical marijuana to clean energy, only one group officially filed for the November 2012 ballot by the July 4 deadline, and the opposition has already come out strong against it.
Voters First, a group seeking to place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would create an independent citizens commission to draw congressional and General Assembly lines, announced it had filed 450,533 signatures on Tuesday. The group needs 385,245 valid signatures in order to qualify.
Republicans quickly responded to the filing of the issue, saying it is mainly being funded by Democrats.
"It is hard to take this group's claim of nonpartisanship seriously when they are being led by a coalition of Democrats," said Mike Dittoe, a spokesman for House Speaker William Batchelder (R-Medina). "Once Ohioans learn that this amendment excludes more than half of all Ohioans from participating, involves an unelected judiciary in a politically unprecedented way and likely prevents access to many public records in the redistricting process, voters will see there is a better way to reform the current system. Democracy and accountability lose if this amendment passes."
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