A recently proposed amendment to the state constitution brought to light two antiquated and offensive words buried in the Constitution of the State of Ohio: “idiot” and “insane.”

The words appear in Section 6 of Article V, which deals with voting: “No idiot, or insane persons, shall be entitled to the privileges of an elector.” This section was added in 1851 and never repealed, even when other sections of Article V were repealed and amended.

“I do not know why the legislature is reluctant to correct what is not only an injustice but an insult to so many of our fellow citizens,” said Wilson Huhn, a Duquesne University law professor and longtime advocate for children and adults with developmental disabilities. “The disability community stands for kindness, tolerance and sharing. Perhaps these values are not universally viewed with admiration.”

Prior efforts to remove language have failed

A 2017 report by the Ohio Constitutional Revision Commission (OCRC) detailed the history of the outdated language and attempts to remove or change it. 

“Throughout the 1800s, an ‘idiot’ was simply a person with diminished mental capacity, what later was termed ‘mental retardation,’ and what is now referred to as being ‘developmentally disabled,’” the report stated. Idiocy was a permanent condition.

An “insane” person was someone who was not always incapacitated and might recover.

In 1970, an earlier version of the OCRC recommended an update that would eliminate the outdated words while still allowing the state to temporarily deny voting rights to anyone found by a court to be “incompetent for the purpose of voting.” But state lawmakers did not act. (In a separate report, a commission member stated that 21 of 62 recommendations sent to the Ohio legislature in 1970 had “disappeared.”)

The OCRC revisited the issue in 2015. Professor Huhn, who was a constitutional law professor at The University of Akron at the time, testified on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union. In addition to offering a detailed legal case for abolishing the section, he spoke as a special needs parent, teacher and activist.

“Persons with developmental delay have a vivid understanding of the public policies that affect them,” he said. “The vast majority of them are fully capable of intelligently and independently exercising the precious right to vote.”

But the proposed change narrowly failed in a vote by the full commission because eight members voted against it (their reasons were not recorded) and six were absent. In the minutes from the OCRC’s final meeting in 2017, a member lamented “that the constitution is being left with the word ‘idiot’ in it.” Another called the failure a “blight on the Commission’s otherwise positive record.”

‘He is limited in understanding, but he has a big heart’

Huhn, who lives in Pepper Pike, said that his 43-year-old son Jesse has an IQ of 50 and the emotional capacity of an 11- or 12-year-old. But he is an enthusiastic voter. “He wants people to be taken care of,” Huhn explained. “He is limited in understanding, but he has a big heart.”

Huhn said he was never told why the OCRC did not recommend removing Article V, Section 6. He believes there would be support for it in the state legislature, but also possibly concern about voter fraud using the identities of people who are unable to understand that they’re signing an absentee ballot that’s already filled out, for example.

“So put together a testing program, don’t just have a blanket solution, especially one with insulting language,” he said. “Imagine if it was a racial slur.”

Neither Huhn nor Disability Rights Ohio, an advocacy organization, knew of instances of people denied the right to vote based on Article V, Section 6. But they say that doesn’t mean the state should continue to ignore it.

“People with disabilities are unified in their desire to be seen as fully realized and integrated members of society,” said Kerstin Sjoberg, executive director of Disability Rights Ohio. ”Voting is considered a measure of autonomy, full participation as citizens, and independence. Ohio’s Constitution should affirm these values.”

Another shot at changing the Ohio state constitution?

The Ohio Voters Bill of Rights, the recently proposed constitutional amendment, would eliminate the “idiot or insane persons” section (and make other changes like allowing same-day voting registration and using a school ID as proof of identification).

On Dec. 28, State Attorney General Dave Yost rejected the request to move ahead with the process for getting the amendment on the ballot in November, claiming there were “omissions and misstatements” in the summary submitted by proponents. (Approval of the summary is an early step in a long process.)

On Tuesday, organizers of the amendment campaign submitted a new summary.

“While the Attorney General’s initial rejection was disappointing, it has only strengthened our determination to keep this effort moving forward,” the organizers said in a statement. The amendment campaign is led by the Ohio Unity Coalition, the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, Ohio NAACP and the A. Philip Randolph Institute.

“The amendment will help build an equitable path to the ballot box for all Ohioans, while safeguarding our elections’ security and integrity. Most importantly, this amendment will make Ohio’s democracy more accessible to all of us.”

Attorney General Yost has until Jan. 25 to approve or reject the new summary. If it’s approved, the organizers will have until July 3 to gather the petition signatures necessary (from at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties) to get the amendment on the ballot in November.