![A voter wearing a face mask at Cox Arboretum and Gardens in Dayton, Ohio sits at a table filling out her ballot. Her ballot is hidden to others by a partition that has a picture of the American flag and the word vote. There are masked poll workers in the background. [Caption: A voter at Cox Arboretum and Gardens Tuesday morning filling out a paper ballot.]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2600bd4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5184x3456+0+0/resize/840x560!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc8%2F7b%2F7a56985b4a43a164f1e49f090ec4%2F201103-coxarboretumvoter.JPG)
Across Ohio, early voting is underway for the state’s August special election. There’s only one measure on the ballot — Ohio Issue 1.
If passed, Issue 1 would require 60% voter approval for any amendment to the Ohio Constitution. If approved, this rule would apply to the November 2023 election and the other measures would take effect in January 2024.
Bruce Hull, vice chair of the Greene County Republican Party, supports Issue 1. He believes its passage will defeat an abortion rights amendment on the November 2023 ballot.
“The abortion right is on the ballot. It will pass over 50 percent, that’s my prediction. But it’s not going to make 60 percent,” Hull said. “That’s why Issue One for me, as a pro-life person, is very important.”
Laura Rosenberger, chair of the Clark County Republican Party, also supports Issue 1. She believes it will better protect the state constitution from the influence of outside groups attempting to dictate Ohio’s policies.
“Special interests coming in and spending millions of dollars in the counties that have the big cities — Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus, Cincinnat — they get their signatures from those cities,” Rosenberger said. “The people who live in the rural counties are ignored and not represented on these state-wide ballot initiatives.”
Issue 1 would require petition signatures must come from all of Ohio’s 88 counties — double the counties currently required. It also eliminates a 10 day period to gather additional signatures if the count is short.
Dayton Mayor Jeffrey J. Mims opposes Issue 1. He declined to comment on whether it's designed to minimize women’s reproductive rights but he believes this measure will create unreasonable barriers against citizens who have little political power.
“I don’t want to accuse anyone for doing something unscrupulous for a particular issue, but to reduce the masses of people who have their right to vote and to have their voices heard — I think is wrong,” Mims stated.
Additionally, he argues this measure will disenfranchise ordinary citizens.
“Those individuals who have wealth are the ones who are trying to get us to vote yes so they can maintain that and grow the power they have in those spaces,” Mims believes. “For the masses of people, we need to have it completely simplistic, the way it is right now. It gives everyone a chance to get their voices heard.”
