Defeat discourages advocates of change

Resistance from political parties makes reform difficult, an analyst said.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- A group that helped to start a four-issue campaign to change the way Ohio conducts elections sees backers in other states shying away from the idea after a resounding defeat of all four, along with other changes proposed in California.
TheRestofUs.org, a Sacramento-based advocacy group will next target Florida but won't be active in Massachusetts, where some activists are considering changes, said Ned Wigglesworth, an analyst with the group.
What is making change difficult is the resistance of political parties that now hold the power, Wigglesworth said.
"Both parties certainly want change much less than the people of Ohio do," Wigglesworth said.
While Republican volunteers were calling supporters and doing other get-out-the-vote chores for Tuesday's election, Democrats stayed neutral at the request of the issue's backers, a group known as Reform Ohio Now, said Ohio Democratic Party spokesman Brian Rothenberg. The group presented the package as bipartisan.
County statistics
The result was higher turnout in most Republican-leaning counties than those that usually vote Democratic. None of the four issues passed in any county, the closest being Issue 2, which lost 51 percent-49 percent in both Athens and Summit counties. Issue 2 would have allowed absentee voting by anyone, without an excuse needed. The four as a group lost by an average of 68 percent-32 percent.
Even in counties featuring big-city mayor's races where all the candidates were Democrats, turnout was low: Cuyahoga (Cleveland), 36 percent; Hamilton (Cincinnati), 35 percent; and Montgomery (Dayton), 36 percent. Only Lucas County (Toledo) exceeded the state average of 40 percent among those counties, with 47 percent.
Republican strongholds, such as Crawford (49 percent), Warren (46 percent) and Preble (46 percent) had higher-than-average turnout. However, Hancock County, considered among the most Republican-leaning in Ohio, reported just 38 percent.
Obstacles
Rothenberg said local Democrats were split on the statewide issues, which also would have lowered campaign contribution limits, changed how congressional and legislative district lines are drawn and removed election oversight from the secretary of state. The split also suppressed turnout in some counties, but it won't be a problem next year, he said.
"Clearly, you had some local chairmen that opposed it, so 2006 is totally different. All of these folks are going to be focused on the same thing," he said.
The issue's backers also lacked something that Democrats enjoyed in 2004 -- an army of volunteers from outside groups such as America Coming Together, which specifically worked to get Democrat John Kerry elected over President Bush, Wigglesworth said.
"They didn't leave much of an infrastructure. A lot of the people didn't show up [this year]. The folks who were really rabid about going against George Bush last year weren't rabid about this," Wigglesworth said.
Ohio First, the main group opposing Issues 2-5, built its own campaign structure and raised money itself but relied on the Republicans to help spread the word as Election Day approached, said former state Senate President Richard Finan, a Republican from Cincinnati.
"There's no question the Republican Party turned people out," Finan said. "Your army has been battle-tested."