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Up in smoke: Ohio votes ‘no’ on Issue 3

By Emily Tate, Managing Editor

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The Ohio election drew national attention Tuesday when voters in the Buckeye State struck down Issue 3 - the legislation that would have legalized both recreational and medical marijuana.

Ohio would have been the first state to legalize both in the same election, and the fifth state to legalize recreational marijuana in the United States.

Despite high expectations, Issue 3 failed by a wide margin - only 35.9 percent voted yes.

While many of that remaining 64.1 percent are morally opposed to the legalization of marijuana, others voted against it for other reasons.

Issue 3 would have allowed just 10 growing facilities in Ohio, all of which would have been owned by a few wealthy investors who contributed millions of dollars to put the issue on the ballot. Those investors include former Miami student and 98 Degrees band member Nick Lachey, as well as members of the Taft family (descendants of President William Howard Taft).

Kevin Armitage, associate professor in the Western Program, voted no on Issue 3 Tuesday. He said he supports the legalization of marijuana, but not when it's buried in dicey legislation.

"I'm a strong proponent of legalization … [but] frankly I was so concerned with the way it was instilling a monopoly and concerned with the way big capital is injecting itself into the movement for criminal justice reform," Armitage said. "That's why it was clear I should vote no."

He also said he believes Issue 3 failed so dramatically because other proponents of marijuana legalization shared his concerns.

"I think there were a lot of voters, like me, who were concerned about monopoly in perpetuity and crony capitalism and favoritism, and that's why they voted against it," Armitage said.

Of the 7.5 million registered voters in Ohio, 3.2 million made it to the polls Tuesday. Despite historically abysmal voter turnouts in odd-numbered years, Ohio surpassed its turnout from last year's midterm elections, which included elections for the Ohio governor and U.S. House of Representatives, among others.

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The 2014 midterms in Ohio only saw 40.65 percent voter turnout, while 42.2 percent of registered voters showed up Tuesday, according to data from Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted's website.

Other issues on the ballot included Issue 1, which "creates a bipartisan, public process for drawing legislative districts." This issue passed with almost 4 to 1 voter approval; nearly 71.5 percent of Ohio voters opted for this issue.

Based on the unofficial election results, Ohio Issue 2 passed - but just barely. Issue 2 proposed an anti-monopoly amendment, which "protects the initiative process from being used for personal economic benefit," according to data from the Secretary of State's site.

Less than 100,000 votes determined the outcome of this bill, with 51.58 percent opting for Issue 2 and 48.42 percent against. Issue 2 was, in part, a response to the monopolistic terms of Issue 3, which may have contributed to the amendment's approval.

Butler County voted similarly on two of the three statewide issues, with the exception of Issue 2.

While Issue 2 passed statewide, it did not in Butler County. With slightly more than 89,000 residents voting on this issue, it failed just shy of 48 percent.

Three local issues passed Tuesday, all of which granted Sunday liquor licenses to establishments in Uptown Oxford, according to unofficial results on the Butler County Board of Elections website.

Issues 23, 24 and 27 granted Sunday liquor licenses to O'Pub, Left Field Tavern and The Wood's, respectively. Business owner Ted Wood owns all three.

Just 102 Oxford voters weighed in on Issues 23 and 24, which passed with 81 and 78 votes each, and even fewer had a say on Issue 27. Only 36 votes were cast for The Wood's Sunday liquor license, and 22 Oxford residents voted for it.

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