Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, the state’s chief elections officer, will look at some municipal “home rule” charter amendments proposed for the Nov. 2 ballot, just as her staff will review new change-of-government Cuyahoga County.

But some state legislators are suggesting that elections watchdogs take a look at ballot wording in all such charter amendments to change the way village and town people create voter-approved charters and then ask voters to amend the same documents later.


The question: Is a proposed (or approved) village and/or city charter amendment as clear and strong as that of all the state amendments that make the Ohio ballot every year?

That is, the Ohio Constitution is tens of thousands of words longer than what it was a decade ago. But it’s upheld in any federal cases of challenge.

Would village or city charter amendments prevail after such challenges?

--David W. Jones