Ohio's Issue Initiatives

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American Spectator:

Obamacare will be judged by voters on November 8, its last stop before reaching the Supreme Court.

As they await next year's likely Supreme Court's ruling on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as "Obamacare," states continue to grapple with its odious expenses as they decide whether to accept federal money for health care insurance exchanges so long as the law's constitutionality remains in doubt.

As this chart from ALEC shows, a vast majority of states from California to Maine have passed measures to reject aspects of the new health care law. And because this month, the Department of Justice filed petitions for certiorari, asking for a final review by the Supreme Court in HHS v. Florida, the last citizens' initiative to be voted on before oral arguments at the Supreme Court begin is on Ohio's November 2011 ballot.

Polling shows that while Ohio voters are eager to reject (via the Issue 2 initiative) Gov. John Kasich's strict anti-collective bargaining laws for public employees, there is bipartisan support for Issue 3, which would create a new amendment in Ohio's constitution explicitly prohibiting the federal or state government from mandating citizens' participation in private health care systems.

The mixed polling results may explain why Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who endorsed both issues in June, came to Ohio to speak at a call-center for Republicans, only to refuse to endorse them. However, more than 24 hours later, Romney has backtracked again and endorsed both issues. He said he is "110%" behind both issues and he apologized for the confusion. However, a Lexis-Nexis search reveals Romney in 2006 campaigned in Ohio in support of Massachusetts-style health insurance mandates.

Issue 3, originally sponsored by local Tea Party groups and the Ohio Liberty Council, saw more than 27,000 volunteers join in the largest, truly grassroots ballot initiative in the state, and perhaps the country. Jeff Longstreth, campaign manager for Issue 3, notes that less than $50,000 was spent on collecting the first 441,000 signatures, with an overwhelming 90 percent validity rate.