Opposition Letter to HJR19
Date: December 4, 2018
CC: Governor John Kasich, Ohio General Assembly, Statehouse Press Corps
Dear Speaker Smith and President Obhof,
Direct democracy is at the heart of Ohio’s values, and citizens have been using ballot initiatives
for over a century. Without the ability to bring policies directly to the people through the ballot,
Ohio citizens are unable to act on issues of grave importance that elected officials have
otherwise ignored. The ballot initiative process is already onerous and not overused. Since
1950, only ten out of 44 ballot measures have passed (23%).
While proponents of HJR19 suggest that it will decrease money in politics, HJR19 will actually
stifle grassroots efforts in direct democracy. By making direct democracy harder, only groups
with access to large amounts of money and the ability to pay petition gatherers will be able to
place policies on the ballot.
Our coalition is strong and growing, and we ask you to abandon this attack on Ohio’s
participatory government. If you have questions, you can contact Jen Miller at the League of
Women Voters of Ohio at director@lwvohio.org or 614.563.9543 and Catherine Turcer at
Common Cause at cturcer@commoncause.org or 614.579.5509.
Sincerely,
A. Philip Randolph Institute of Ohio
AAUW Ohio
ACLU of Ohio
Action Together - NE Ohio
Action Together Lakewood Area
AFSCME Ohio Council 8
AHEAD: Allen & Hardin for Election Action & Democracy
All Voting is Local
Allen and Hardin for Election, Action and Democracy (AHEAD)
America Votes - Ohio
American Promise Association, Cincinnati
BlueGreen Alliance
Buckeye Environmental Network

 Capital Success LLC
Cleveland VOTES
Coalition of Black Trade Unionist, Region V
Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio
College Hill + RRT
Columbus Community Bill of Rights
Common Cause Ohio
Council on American Islamic Relations - Ohio
Dayton NAACP Youth Council
Democratic Voices of Ohio
District 14 Voice
Equality Ohio
Fair Districts Cleveland
Faith in Public Life Ohio
For Our Future Ohio
Indivisible CLE
Indivisible Columbus District 3
Indivisible Forward United NEO
Indivisible Ohio District 15
Indivisible: Ohio District 12
Innovation Ohio
IUE-CWA
League of Women Voters of Ohio
Lorain County Rising
March for Science: Cleveland
Medina County Together
Miami Valley Full Employment Council
Moving Forward Together, Ashtabula County
NAACP Cleveland Branch
National Council of Jewish Women
Northeast Ohio Voter Advocates
OAPSE/AFSCME Local 4
OH District 5 Indivisible
Ohio AFL-CIO
Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans Educational Fund
Ohio Citizen Action
Ohio Civil Service Employees Association
Ohio Conference AAUP
Ohio Conference of NAACP
Ohio Crime Victim Justice Center
Ohio Environmental Council
Ohio Farmers Union
Ohio Federation of Teachers
Ohio Justice & Policy Center

 Ohio National Organization for Women
Ohio Organizing Collaborative
Ohio Student Association
Ohio Veterans Network
Ohio Voice
Ohio Voter Fund
Ohio Voter Rights Coalition
Ohio Progressive Action Leaders
Piedmont Plus/a Sub-Group of Indivisible District 12
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio
Policy Matters Ohio
ProgressNEO
ProgressOhio
RadioactiveWasteAlert.org
RepresentUs
SEIU District 1199 WV/KY/OH
Single Payer Action Network Ohio
Southeast Progressives of Franklin County
Take Back Our Republic
Thrive_At_Life: Working Solutions
UFCW Local 1059
UFCW Local 75
Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio
Universal Health Care Action Network of Ohio
Westshore Fair Elections
Work Group for a Bold New Democracy, Cincinnati