A new proposal from Ohio GOP leaders would make it harder for voters to amend the state constitution, an avenue advocates for abortion access and redistricting reform are expected to pursue . Applying similarly worded state constitutions, courts in Washington, Missouri, Maine, Massachusetts, and Michigan have all rejected attempts by their legislatures to undermine the initiative process.16 It is possible that a court in Ohio would do the same, but the prospect of legislative interference plainly reduces the attractiveness of initiated statutes relative to initiated amendments. These amendments are known as legislatively referred constitutional amendments. But theyve cast the new 88-county requirement as ensuring that Ohioans in all 88 counties have a voice when it comes to potential amendments to the state constitution. Currently, abortion in Ohio is legal up to 22 weeks of pregnancy. XLVIII, pt. The proposal was unveiled during a busy lame-duck session of the Republican-controlled General Assembly that has also seen last-minute bills to rewrite the states election laws, including imposing a strict photo ID requirement for voting, and to strip the state board of education of most of its powers. of State Frank LaRose 'wouldn't be surprised' by low turnout, 8 reasons for why Issue 1 is wrong for all Ohioans, even conservatives, Letters: Stop the gaslighting. (A few months later, the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, prohibiting alcohol sales nationwide.). In order for the abortion amendment to be placed on the ballot in November, supporters had to collect over 413,487 signatures, with a certain amount of those signatures in certain counties. The sponsors of the supermajority proposal contend that the Ohio Constitution should be more difficult to amend because the supposed ease of the current process has allowed it to be hijacked by special interests. This rationale does not hold up. It banned any statewide prohibition of alcohol sales and established local control of the same. They impose regulations on the people who gather the signatures. Preamble One of a committee's recommendations was to raise the passing percentage from 50% to 55%. Since 1912, Ohio's voters have . The remaining 108 (or about 84%) were referred by the General Assembly. It organizes government into various branches, prescribes their powers, and specifies the extent to which these powers may be exercised. These are well-funded operations, often out of state, whether conservative or liberal, knowing they have to collect millions of signatures. And that would disadvantage those truly citizen groups that want to get out there with clipboards and make it happen.You may actually comparatively advantage the special interests because the special interests may be able to afford to pay $1 million, the $1.5 million, to hire more people with clipboards, LaRose said. Theres one final way states try to restrict ballot initiative campaigns. Recent polling, however, found that a majority of Ohio voters oppose amending the constitution to make it . ", Deceitful bill proof some GOP lawmakers willing to steal rights from all Ohioans, Desperate Ohio lawmakers ready to slap voters in the face to stop abortion vote, Sec. An initiative petition proposing a constitutional amendment needs to be filed at least 125 days before the general election of the petitioners choice, which typically means filing in early July.17 If the petition has enough signatures and complies with all other requirements, then it is submitted at the ensuing general election, allowing voters to decide the issue within about four months from the petitions filing. Although initiated amendments rarely make the ballot in Ohio, two that did have been heavily criticized ever since. Further, the reasons given for making the initiative unusually difficult do not withstand scrutiny. Further calling into question the need for the proposal is the fact that the Ohio Constitution already contains a powerful safeguard against special interests that might seek to abuse the initiative process. The difficulty of Ohios initiative process is borne out by the low success rate of petition campaigns. One was a 2009 proposal approved by the voters that legalized gambling in casinos with the catch that the casinos had to be constructed at predetermined sites in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo. The current going rate is $20 to $25 per signature if a campaign hires a paid petitioning firm, something thats increasingly common, said the operative, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. They also contend, as a general point, that initiated constitutional amendments should require broader public support for passage. The measure would establish a fundamental right to reproductive freedom with reasonable limits. In language similar to a constitutional amendment that Michigan voters approved last November, it would require restrictions imposed past a fetus viability outside the womb which is typically around the 24th week of pregnancy and was the standard under Roe v. Wade to be based on evidence of patient health and safety benefits. Under the proposal being voted on next month, the bar would be raised to 60%. The key for us is to avoid having these things on the