Cast an informed vote

The AARP Ohio ran an interesting advertising campaign last month. The first installment read simply "DON'T VOTE' in bold type.
What an absolutely unAmerican message to be sending to people.
But follow-up ads quickly added an important qualifier: DON'T VOTE until you know where the candidates stand on important issues. AARP suggested that people who were curious could consult the Web site, dontvote.com. Other organizations, including the League of Women Voters, are prepared to help potential voters learn about candidates and issues, and the secretary of state's Web site has an explanation of each of the statewide issues on Tuesday's ballot, along with brief statements submitted by proponents and opponents of the issues.
Time is short, the day before the election, but any voter who wants to know more about the candidates and issues can still track it down, if so inclined.
Editors at The Vindicator spent many an afternoon in September and October conducting endorsement interviews with many local candidates and almost every statewide candidate.
Based on those interviews, we have made our endorsements. Our reasoning was included in endorsement editorials that ran in recent weeks. What appears below is a compilation of those recommendations.
STATE
Governor -- Ted Strickland
Attorney General -- Marc Dann
Auditor -- Mary Taylor
Secretary of State -- Jennifer Brunner
Treasurer -- Richard Cordray
Ohio Supreme Court Justice -- William O'Neill and Ben Espy
CONGRESS
U.S. Senate -- Mike DeWine
17th House District -- Tim Ryan
6th House District -- Charlie Wilson
17th House District -- Steven C. LaTourette
MAHONING COUNTY
7th District Court of Appeals -- Mary DeGenaro
OHIO HOUSE
59th District -- Kenneth A. Carano
61st District -- Mark D. Okey
TRUMBULL COUNTY
County Commissioner -- Frank S. Fuda
County Auditor -- Adrian S. Biviano
OHIO HOUSE
64th District -- Randy Law
65th District -- Sandra Stabile Harwood
COLUMBIANA COUNTY
County Commissioner -- Gary L. Williams
OHIO HOUSE
1st District -- Linda Bolon
We have also made recommendations on the state issues: Vote no on Issues 2, 3, and 4 and yes on Issue 5.
Issue 2 is a constitutional amendment establishing a minimum wage of 6.85 per hour and tying automatic annual increases to the cost of living.
Issue 3 is a constitutional amendment permitting up to 31,500 slot machines at seven horse racing tracks and at two Cleveland nontrack locations and providing for the distribution of the proceeds between the facility owners and a fund for college scholarships.
Issue 4 is a constitutional amendment that would ban smoking in some public buildings, but would also prohibit the passing of any law that would completely ban smoking and would invalidate nonsmoking laws in 21 Ohio municipalities.
We have recommended a no vote on all three constitutional amendments because we firmly believe that, regardless of the merits of the proposals, none of these issues should be enshrined in the state's constitution.
Issue 5 is a proposed law submitted by antismoking health agencies that would ban smoking in almost all public buildings. We recommend passage because we believe the time has come for Ohio to take a firm stand to discourage smoking and because, unlike the other three issues, it is not a constitutional amendment. It is a law that could, if necessary, be amended by the General Assembly.
These are our recommendations. We make no claim to infallibility, and take not offense from those who disagree.
We recommend these candidates and issues to our readers. But we strongly recommend that you vote tomorrow, whether you agree with us or not. Unless, like our friend in the cartoon on this page, you're expecting to find the candidates from "Dancing with the Stars" on the ballot.