Research state issues

Two weeks from today it will all be over. Finally, after what has seemed an eternity, the political ads on television will end as the country elects its next president, Ohio voters decide a number of important issues, and locally we decide the fate of a school bond issue.

We will discuss our views on the school issue next week, and we would not presume to override our readers' decisions between Barack Obama and John McCain. And except for state Issue 5, which we endorsed last week, we would not suggest our reasons for voting as we do on the other issues are more valid than our readers' reasons for not voting as we do.

But we would urge readers to cast informed votes on those issues. Issue 6, in particular has been the subject of heated exchanges in advertising suggesting and denying loopholes and challenging the veracity of the other side.

In such an environment, it is difficult to know which side, if any, is telling the truth. We would suggest readers avail themselves of resources other than television or print advertising to determine how to vote on these issues.

A particularly good resource is the voters guide published by the League of Women Voters and distributed in the Enterprise last week. Another resource is the "Ohio Issues Report," a non-partisan guide to the five statewide issues (Issue 4 was withdrawn by the petitioners' committee), including the text of the constitutional amendments proposed or the legislation placed on the ballot by referendum petition, and arguments for and against each issue.

The report is available for download at the Ohio Secretary of State's web site, www.sos.state.oh.us.