ballot, said Stivers, a former Republican congressman from the Columbus area. The change proposed by Secretary LaRose and Rep. Stewart would require initiated amendments (as well as legislatively-referred amendments) to receive a 60% supermajority vote for passage.5. All men are, by nature, free and independent, and have certain inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and seeking and obtaining happiness and safety. actually be used on roadway improvements. In theory, it also should be easier to make needed changes or improvements to an initiated statute than to an initiated amendment since a statute can be revised through legislative action, while altering an amendment requires a statewide vote. If it reaches the ballot, a vote on the amendment would only need a simple majority to pass in May 2023. It is also questionable that Secretary LaRose and Rep. Stewart want the General Assembly to submit their proposal to the voters at an odd-year primary election when voter turnout is historically at its lowest. That lawmakers can set aside the will of the voters in an initiated statute something that has happened in other states has made constitutional amendments a more attractive option for supporters looking to invest time and resources into a campaign. XIX, 1 (providing that an initiated statute cannot be amended, annulled, repealed, set aside, suspended, or in any way made inoperative except by the direct vote of the people.); N.D. The proposal joins others around the nation that have been motivated by last summers U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the nationwide right to abortion it once protected, leaving abortion policy to individual states. Text of Section 1: Inalienable Rights. The amendment would need a 2/3 approval of the Republican-led General Assembly in order to go to the ballot. An array of experts, advocates, and state officials have questioned these claims and cast the proposal as a power grab. Pointing to recently announced efforts to amend the Ohio Constitution to raise the minimum wage, protect access to abortion, and improve the states troubled redistricting processpolicies that have earned voter approval in other states some have argued that the supermajority proposal aims to block these efforts. Opponents of the measure have advanced an argument that, because the amendment protects individuals, it has the potential to trump Ohios parental consent laws around abortion. And with an unexpected election comes unexpected costs that are paid for by the taxpayers; for reference, Secretary LaRose reportedly said that the cost to hold Ohios similarly unexpected August 2022 primary election for legislative races cost taxpayers an extra $25-30 million. Editor's note: In 2017 Ohio lawmakers considered changes to the constitutional amendment process. But I dont think we can say for sure that states with more stringent geographic distributionrequirements see fewer successful ballot measures.. These include the aforementioned alcohol prohibition measures, the limit on the amount of property taxes that local governments can impose without voter approval, home rule powers for counties, the minimum wage increase, and the amendment that allowed gambling in casinos. But the proposal would make it unusually difficult for Ohioans to exercise the initiative compared to other direct democracy states. Support in the new . This would be done by requiring amendment campaigns, starting in 2024, to first gather a minimum number of voter signatures from all 88 Ohio counties, compared to 44 counties now. establish voter registration requirements, allow counties to exercise home rule powers, establish a right to health care services, establish certain rights for crime victims, Cleveland State University College of Law. If the four-month period ends in early May, then the petitioners 90-day window would run into early August. Thirty-two states do not allow constitutional amendments to be proposed by outside groups. The politicians in Columbus now want to take this weapon away from Ohioans by passing Issue 1 on the August 8 ballot. Heres the latest for Tuesday, July 25th: Scientists link heat wave to climate change; Biden Administration sues Texas Governor over border barriers; North Korea launches short-range ballistic missiles; More protests in Israel over judicial reform plan. & R. as one of the most essential safeguards to representative government.1 The Court explained that its greatest value is not in the ability it gives Ohioans to propose good (or sometimes bad) ideas, but in the wholesome restraint imposed automatically upon the General Assembly and the Governor and the possibilities of that latent power when called into action by the voters.2 In other words, the initiative is fundamentally about keeping politicians in check and giving citizens a safety valve. The August ballot measure would see future amendment need at least 60% support to pass. With one important exception, proposed amendments to the Ohio Constitution require a simple majority vote by the people of Ohio for passage.4 This has been the rule since the initiative power was added to the Ohio Constitution in 1912, and it is the case regardless of whether the amendment is proposed by initiative petition or by the