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Ballot Board Agrees On Language For Only Statewide Issue This Fall

Ohio Public Radio

The Ohio Ballot Board has agreed on the language for the only issue voters will see this fall - a resolution to a dispute over Issue 1.

Supporters say it will prioritize treatment over prison for drug offenders, but opponents say it will make communities more dangerous. Ohio Public Radio's Karen Kasler reports. 

Both sides came in with serious concerns about small but important words such as “all” and “of”, but also over lines about criminal convictions that would be affected and the amount of drugs involved. The ballot board listened and recommended some changes. And in what is likely the last time before the election that this will happen, Issue 1 supporter Jeff Jacobson and opponent Paul Pfeifer agreed.

“I can’t object to any of the changes, even the ones that are not favorable to us.”

“It was an excellent compromise.”

The amendment would allow for reduced sentences for inmates who participate in certain programs and were not convicted of murder, rape or child molestation. And it would mandate that buying, possessing or using fentanyl, heroin and other drugs be misdemeanors and not felonies.

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