COLUMBUS — Despite record spending in November on a ballot fight over gerrymandering that ultimately came up empty, Ohio citizens still hope to use their constitution to do what their lawmakers won’t do or overturn what they have done.
Proposed constitutional amendments in varying stages of gathering signatures of registered voters would create a voters’ bill of rights, allow government employees to be sued if they violate others’ rights, and raise the minimum wage.
Democracy goes on with the outcome never assured, regardless of how many millions are poured into campaigns and the number of signatures submitted to the secretary of state.
The process has been used in the past for everything from legalizing casino gambling to, most recently, assuring reproductive rights.
Supporters of these latest proposals would have to gather just over 413,000 valid signatures of registered voters by July 2 if they want to appear on the off-year Nov. 4 general election ballot. They could file after that date if they shoot for a later election.