Uniform rule aids fairness  New law sets consistent time limit
for gathering petition signatures  Gov. John Kasich signed a
bill into law last week that sets a uniform time limit for
groups to gather signatures for placing issues on the ballot.
Critics should give the law a chance to prove itself.  While one
can debate exactly what limits are reasonable, a uniform limit
does not violate Ohioans’ right to place issues on the ballot,
it simply ensures that all are subject to the same rule.  A
group aiming to place an initiative or a referendum on the
ballot has 90 days to collect the threshold number of petition
signatures; it then turns them in to the Ohio secretary of state
to verify that enough valid signatures have been gathered.
Senate Bill 47 stipulates that the group must stop collecting
new signatures while the submitted ones are verified. Then, if
the group needs more signatures, it would have 10 days to go
collect more.  Under the old system, groups would turn in their
petitions but, while they waited