A proposed amendment to the Ohio state Constitution that would have drastically reduced sentencing parameters for drug offenders was resoundingly defeated both locally and statewide by more than a two-thirds margin, according to unofficial results Tuesday from the Ohio Secretary of State and Logan County Board of Elections.
Locally, voters rejected the measure 12,648 to 3,631, the board of elections reports. Statewide, the issue failed by more than 1.1 million votes, 63 percent to 36 percent.
The issue would have:
• made offenses related to drug possession and use no more than misdemeanors, regardless of substance;
• prohibited courts from ordering persons on probation for felonies to be sent to prison for non-criminal probation violations;
• created a sentence credits program for inmates’ participation in rehabilitative, work or educational programs; and
• required the state to spend savings from a reduction of inmates, resulting from Issue 1, on drug treatment, crime victim and rehabilitation programs.
Further, the amendment would have required sentence reduction of existing incarcerated individuals, except those convicted for murder, rape or child molestation, by up to 25 percent.
Read complete story and complete election coverage in Wednesday’s Examiner.
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