“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” That wasn’t just Abraham Lincoln speaking. That statement was first made by Jesus Christ.

I would like to add a request to the prayers. It is very personal. I would like to pray that the person responsible for the four American deaths in Libya will come forward and admit their mistake. Why? Because our young men and women in uniform and in foreign service were all betrayed by the decision made to leave four people stranded to die. If there is any possible justification for that decision, every person in uniform and every family deserves to hear it — today. If in all likelihood a grievous mistake was made, then the process of that decision needs to be exposed for every citizen, soldier, taxpayer and loved one to see and fully understand so that such a tragic mistake is never made again.

We cannot ask our loved ones and neighbors to serve and fight in our defense around the world and hide the truth from them. They all deserve an honest answer — today.

The offices of APR in the north got hit hard. There were 25 foot waves on Lake Erie! That is the stuff of Marvel cartoon sagas. Some people started looking for Tony Stark and the Hulk to show up and help.

The good news is the power is all back on now and all of our production resources are back in play. Some of our homes were damaged but all our people are well. Thanks for your prayers.

Now we all have to slog back to the work at hand — completing a major election just hours from the finish line.

Article XVI, Section 3 of the Constitution of the State of Ohio reads as follows:

“At the general election to be held in the year one thousand nine hundred and thirty-two, and in each twentieth year thereafter, the question: ‘Shall there be a convention to revise, alter, or amend the constitution[,]’ shall be submitted to the electors of the state; and in case a majority of the electors, voting for and against the calling of a convention, shall decide in favor of a convention, the general assembly, at its next session, shall provide, by law, for the election of delegates, and the assembling of such convention, as is provided in the preceding section; but no amendment of this constitution, agreed upon by any convention assembled in pursuance of this article, shall take effect, until the same shall have been submitted to the electors of the state, and adopted by a majority of those voting thereon.”

In short – every 20 years the Ohio Constitution requires that Ohioans be given the opportunity to completely change the state constitution. State Issue 1 asks voters if that option should be pursued.

 What would the process look like to change the state constitution?

The Ohio Legislature would set up the process. It would be a state convention of delegates that would draft the revisions. The selection of delegates and procedures for the convention would be laid out in state law.

 Has the law already been passed?

Yes.

Last year the General Assembly passed HB 188, which established the Ohio Constitution Modernization Commission.

http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/BillText129/129_HB_188_EN_N.pdf

It’s a 32-member commission. Leaders in the General Assembly would select 12 members. These 12 would select the 20 remaining members.

The Commission will make recommendations to the General Assembly on how the convention will operate; and will make recommendations directly to the Convention delegates on possible amendments.

Here is the link to the Commission website and list of 12 legislative members

http://www.ocmc.ohio.gov/ocmc/members?1

 Is there any accountability to the public?

Yes and no.

More than half of the commission members (20 of the 32) are not allowed to be members of the General Assembly.

HB 188 requires the Commission to report to the General Assembly on how the Convention will be organized.

The Commission is also required to report directly to the Convention delegates the suggestions for language changes to the Constitution.

The work of the Modernization Commission will conclude on July 1, 2021.

 Will Ohio voters have a chance to approve the constitutional changes?

Yes.

 Is there anything in the ballot question that is unclear?

We do not know if the changes, drafted by convention delegates, would be approved by voters as one package or as separate issues.

 Bottom line –

Do Ohioans want to substantially change (rewrite) their constitution?

First when we see a poll we must ALWAYS check the formulas that built the telephone sample households. In the case of this Ohio poll the newspapers chose to build a sample that only included a 10% independent factor. That model would not be correct in Florida where about 25% of registered voters are non-aligned. It is especially askew in Ohio where on average 60% of voters on election day are NOT REGISTERED WITH EITHER PARTY.

Internal documents from credible sources in this campaign show that independent voters will have a much larger impact than the Dispatch Poll incorporates. Therefore, the race may already be breaking but the pollsters don’t reflect that reality. There is a reason for this seemingly misleading projection. We’ll talk more about that about nine days from now. In the meantime, please visit iVoters.com and hear what people on the ground in Ohio and across the nation are saying about key local races as well at the race for a free parking space on Pennsylvania Avenue.

With the display of dysfunction in the Congress, would it make sense to limit the terms that could be served at the Federal level as well? Are we better off with career politicians making all the decisions? Did the Founders ever envision career politicians?

On Wednesday night, a lot of America was paying attention.

Jim Renacci

http://www.renacciforcongress.com
http://www.facebook.com/JimRenacci
https://twitter.com/Renacci2012

Betty Sutton

http://www.bettysuttonforcongress.com
http://www.facebook.com/BettySuttonforCongress
https://twitter.com/bettysutton