Cincinnati, Ohio, Issue 22, Sale of Cincinnati Southern Railway to Norfolk Southern Measure (November 2023)

Cincinnati Issue 22
Election date November 7, 2023
Topic Local transportation
Status Approved
Type Referral

Cincinnati Issue 22 was on the ballot as a referral in Cincinnati on November 7, 2023. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported authorizing the Cincinnati Southern Railway Board of Trustees to sell the Cincinnati Southern Railway for $1.6 billion to the Norfolk Southern Corporation, and depositing the money into a trust fund operated by the Cincinnati Southern Railway Board of Trustees to be used to improve or replace existing streets, bridges, municipal buildings, parks and recreational facilities, parking improvements, and other public facilities.

A "no" vote opposed authorizing the Cincinnati Southern Railway Board of Trustees to sell the Cincinnati Southern Railway to the Norfolk Southern Corporation.

Election results

Cincinnati Issue 22
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		44,250	51.68%
No		41,369	48.32%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

Overview

Issue 22 authorized the Cincinnati Southern Railway Board of Trustees to sell the Cincinnati Southern Railway to the Norfolk Southern Corporation. Under Issue 22, the money from the sale needed to be deposited into a trust fund operated by the Cincinnati Southern Railway Board of Trustees to be used to improve or replace existing streets, bridges, municipal buildings, parks and recreational facilities, parking improvements, and other public facilities.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Issue 22 was as follows:

“

Shall the Cincinnati Southern Railway Board of Trustees be authorized to sell the Cincinnati Southern Railway to an entity, the ultimate parent company of which is Norfolk Southern Corporation, for a purchase price of $1,600,000,000, to be paid in a single installment during the year 2024, with the moneys received to be deposited into a trust fund operated by the Cincinnati Southern Railway Board of Trustees, with the City of Cincinnati as the sole beneficiary, the moneys to be annually disbursed to the municipal corporation in an amount no less than $26,500,000 per year, for the purpose of the rehabilitation, modernization, or replacement of existing streets, bridges, municipal buildings, parks and green spaces, site improvements, recreation facilities, improvements for parking purposes, and any other public facilities owned by the City of Cincinnati, and to pay for the costs of administering the trust fund?

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Support

Building Cincinnati’s Future led the campaign in support of the ballot initiative.

Supporters

Officials

• Councilmember Liz Keating (Nonpartisan)
• Mayor Aftab Pureval (Nonpartisan)

Arguments

• Building Cincinnati’s Future: "Selling the Cincinnati Southern Railway for $1.6 billion will deliver a windfall for Cincinnati. It will generate funds to improve existing city infrastructure—to protect clean water, improve fire and emergency services, repair roads and sidewalks, update city parks, bring recreation centers up to code, and more. We will do all that and more—without raising taxes. And our city desperately needs it. Cincinnati has a backlog of over $400 million in needed maintenance to our infrastructure across all of the city’s neighborhoods—including outdated fire stations, recreation centers not up to safety code, community health centers with failing ventilation systems, and more. By passing this ballot measure, we will address our infrastructure needs and create thousands of jobs—increasing our quality of life and growing our economy— without a penny in new taxes."
• Aftab Pureval, mayor of Cincinnati: "If this doesn’t pass and our deferred capital maintenance continues to go up by hundreds of millions of dollars then we would no longer be able to maintain the infrastructure we have. Roads will no longer be able to be paved with regularity, potholes will continue to be a challenge. We wouldn’t be able to remove snow effectively and quickly. We’ll have to downsize the number of fire stations and police stations we have, which will have an impact on safety. We won’t be able to maintain the parks we have in our community. The basic blocking and tackling of running a city will no longer be affordable."

Opposition

Opponents

Officials

• Councilmember Kevin Flynn (Nonpartisan)
• Councilmember Christopher Smitherman (Nonpartisan)

Unions

• Railroad Workers United

Arguments

• Ron Kaminkow, organizer for Railroad Workers United: "It seems to me that Cincinnati has a lot of cards to play here and can actually make a lot more money leasing this railroad to Norfolk Southern than they have historically."

Media editorials

See also: 2023 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

The following media editorial boards published an editorial supporting the ballot measure:

• Cincinnati Editorial Board: "Norfolk Southern currently leases the railroad for $25 million a year, but that lease ends in 2026. City officials and the railway board say the sale would allow the city to double that annual revenue at a minimum. The $1.6 billion would be placed in a trust fund with a goal to forward an annual payment to the city from investment returns. The principal would not be touched and funds could only be used on existing infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, parks and city facilities. Estimates of the investment income the city could receive range from $50 million to $70 million a year. That's money our cash-strapped city could certainly use as it faces a $30 million general fund deficit next year and $400 million in deferred maintenance, including $70 million in needed fixes at Cincinnati parks."

Oppose

Ballotpedia did not locate media editorial boards in opposition to the ballot measure.

Path to the ballot

On August 2, 2023, the Cincinnati City Council voted to place the measure on the ballot.

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Ohio

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Ohio.

How to vote in Ohio

Poll times

In Ohio, all polling places are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Voters who are in line at 7:30 p.m. are permitted to vote.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To register to vote in Ohio, an applicant must be a United States citizen, a resident of Ohio for at least 30 days before the election, and at least 18 years old by the day of the election. Individuals who are incarcerated for a felony conviction, have been declared by a court to be incompetent for voting purposes, or have been permanently disenfranchised may not register to vote.

Applicants may register to vote online, in person, or by mail. The Ohio Voter Registration and Information Update Form is available online and can be requested by mail. In-person voter registration is available at various locations including the secretary of state and board of elections offices, Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices, public libraries and high schools, and other state agencies. A full list of locations is available here.

The deadline to register to vote is 30 days before the next election. An Ohio driver’s license number, state ID card number, or the last four digits of a SSN is required in order to register to vote or update a voter registration.

Automatic registration

Ohio does not practice automatic voter registration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Ohio has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Ohio does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

Prospective voters must be residents of Ohio for at least 30 days before the election.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Ohio requires those registering to vote or updating their voter registration information at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles facility to provide proof of citizenship before being allowed to do so. Individuals registering to vote in other settings do not have to provide proof of citizenship but must attest to their citizenship in a sworn statement.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. One state, Ohio, requires proof of citizenship only when registering to vote at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles facility. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The Ohio Secretary of State’s Office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website.

Voter ID requirements

Ohio requires voters to present photo identification while voting.

The following list of accepted ID was current as of October 2025. Click here for the Ohio Secretary of State page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.

“

Ohio driver's license; State of Ohio ID card; Interim ID form issued by the Ohio BMV; A US passport; A US passport card; US military ID card; Ohio National Guard ID card; or US Department of Veterans Affairs ID card All photo IDs must have the following: An expiration date that has not passed; A photograph of the voter; The voter’s name, which must substantially conform to the voter’s name as it appears in the Poll List or in the Poll Book An unexpired Ohio Driver License, State ID Card, or Interim Documentation with your former address IS an ACCEPTABLE form of ID when your current address is in the pollbook.

”

Ohio voters can obtain a free state ID card from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

See also

Local measures

• Local measures in 2023
• Local transportation on the ballot

Ohio

• Ohio 2023 local measures
• Local ballot measures, Ohio
• Cincinnati, Ohio

News and analysis

• State and local preemption conflicts
• Measures advancing national agendas