Vote Informed

I’ve covered the fairy tale that is Issue 3 before.
Here is some more honest information about Issue 3.

From The Plain Dealer
Slots campaign admits exaggerating $1 billion for education a stretch
The campaign to bring slot machines to Ohio is fudging the numbers with claims that slots will generate "almost a billion dollars a year" for college education, the campaign's chairman admits. The slots committee's own estimates show that 31,000 slots would generate $853 million a year for college -- and that number is achieved only by 2012, if Ohio's population and median incomes grow appropriately, a campaign consultant says.

Vote No Issue 3


And some info on Issue 4 and Issue 5.


A smoking ban took effect in the city of Omaha yesterday and already anti-smoking groups are proposing radical measures to report offenders. According to news channel WOWT, organizations such as Group Against Smoking In Public (GASP) are asking that citizens call the 9-1-1 emergency management system if they see someone disobeying the smoking ban.The County Emergency Director Mark Conrey has remarked that this is a dangerous and inefficent idea. Calling 9-1-1 for something as little as the smoking ban ties up both manpower and resources that could better be used responding to real emergencies.

Is this what we need here? Whackos tying up lifesaving emergency personnel to catch smokers?

When the citizens in Washington voted for Intiative 901, they thought they were banning smoking in all businesses in the state. They may not have realized that Initiative 901 would also have a harmful effect on business. As the Tri-City Herald reports, revenue from Washington’s hospitality industry is shrinking.“According to the state Department of Revenue, bars and taverns across Washington saw a 3.4 percent drop in business in the first few months because of the smoking ban.”

Ah yes, let's have more failed businesses and more unemployment in Ohio.
And are you aware that Issue 5 makes smoking a $2,500 fine?

Q: Why are there two smoking bans on the ballot?
A: There is a strong consensus among Ohioans that some type of smoking ban is needed to protect people from unwanted exposure to tobacco smoke. But there are different opinions on how to do it. One is the more radical choice: a no-exceptions approach that bans smoking in all enclosed public spaces. That’s Issue 5. The alternative is Issue 4, which seeks to balance protection for public health with protection against overly intrusive government. Issue 4 is a fair and balanced approach that everyone can agree on.
Q: Why do we need to amend the Constitution for this purpose? Wouldn’t a regular law do the job just as well?
A: A law would do the job in the immediate future. Unfortunately, laws are relatively easy to change, especially when a special interest group is active and persistent. We have an unusual opportunity for Ohioans to compare two approaches to the same important goal, side by side, and make a clear choice. Once Ohioans decide how best to protect public health, special interests shouldn’t be able to overturn that in the legislature.
Q: But doesn’t Issue 4 allow exemptions for restaurants? How can restaurant owners really keep smoke away from non-smokers—smoking sections have been a joke.
A: Of course a room divider or similar arrangement can’t keep smoke from floating into a non-smoking section. Issue 4 won’t allow that. Instead, it provides for restaurant owners who feel it’s important enough to their business to have the option of investing in a truly separated, walled-room where they can accommodate their smoking customers without allowing smoke in the main dining areas.

Vote Yes Issue 4
Vote No Issue 5