Campaigns & Elections
November 2011 General Election Results
Issue 1
Rejected by voters.
Issue 1 would have amended the Ohio Constitution to increase the age limit at which a judge may be elected. Currently, the Ohio Constitution prohibits a judge from taking office on or after his or her seventieth birthday. The proposed amendment would have altered that language to say that a judge may not be elected or appointed on or after his or her seventy-fifth birthday.
Issue 1 also contained provisions to eliminate rarely-used courts of conciliation (to resolve disputes between parties that have agreed beforehand to abide by the court’s judgment) and Supreme Court Commissions (to dispose of certain matters on the Ohio Supreme Court’s docket).
By 62 percent to 38 percent, Ohioans voted to reject increasing the judicial retirement age.
Issue 2
Rejected by voters
In March, the Governor signed into law Senate Bill 5, which repealed and revised various Ohio laws concerning collective bargaining rights for public employees. Issue 2 was a referendum to repeal Senate Bill 5.
By 61 percent to 39 percent, Ohioans voted to repeal Senate Bill 5.
Issue 3
Passed by voters
Issue 3 was a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution designed to exempt Ohio from one of the major components of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This component is often referred to as the “individual mandate.” The language of the proposed amendment would have made unconstitutional any law which compels an individual, employer or health care provider to participate in or buy into a health care system.
By 66 percent to 34 percent, Ohioans voted for the constitutional amendment. However, passage of Issue 3 is mostly symbolic, since federal law supercedes state law.
For full results, including results by county, see the Ohio Secretary of State’s election returns web page.
