Abortion, democracy, special interests: How groups are selling their pitch on Ohio Issue 1

A canvasser knocked on doors in Westerville during a hot summer evening, asking voters if they'll agree to oppose Issue 1 on the August ballot.

Angie Greer, the Columbus canvass director for Ohio Citizen Action, made sure residents had a voting plan for the Aug. 8 election. She asked them to sign a postcard that would later be mailed back, a gentle reminder of their promise to vote no. Issue 1 is undemocratic, she told voters, and lawmakers aren't listening to the people.

Days later, the Ohio Republican Party held an early voting rally urging supporters to get to the polls sooner rather than later. As he ticked through talking points in favor of Issue 1, Secretary of State Frank LaRose told the crowd he was preaching to the choir − but that choir had work to do.

"You know what the choir's job is: The choir's job is to get the rest of the congregation up on their feet and into the worship," he said.

More: Issue 1: Everything you need to know about Ohio Issue 1 and the August special election

The past month in Ohio felt more like October than July as groups fanned out across the state, either to curry favor for Issue 1 or work against it. Voters will decide in an Aug. 8 special election whether they support the measure, which would:

• Require 60% of voters to pass a new constitutional amendment, instead of a simple majority of 50% plus one.

• Require citizens who want to place an amendment on the ballot to collect signatures from at least 5% of voters from the last gubernatorial election in all 88 counties, instead of the current 44.

• Eliminate a 10-day cure period that allows citizens to replace any signatures deemed faulty by the secretary of state's office.

Both sides face the same, daunting task: Educating Ohioans about a complicated issue during the summer, when they aren't accustomed to voting.

"I watch the news all the time. Everybody don't watch the news all the time," said Jarvis Williams, president of TWU Local 208 in Columbus. "We have to be out here to make sure that we inform the public of these sneaky tactics that these corrupt politicians and some of the special interest groups are trying on us."

How Issue 1 supporters are trying to rally their base

For supporters of Issue 1, the elevator pitch depends on the audience.

Anti-abortion groups are focused squarely on a potential November ballot question that would enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution. Business leaders warn against efforts to put a minimum wage increase before voters in 2024. Gun rights lobbyists say Ohioans' Second Amendment rights are in danger, even though there are no current plans to put gun control reforms on the ballot.

Then there's an issue all Republicans can get behind, Ohio Right to Life president Mike Gonidakis told a crowd in Newark last week: Redistricting. Former Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor has said she's working on a proposed amendment in response to the state's chaotic mapmaking process in 2022.

Although O'Connor is a Republican, she became a target of her own party after declaring multiple sets of GOP maps for General Assembly and congressional districts unconstitutional.

"She'll have enough money to convince you that left is right and right is left," Gonidakis said.

At the same time, backers are trying to sell the message that Issue 1 is bigger than any one policy debate. They say the state constitution is too unwieldy and should be as difficult to change as the U.S. Constitution. Raising the threshold will ensure it can't be co-opted by special interests, opponents argue.

"Small counties like Geauga have the same right to participate as massive counties like Cuyahoga, and it’s absolutely wrong the way the constitution is currently drafted," Lake County Commissioner John Plecnik told Republicans in Geauga County. "It’s being abused by professional signature collectors and the big commercial interests that have been amending our constitution over and over again."

Complicating the narrative: Opponents of Issue 1 say they, too, are fighting special interests.

'We've always had to fight'

An ad peppering televisions across Ohio shows a pair of scissors cutting up the constitution. The narrator says Issue 1, if passed, would "(shred) the idea that we the people decide what happens here."

The pitch on the ground is a similar one. Groups working against the ballot issue speak broadly about democracy and the principle of "one person, one vote," which means one person's voting power should be equal to another's. They contend Issue 1 would enable only well-funded outside groups to put amendments on the ballot, effectively killing any true grassroots campaigns.

"That's the main message that we give folks at the door," Greer said. "And that really does resonate with folks, no matter what party you affiliate yourself with. It's in general, I think folks see that it's undemocratic."

Like the "vote yes" coalition, opponents have a wide range of allies with varying interests − and sometimes the message reflects that. At an AFL-CIO door launch earlier this month, AFSCME Ohio Council 8 president Sean Grayson reminded his fellow union members how hard they fought to undo a 2011 law that would have limited collective bargaining powers.

Voters rejected the measure through a referendum, which is different than a constitutional amendment. But both processes involve gathering signatures, and Grayson said it was difficult enough to obtain the necessary signatures in 44 counties − let alone all 88. And it's only a matter of time before lawmakers go after the right to citizen referendums, he warned.

“We’ve always had to fight," Grayson said. "We’re going to have to fight again."

Ad wars for August election heat up

For now, opponents of Issue 1 are winning the ad wars, which helps get their message to swaths of Ohioans.

As of Friday, the One Person One Vote coalition had spent or reserved about $4.5 million on advertising, according to the ad-tracking firm Medium Buying. Separately, the group raised some eyebrows with a flyer mailed to voters that noted whether someone votes is public record.

"We will be reviewing public records after the election to determine whether or not you joined your neighbors in voting," states the mailer, obtained by the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau.

Advocates on both sides of the abortion debate are also running ads on Issue 1. Protect Choice Ohio, the organization behind the abortion amendment, dropped an anti-Issue 1 ad centered around a hypothetical Ohio State-Michigan game.

The anti-abortion group Protect Women Ohio said it has so far invested $3 million in the Aug. 8 election. Those ads promote claims that the proposed abortion amendment could allow children to get abortions or transgender medical care without parental consent. Legal experts say that's highly unlikely.

The official pro-Issue 1 campaign, Protect Our Constitution, has been much quieter, which left one Newark Republican wondering where the ads are. A spokesman said the group is focused on "modeled, targeted voter turnout" but hinted that there's more to come. Medium Buying reported a $1 million ad buy from Protect Our Constitution on Friday.

It's too early to say whether the work from both sides will pay off. A recent USA TODAY Network/Suffolk University poll found 57% of likely voters − which includes Ohioans from all political parties − oppose Issue 1, compared to 26% who support it.

At the same time, some Ohioans are still undecided or confused by the complex issue. Both Greer and Columbus City Council candidate Farxaan Jeyte, who canvassed for Issue 1 in a predominately Somali neighborhood, said many people who answer the door ask why this is happening. Another Newark Republican thought she was supposed to vote no, not yes.

But there are two weeks to go before the election − and that's a long time in the world of campaigns.

Reporter Lily Carey and photographer Jeff Lange contributed.

Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

Get more political analysis by listening to the Ohio Politics Explained podcast

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Issue 1: How groups are selling pros, cons of August ballot issue