Ohioans might not realize it yet, but Issue 2 could be the most important item on the ballot in 2012. If voters approve Issue 2, it would place redistricting in the hands of an independent citizens commission. Currently, elected officials handle the redistricting process, and they have used it time and time again for politically advantageous ways.   

Under the Ohio Constitution, voters are asked every 20 years, “Shall there be a convention to revise, alter, or amend the constitution?” That’s what Issue 1 is all about. If voters approve Issue 1, the General Assembly, which is currently controlled by Republicans, will set rules for how constitutional delegates are elected. The delegates will then go to the convention and decide what, if any, constitutional amendments should be suggested to voters. The process essentially bypasses the petition system for constitutional amendments, which requires constitutional proposals obtain a certain amount of signatures from registered voters before being put on a ballot.   

Remove Democrat and Republican for a second. Assume there are two candidates outside of partisan labels. Candidate A is the current sitting senator. He has a clear record and policies to run on. Candidate B is the challenger. He has little record and policies, and he’s been caught being dishonest time and time again — to the extent that one major newspaper gave him an award for lying so much.   

Rigged? Wait, what? Truth be told, CityBeat would love to endorse a Democrat for the First Congressional District. Generally speaking, we do not support Rep. Steve Chabot. We don’t like his opposition to Obama’s jobs bills. We don’t like how he went along with the debt-ceiling crisis of 2011 that nearly brought down the entire economy and led S&P to downgrade the U.S. credit rating from a AAA rating to a AA+ rating. We don’t like how he amended a transportation law to make it so Cincinnati can’t get streetcar funding from the federal government. So we would love to endorse a Democratic opponent to contrast Chabot.   

Election Day approaches, and Tristate residents once again have multi-page ballots to consider. Who has time to fully research every issue and candidate, especially when ballots are getting longer, not shorter? A lot of nonprofit organizations do.