General Assembly. Either branch of the General Assembly may propose amendments to this constitution; and, if the same shall be agreed to by three-fifths of the members elected to each house, such proposed amendments shall be entered on the journals, with the . Matt Huffman, R-Lima, is president of the Ohio Senate. Ohio would be the only state that requires signatures from all of its 88 counties. Oregon has a limited supermajority requirement that actually serves as a safeguard against efforts to impose supermajority requirements on future initiatives: Any ballot measure that would impose a supermajority requirement for passage of future ballot measures must itself receive at least the same percentage of voter approval as specified in the proposed supermajority requirement.12 For example, a ballot measure that would require future ballot measures to receive a 60% supermajority approval for passage would need to be approved by at least 60% of voters. It did not recommend requiring signatures be collected from all 88 Ohio counties to get an issue on the ballot or eliminating time to make up for bad signatures. Vote 'yes' on issue 1, Suddes: Republican lawmakers betting Ohioans won't vote in August, the Columbus Dispatch Editorial Board endorsed the idea, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Ohio voters will decide in November whether to amend their state Constitution to establish a right to abortion, after state officials said on Tuesday that proponents had submitted . An 88-county requirement would be at the clear upper end of what states require in terms of a geographical distribution requirement for signature collection.. Second, like a petition for an initiated amendment, the supplementary petition needs to be filed at least 125 days before the general election at which it will be submitted, which, again, typically falls in early July. Secretary LaRose and Rep. Stewart have offered a few related reasons in support of their proposal. The process for an initiated statute is more complicated. That amendment did not last long. An initiative petition bears little resemblance to petitions found online in places like Change.org; it must be signed in person by a registered Ohio voter, and the process is heavily regulated with civil and criminal penalties for fraud. Congress passed an enabling bill to establish a new state, which President Thomas Jefferson signed into law on April 30, 1802. But when Ohio voters rejected the marijuana monopoly amendment in 2015, they also approved Issue 2dubbed the anti-monopoly amendment. This amendment created impediments for any constitutional amendment proposed by initiative petition that would grant unique financial benefits or commercial interests to a select few. Despite the suggestion that the Ohio Constitution is full of amendments adopted through the initiative process, the truth is that the initiative process has been sparingly used by Ohioans to amend the state constitution, due in large part to the substantial hurdles described above. The vitriol is more than two-faced, it gets personal. 195 (1976); Mothering Justice v. Nessel, MI Ct. Cl. Based on the committees recommendations, Rep. Glenn Holmes, a Democrat, then co-sponsored a resolution in 2018 to raise the threshold to 60%. Secretary LaRose acknowledged that most efforts to amend the Ohio Constitution through the initiative process have been unsuccessful. Their arguments didn't break new rhetorical ground, but the forum's broad reach may encourage more voters to turn out. And the addition of a heightened threshold for passagean anomaly among direct democracy stateswould cement Ohios initiative right as one of the most difficult in the nation for citizens to exercise. 227 (1948); Buckley v Secy of Commw, 371 Mass. The August ballot measure would see future amendment need at least 60% support to pass. State Issue 1 backers have tended to focus on the part of State Issue 1 that raises the voter approval threshold from 50% to 60%. Its become a popular vehicle for proposing direct law changes on topics ranging from raising the minimum wage to banning same-sex marriage to legalizing casino gambling. COLUMBUS, Ohio Ohio would set some of the highest hurdles for citizen-initiated state constitutional amendments in the country if voters pass State Issue 1 this August. The board now declares raising the threshold would be reckless, reprehensible and disrespectful to democracy.. Even in raising the percentage of votes required to pass amendments from 50% to 60%, Ohio's constitution would remain far easier to amend than the U.S. Constitution, which requires a two-thirds . Ohio has a process for initiated constitutional amendments, which means constitutional amendments can go on the ballot through citizen initiatives, legislatively referred constitutional amendments, or constitutional conventions. Some of Ohios more rural areas lack large gathering places, like a shopping mall, requiring a greater effort from canvassers to find voters. The ballot initiative process allows citizens to propose statutes or constitutional amendments, depending on the state, and collect signatures to place their proposals on the ballot for voters to decide. Ohioans are waking up to the dangers of the ACLUs anti-parent amendment and