Ohio voters will have issues Nov. 8

COLUMBUS

OK, one last time, for anyone who is still confused about the Nov. 8 general election.

There are three issues on the ballot.

Issue 1 would increase the mandatory retirement age of judges. Issue 2, for those of you who have spent recent months in a cave, is the Senate Bill 5 referendum. And Issue 3 is the Tea Party-backed initiative to block federal health care mandates.

A “yes” on Issue 2 will retain Senate Bill 5, the controversial collective bargaining law that would limit how 350,000 or so public employees negotiate their employment contracts. It would ban those employees from strikes, eliminate binding arbitration for safety forces, require public employees to pay at least 15 percent of their health insurance premiums and prohibit public employers from paying any part of their employees’ required pension payments.

A “no” on Issue 2 would repeal Senate Bill 5. The existing collective bargaining law, on the books for nearly three decades, would remain as-is, until lawmakers step forward with other legislation to change it.

Reminder

Also, if you’re planning to cast your ballot in person before Election Day, do so before the end of the day Friday.

That’s when Secretary of State Jon Husted said the early voting period ends, thanks to a provision slipped into legislation and approved by lawmakers earlier this year.

The change was part of a separate bill that mostly dealt with military and overseas voters but included language setting the cutoff date for in-person early voting.

Comparable provisions were included in a Republican-backed election reform package, House Bill 194, that is on hold, pending an effort to place it before voters in November 2012.

In a letter responding to the Democrats Friday, Husted said he had no choice but to advise elections boards to stop in-person voting on the Friday before Election Day.

“It is my duty to enforce the law as written,” he wrote. “I am not at liberty to ignore the law.”

School Choice

A state group pushing for increased vouchers, open enrollment and other policy changes to enable students to attend the schools of their choosing wants Ohio to replace its school ratings with labels that are easier to understand.

Instead of “excellent,” “effective,” “continuous improvement” and the like, School Choice Ohio wants simple letter grades to help parents have a better understanding of the successes or failures of their home districts. An A or B or C or F are easier to grasp than “continuous improvement,” which leaves much room for interpretation.

That was one of several recommendations School Choice Ohio made as part of a report that urges state officials to follow Florida’s lead in education reform.

The group also wants to stop passing third-graders onto fourth grade if they are not proficient in reading, increase the number of scholarships for low-income students to attend the districts of their choice and publicize the state’s alternative pathway for gaining teacher certification.

Marc Kovac is The Vindicator’s Statehouse correspondent. Email him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at OhioCapitalBlog.