08-04-2011 by Linda S. Carbonell

Gov. John R. Kasich

Faced with a nearly impossible deadline after their first petitions were rejected, Ohioans managed to collect 1.3 million signatures on petitions to have Gov. John Kasich’s anti-union law on a referendum on the November 8 ballot.

Supporters of the law tried to manipulate the language of the referendum so that voting “yes” would reject the law and voting “no” would keep it. But We Are Ohio, who collected the signatures, persuaded the five-member Ohio Ballot Board to vote unanimously to write a clear, unambiguous referendum. The ballot will say on Issue 2, “If you approve of the law, vote yes. If you do not approve, vote no.”

The anti-union law is only slightly more unpopular than Gov. Kasich himself.

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