they are terrified and rightfully so, she said in a statement. Akron Beacon Journal Editorial Board:8 reasons for why Issue 1 is wrong for all Ohioans, even conservatives, More:Letters: Stop the gaslighting. It took $50 million in advertising but only 52.9% of the vote for the casinos to literally buy a law and put their own financial interests into our state constitution. In Nebraska, for instance, a proposed amendment can be passed by majority vote, but the total number of votes cast on the proposal must equal at least 35% of the total votes cast in the election.9 Massachusetts and Mississippi have similar requirements.10, In Nevada, initiated amendments must receive a majority vote at two successive general elections in order to pass.11. Letters:Stop the gaslighting. A yes vote would approve the changes while a no vote would reject them. Ohioans will still be able to easily pass constitutional amendments that enjoy genuine broad and bipartisan support. XV, 273(7). This figure was most recently about 442,958 signaturesthe third highest raw total in the nationthough it will drop somewhat with this years decreased voter turnout. The proposal would impose a supermajority threshold for passing amendments by ballot initiative requiring at least 60% support from the states voters, instead of the simple majority required under current law. It is unclear whether the Ohio Constitution would allow such meddling with initiated statutes. 175 shares By Andrew J. Tobias, cleveland.com COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio would set some of the highest hurdles for citizen-initiated state constitutional amendments in the country if voters pass. John Dinan, a Wake Forest University professor and expert on state constitutional amendments, said geographic-based petition restrictions are a common way that states set limits on amendment campaigns. Otherwise, they will have to wait until the general election the following yearnearly two years after they submitted their original petition.18. Co., 456 S.W.3d 27 (Mo. Of those, only 20 (or about 16%) were initiated amendments. General Assembly Initiated Constitutional Amendment The members of the General Assembly represent Ohio's voters in the legislative branch. Lets face it, people arent sitting around the table at bridge club coming up with ideas for constitutional amendment campaigns, said Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, an anti-abortion group thats actively involved in the push to pass State Issue 1. It involves two separate petitions and potentially conflicting deadlines. 299 shares By Andrew J. Tobias, cleveland.com COLUMBUS, Ohio - Leading up to the special election in August, Ohio voters will hear arguments about how easy or hard it is to amend the state's. Since 2005, Ohio has required paid petition gatherers to file forms with the state disclosing their employer, in a move proponents said would ensure transparency but which imposes an administrative burden on petition firms. Const., art. 5 A similar idea had been explored in the 2010s by a committee of the now-defunct Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission. This contrasts with Secretary LaRoses proposal, which would require only a simple majority vote to impose the proposed supermajority requirement. These figures also indicate that Ohioans have approved a smaller percentage of amendments proposed by initiative petition than amendments proposed by the General Assembly. They contend that the ease of the initiative process has led to a bloated state constitution and that special interests have hijacked the constitution. II, 10(c) (requiring the legislature to submit any amendments to or attempts to repeal an initiated statute to the voters for approval); Nev. It was replaced four years later by the third ever initiated amendmenta statewide ban on alcohol sales. For context, eight of the initiated amendments approved by Ohio voters since 1912 garnered less than 60% approval. Ironically, this proposal could become part of the states constitution even if it does not itself receive the supermajority support from Ohio voters that it would require for future amendments. If submitted to the voters, the proposal would require only a simple majority vote for passage despite imposing a supermajority requirement on future initiated amendments. Legislators have presumably avoided submitting referred amendments at odd-year primary elections because they recognize that such elections tend to have low turnout, and those who participate may not be representative of the broader electorate. Ohio already has some of the countrys most challenging ballot access requirements for initiatives. