Constitutional amendment vote threshold question slated to appear on Ohio’s August ballot

Ohio voters will get the chance to decide whether to make it harder to pass constitutional amendments just ahead of possible November vote on an amendment that would enshrine abortion rights in the state.

A resolution asking voters in an August election to raise the threshold for future amendments from a simple majority to 60% cleared the politically fractured Ohio House 62-37 on Wednesday. Five majority Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing it. The policy battle has consumed the state for months.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its landmark Roe v. Wade ruling guaranteeing abortion rights last year, other states’ amendments involving the procedure have shown voter support for legal access to abortion is between 50% and 60%, whether in conservative Kansas, Democratic-leaning Michigan or Republican-leaning Kentucky. No vote has exceeded 60%.

REPUBLICAN EFFORT TO RESTRICT CHANGES TO OHIO’S CONSTITUTION FACES DEADLINE AS STATE HOUSE CONTINUES TO STALL

AP VoteCast polling last year found 59% of Ohio voters say abortion should generally be legal.

The resolution’s Republican backers continued to characterize the effort as a constitutional protection act aimed at keeping deep-pocketed special interests out of Ohio’s foundational documents, while Democrats lambasted it as an assault on democracy.

Cries of protest resounded through the Statehouse as Wednesday’s debate took place, and Democratic lawmakers produced hand-painted signs from under their seats just after the vote and exited the chamber chanting, “One person, one vote.”

The measure’s sponsor, Republican state Rep. Brian Stewart, said the protesters didn’t bother him.

“You’ve got 150 people in T-shirts in a state of 12 million people,” he said. “That’s fine. They can come and put on the circus, but we expect this is going to be a robust election and well-received, and we believe it will pass when Ohioans get their chance to vote.”

The labor-backed We Are Ohio coalition launched an immediate opposition campaign. Other opponents include every living ex-governor of the state, both Republican and Democratic former attorneys general and the Ohio Libertarian Party.

Kayla Griffin of All Voting is Local, a voting rights organization that’s part of the We Are Ohio coalition, said lawmakers “should not underestimate us when we show up in August.”

Jen…