Voters face a plethora of issues next November

One idea would alter state law; others could affect Ohio's constitution.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Next November, Ohio voters will select a new governor, choose an attorney general, auditor, treasurer, secretary of state, representatives in Washington and Columbus and local officials.
Then, they won't be done.
They also will be asked to decide -- twice, possibly -- if they want to limit state government spending and taxes, and also may vote on a statewide indoor public smoking ban, an increase in Ohio's minimum wage, to allow casino gambling and require that 65 percent of schools' budgets be spent in classrooms.
All of this would be a year after voters trounced four of five statewide ballot issues Nov. 8.
Issue fatigue, anyone?
Of the issues under consideration, the smoking ban would change Ohio law, but not the Ohio Constitution. The other five would.
Negative trend?
State Rep. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican, said while casino gambling would require such a change, the others are special-interest attempts to dodge the Legislature because it won't pass their agendas.
"I personally deplore this populist trend," Seitz said.
He also blames that trend, in part, for the failure of the four issues this year that would have dramatically changed Ohio election law. Voters turned back the issues by about a 2-1 margin.
Paul Beck, a political science professor at Ohio State University, said the United States is one of the few countries that allow such a bypass of its elected officials.
"It just overwhelms voters. In democracies around the world, these things are very uncommon," he said.
But it's not that difficult for people who study the policies and don't face the blanket opposition of this year's Ohio issues, said John Matsusaka, president of the Initiative and Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California.
"Voters seem to be able to push through these things," Matsusaka said.
Several groups are pursuing casinos: Indian tribes, racetrack owners, casino operators, developers and elected officials in some cities. Their opposition includes most statewide elected officials. Ohio voters in the 1990s soundly rejected the idea twice.
Seitz, who supports bringing casinos to the state, said racetrack owners and casino operators are negotiating a compromise with the goal of landing on next November's ballot. The constitution must be changed because it requires that the proceeds of gambling, such as the lottery, go only to schools. Lawmakers want to use their cut of casino money for other programs as well.
The smoking ban
The smoking ban would be put in Ohio law but not in the constitution, said Tracy Sabetta, spokeswoman for SmokeFreeOhio, which has enough petitions to force the Legislature in January to consider the idea. If the Legislature does not act within four months, the group would circulate additional petitions to get it to the ballot.
That's the group's hope because it would be free of any changes the Legislature would make, Sabetta said. She's not worried it will get lost in a flood of other issues.
"I don't think we're concerned. This issue is not confusing and is not complicated," Sabetta said.
Ohio AFL-CIO lobbyist Tim Burga, whose group is taking the lead on the minimum wage increase, said he hoped "progressive" issues groups -- such as his and the others that sponsored the election amendments this year -- would hold back next year. He said the wage issue is needed next year because "we've been waiting too long a time for this."
One of the tax and spending limits plans is sponsored by Attorney General Jim Petro as an alternative to a plan by Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell. Both Republicans are running for governor next year. Should both plans pass, the one that gets the most votes wins.
Whether it's easy to get all these messages through to voters is another matter, Seitz said.
"It sounds like we're going to have another big platter," he said.