State elections determines fair districts are in and pot is not

More than 7.5 million Ohioans participated in Tuesday’s election and voted on the issues appearing on the ballot. Ultimately, two of the three issues passed.Issue 1, which dealt with ending gerrymandering in Ohio’s legislative districts, passed by the largest margin of any of the three issues with 71.46 percent voting in favor, according to Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted’s website.“It was just one of those moments in time — a rare moment in time, in a very divided state — where the two major parties came together and fortunately did something greatly in the public interest, to give the public rational-looking legislative districts,” said Rep. Michael F. Curtin, D-Columbus, who has supported Issue 1 since its introduction to the House. “Even though it won’t take effect until 2022, it’s a huge move forward in good government for the people and now hopefully we can get the second half of the job done, and that’s to do the same thing with congressional districts.”Issue 2 also passed, but the vote was much closer than that for Issue 1. This issue, which aimed to add a constitutional amendment to prevent monopolies and to keep the initiative process from being used for personal economic gain, passed by a margin of just over three percent, or about 100,000 votes.Perhaps the most controversial issue on the ballot was Issue 3, which proposed a monopoly for the commercial sale and production of medical and recreational marijuana. It ultimately failed with more than 64 percent of voters opposing it. Ian James, Executive Director for ResponsibleOhio, the group that started the initiative that became Issue 3, released a statement Wednesday expressing the group’s appreciation for the support they received throughout their campaign.“We started the conversation and we’re going to continue the conversation starting tomorrow. The status quo doesn’t work, it’s unacceptable and we’re not going away,” James said. “Ohioans still need treatment and deserve compassionate care. And our state needs the jobs and tax revenue that marijuana legalization will bring.”