Should you Vote Yes or No for Issues 1 and 2?

With elections just around the corner, more and more voters are rushing to the internet to search exactly what’s going to be on the ballot. One thing requiring a bit of research prior to going to the polls is Issues to vote yes or no on. This year, a big point of debate is Issues 1 and 2. 

 

Issue 1 focuses on the idea of bail money. The judge will be in charge of determining bail based on different factors within the reason for arrest. Things such as public safety, how serious the offense is, past records and likelihood the person will make an appearance in court would play a part in setting bail. 

 

Rory Ryan, 61, has been consecutively in the printing industry for 42 years and has been the owner of The Highland County Press since 2009. Around this time of year, he said he writes opinion pieces and calls it his “obligatory pre-election column”. 

 

Ryan wrote an article urging people to vote yes for Issue 1 saying this should be a “no-brainer”.

 

“Until a January 2022 Ohio Supreme Court ruling (Dubose vs McGuffey), in essence it had been in place for years,” Ryan said. “In my opinion, Issue 1 is necessary to undo the damage by an activist Supreme Court.” 

 

Ryan said he thinks if Issue 1 is not passed recidivism (relapse in criminal behavior) will increase. He said victims involved in the crime would live in fear of a potential repeat.

 

“It is likely that judges would tell those victims, ‘A higher bail is out of my hands’,” Ryan said, “and fall back on the Supreme Court ruling as a convenient pretext.”

 

He said he encourages people thinking of voting no to read Court Justice Patrick DeWine’s dissent on Dubose vs McGuffey. Ryan said public safety may not be considered when setting bail, which is what Issue 1 is trying to establish. 

 

Although Ryan supports voting for Issue 1 for public safety, not everyone agrees voting yes would be ideal. 

 

Patrick Higgins, 31, has worked for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio (ACLU) for just over a year on Policy Counsel. The ACLU had put out a press release urging voters to vote no on Issue 1 saying it was “unnecessary” and “politically motivated”. 

 

“We think that reliance on cash bail creates a system of wealth based attention,” Higgins said.  “We don’t think it’s fair, just that the determining factor in whether or not a person gets to go home before their trial date is the amount of money in their bank account.”

 

Higgins said the ACLU believes the Issue will attempt to fix issues which do not exist. One thing he said is it creates the ideal of “guilty until proven wealthy” and  said Black communities  would be on the receiving end of the consequences within how our legal system is.

 

“I think it’s black individuals spend, on average, more than 10 days, which is over 36% longer in jail pretrial before their trial date compared to white individuals,” Higgins said. “ So we know that the system we have doesn’t work, and we expect that Issue 1 would prolong that.”

 

Higgins shined a light on the subject by bringing back humanity into the conversation. He said it is important to remember these people have not been convicted of any crime yet. 

 

“Something to keep important is that, you know, we’re talking about human beings,” Higgins said. “They’re legally innocent, and they’re sitting there awaiting trial date, that affects their ability to get help, affects their ability to pick their kids up from school, to show up for work, which impacts their ability to pay rent.” 

 

Higgins and ACLU stand with the idea Issue 1 does not solve anything, but rather ensures people who cannot afford bail stay behind bars rather than come back to court on their alleged charges. 

 

Although more has been debated over Issue 1, Issue 2 holds some of the same type of controversy through different opinions. 

 

Issue 2 would set in place a certain criteria in order to vote. Most of these are already in place, with voting age being one, but the main focus is having to be a citizen to vote. Both Governor Mike DeWine and Democratic opponent Nan Whaley have expressed their support in voting yes for the Issue, banning non-citizens from voting.

 

Ryan endorses voting yes for Issue 2 as well, saying again, it should be a “no-brainer”. 

 

“If there’s an issue on the ballot, it’s important,” Ryan said. “So is citizenship as Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said.”

 

Ryan said if anyone were able to vote, there would be an increase in voting from everyone. 

 

“There would be more people voting,” Ryan said, “and given some of the abysmal voting turnouts I’ve witnessed through the years, that might encourage more United States citizens to exercise that right more than many currently do.”