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. But, he said he hasnt seen any research into whether tougher ballot access requirements have any effect on the number of amendment proposals that eventually make it through, though he assumes they at least require campaigns to expend greater resources. "They knew to carefully set the minimum threshold for changes at 66%. LaRose has spoken publicly in favor of the measure since its drafters added the higher signature requirements. But the proposal also would weed out potential citizen-initiated amendments by making it much harder for them to qualify for the ballot in the first place. In other words, petitioners likely need to collect a minimum of 600,000- 700,000 signatures. The first petition serves to propose the law to the General Assembly for its consideration; this petition must be filed at least ten days before the commencement of any annual session of the General Assemblya deadline that typically falls in late-December. Secretary LaRose identified Washington and Wyoming as states with supermajority requirements for petition-based constitutional amendments, but, in fact, neither state provides for constitutional amendments through an initiative process. of State Frank LaRose 'wouldn't be surprised' by low turnout. Andrew Tobias covers state politics and government for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. It did not recommend requiring signatures be collected from all 88 Ohio counties to get an issue on the ballot or eliminating time to make up for bad signatures. The current (and seventh) Alabama Constitution was ratified by voters in 2022. An election will be held on Aug. 8 to decide the issue. Julie covers government and politics from Ohio. III, 8 (requiring a two-thirds vote from the legislature to change an initiated statute for seven years after its effective date). Secretary LaRose and Rep. Stewart have argued that a supermajority requirement is needed to protect against unnamed special interests who have supposedly hijacked the Ohio Constitution through the initiative process. The .gov means it's official The proposed measure would add language to the Ohio Constitution explicitly guaranteeing the right of every individual " to make and carry out one's own . Although there is some surface appeal to the idea, this other initiative process suffers from flaws that, unless fixed, make it a less viable solution for citizens to propose policies. It is not difficult to imagine scenarios where the General Assembly would choose to disregard the results of a voter-approved initiative, particularly one that seeks to constrain the General Assemblys own authority. The coalition had submitted more than 700,000 signatures. This analysis examines the proposed supermajority requirement and the various claims and arguments made for and against it. Jul 21, 2023 Jarvis A. Huck "You are engaged in framing a constitution under and in accordance with which the people are to get and to do justice and absolutely to rule themselves." -Theodore. The highest requirement comes from Arkansas, where Republican legislators in March moved to require campaigns gather signatures from 50 of its 75 counties (66%), an increase from 15 counties. Notably, voters in Arkansas just rejected a proposal to impose a 60% supermajority requirement for initiated amendments, and in 2018, South Dakotans rejected a similar proposal to impose a 55% supermajority requirement. All rights reserved (About Us). In short, the supermajority proposal would make Ohio an outlier among direct democracy states in requiring a 60% supermajority for passage of any initiated constitutional amendment. The Ohio Democratic Party even agrees with the wisdom of not allowing a simple majority to change its founding document. Dorsky v Goss, 143 Me. Angie Greer, the Columbus canvass director for Ohio Citizen Action, made sure residents had a voting plan for the Aug. 8 election. 14 See Ohio Const., art. Election on constitutional amendments in Ohio could impact abortion rights measure, Ohio abortion rights backers submit nearly double needed signatures for fall ballot measure, Abortion messaging roils debate over Ohio ballot initiative. The 88-county requirement was a decisive factor in the Ohio Chamber of Commerces decision to endorse the measure, according to Stivers, the groups CEO. While some states have a higher overall requirement and some states have more challenging geographic distribution requirement, few states have a more challenging combination of the two. Section 1. Learn more from the Ohio Secretary of State's Office. Matt Huffman, R-Lima is president, of the Ohio Senate. By browsing this site, we may share your information with our social media partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy. It is not clear that this result was intentionalthe changed deadlines were touted as allowing more time to resolve legal challenges to petitionsbut it was certainly an effect. But the initiated statute process suffers from at least two major flaws that limit its usefulness as an alternative to the initiated amendment. Ohio Issue 1 originated in the General Assembly. Doubling the county requirement to 88 will add about $1 million to that total, the operative said. Three states set them by county, including Ohio. The Ohio Constitution lays out the framework for the state's government and provides rights for the people of Ohio. Ohio law does permit citizens to submit proposed laws first to the General Assembly for consideration and then to the voters for approval. But in actuality for Ohioans, this will take the option completely off the table.. Boxes of signatures are delivered to Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRoses office in downtown Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday, July 5, 2023.
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