ELECTION 2011
Voting Information
State Issues 1 & 2 were defeated (SB 5 was repealed), Issue 3 passed.
Results from the Secretary of State
School Levies: 95 out of 187 pass
Human Services Levies: Most Human Services Levies Pass
Color Inserts/Handouts (PDF) (3 pages)
Black & White Inserts/Handouts (PDF) (3 pages)
Voting Reflections
“To love someone is to desire that person's good and to take effective steps to secure it. Besides the good of the individual, there is a good that is linked to living in society: the common good.”
“[The common good] is the good of “all of us”, made up of individuals, families and intermediate groups who together constitute society. It is a good that is sought not for its own sake, but for the people who belong to the social community and who can only really and effectively pursue their good within it. To desire the common good and strive towards it is a requirement of justice and charity.”
“The more we strive to secure a common good corresponding to the real needs of our neighbors, the more effectively we love them.”
CARITAS IN VERITATE: ON INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN CHARITY AND TRUTH, POPE BENEDICT XVI, PARAGRAPH 7, JUNE 29, 2009
In the Catholic tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue. The responsibility to make political choices rests with each person and his or her properly formed conscience.
Catholic voters are called to properly form their consciences in preparation for voting and for the continued advocacy for just laws and policies required after voting. This process should focus on moral principles, the defense of life, the needs of the weak, and the pursuit of the common good. It requires constant prayer, understanding of Church teaching, and discernment that goes beyond campaign rhetoric and partisan politics.
In regards to ballot issues, each of us has a responsibility to carefully and prudently discern such initiatives to determine whether they are morally sound, well conceived, and practical. People of good will may differ regarding specific responses to compelling social problems, but we cannot differ on our moral obligation to help build a more just and peaceful world through promoting the common good.
USCCB re-issues Faithful Citizenship; adds an Introductory Note 9/2011
Statewide Ballot Issues
There are three statewide issues on the November 8, 2011 ballot.
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Issue 1: A legislatively-initiated constitutional amendment raising the age of those occupying a judicial office from 70 to 75.
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Issue 2: A referendum approving Ohio's new collective bargaining laws for public employees
- Issue 3: A voter-initiated constitutional amendment that allows Ohioans and insurers to opt out of the new federal health care provisions requiring the purchase of health insurance coverage.
The Catholic Bishops of Ohio have taken a neutral position on all three of these issues. Each issue involves a prudential judgment where people of good will may differ as to their vote.
The Catholic Conference of Ohio offers the following as an aid to your discernment process:
- Reflection questions;
- Catholic teaching resources;
- Links from proponents and opponents of these measures.
- Position statement from the Ohio Bishops
Please note, that there is always a risk when we link to web sites that we do not control. We make every effort to link only to the major proponent and opponent sites. Many varying groups will join together on ballot issues.
General Ballot Reflection Questions
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Will passage of an issue promote the value and dignity of the human person and advance the common good of persons in the state, especially the poor and vulnerable?
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Is the issue needed and well conceived?
CATHOLIC CONFERENCE OF OHIO'S REFLECTION/POSITION REGARDING ISSUE 1
OFFICIAL BALLOT LANGUAGE FOR ISSUE 1
On June 28, 2011, the Ohio General Assembly approved a resolution, HJR 1, asking voters to change the current age restrictions for judges from 70 years old to 75 years old.
The amendment also repeals seldom (if ever) used provisions requiring a court of conciliation and temporary supreme court commissions to address backlogs in cases.
CATHOLIC CONFERENCE OF OHIO'S REFLECTION/POSITION REGARDING ISSUE 2
OFFICIAL BALLOT LANGUAGE FOR ISSUE 2
On March 31, 2011, the Ohio General Assembly enacted significant changes to Collective Bargaining provisions for public employees (SB 5).
On February 28, 2011, before the Ohio Senate passed their version of changes to Collective Bargaining, the Catholic Bishops of Ohio issued a statement calling all interested parties to seek the common good without eliminating collective bargaining.
The bishops' statement neither supported nor opposed SB 5. It did remind readers that Catholic Social Teaching has a long history of supporting worker rights and calling both workers and management to mutual partnerships where both the needs of labor and the needs of management are freely and openly acknowledged and addressed.
Catholic Social Teaching Resources related to Collective Bargaining:
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 2011 Labor Day Statement 9/5/2011
Catholic Conference of Ohio's Statement on Collective Bargaining in Ohio 2/28/2011
For a better understanding of Catholic Social Doctrine regarding rights of workers and solidarity among workers please refer to "The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, " Chapter Six (Human Work), Section 5 & 6.
These sections offers caution and support for various worker rights. They include a framework supporting the legitimacy of striking under certain circumstance, as well as caution to unions "to secure the just rights of workers within the framework of the common good of the whole of society."
Primer on Labor in Catholic Social Thought: 2011, USCCB
Catholic Social Justice Teachings on Economic Life
Catholic Church Statements on Labor Related Issues
The Good Company: Catholic Social Thought and Corporate Social Responsibility in Dialogue (Sixth International Symposium on Catholic Thought and Management Education, Rome, Italy, October 2006). CLICK HERE
Arguments to Support Issue 2 & Keep SB 5
OFFICIAL ARGUMENTS FOR SUPPORTING ISSUE 2
Arguments to Oppose Issue 2 & Repeal SB 5
CATHOLIC CONFERENCE OF OHIO'S REFLECTION/POSITION REGARDING ISSUE 3
OFFICIAL BALLOT LANGUAGE FOR ISSUE 3
This measure is a voter-initiated constitutional amendment that prohibits federal and state laws from requiring that Ohioans participate in a particular health care system.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Health Care Reform Resources
Setting the Record Straight. May 21, 2010
This statement was offered by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Pro-Life Activities; Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice, Peace and Human Development, and Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Immigration.
“Following enactment of the health care reform legislation, our challenge remains formidable but in some ways is simpler,” the bishops said. “Since the battle over the bill is over, the defects can be judged soberly in their own right, and solutions can be advanced in Congress while retaining what is good in the new law. Indeed, any failure to do so would only leave these genuine problems as ammunition for those who prefer total repeal of the law. In this context we do not need agreement among lawmakers that the problems are serious enough to oppose the legislation – we only need agreement that the problems are real and deserve to be addressed.”
The bishops said the current situation “provides a new opportunity for the Catholic community to come together in defense of human life, rights of conscience and fairness to immigrants so we will have a health care system that truly respects the life, dignity, health and consciences of all.”
Vote No On Issue 3
The Health Policy Institute of Ohio offers a nonpartisan resource page
i Voters.com offers a video interview covering both sides of this issue.Need More Information
Contact Jim Tobin , 614-224-7147