Election Day is Tuesday. Here's how Ohio Issue 1 advocates are making their final pitch

It all comes down to turnout.

That's the conventional wisdom for any election, but it appears to be more true than ever for Tuesday's special election on Issue 1. In the waning days of the campaign, advocates on both sides have implored Ohioans to turn out at the polls. And if you already voted? Tell your friends and family, they said.

State Issue 1: What would it do? Read the ballot language

“We’ve got to finish strong," Ohio AFL-CIO president Tim Burga told volunteers campaigning against Issue 1 in Whitehall on Sunday. "We’ve got today, tomorrow and Tuesday, and we’ve got to leave it all on the table, leave it all on the field, and drive this thing home."

Ohioans will decide Tuesday whether it should be harder to change the state constitution. If passed, Issue 1 would require 60% of the vote to enact new constitutional amendments, instead of a simple majority of 50% plus one. It also would:

• 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.

Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Opponents say Issue 1 is a power-grab

For groups that support and oppose Issue 1, there's been no time for rest or fun summer activities.

Opponents gathered at a union hall in Columbus last week − complete with balloons, bubbles and a neon sign − to sound the alarm about Issue 1. A packed lineup of speakers, including former Gov. Ted Strickland and former GOP Attorney General Betty Montgomery, accused the issue's backers of trying to take power away from Ohioans.

"When you have focused authority in one branch of government, it is just an invitation for corruption," Montgomery said. "We just came off a major corruption scandal in Ohio. The way this amendment is written, a Larry Householder who had a lot of authority in Perry County could bribe or be bribed to make sure that the petition in that county is ruled insufficient."

Days later, canvassers who heard from Burga fanned out across Columbus to knock on doors. Unlike earlier in the summer, voters who answered their doors knew all about Issue 1 − and most of them planned to vote no. One of the volunteers, Claudia Cortez, said she's never seen people this angry about an election.

“How much more power do they want?" Cortez said. "Do they want to suck the blood of the working people?"

'Ohio is truly the battleground'

Supporters of Issue 1 were just as energized.

Republicans gathered at a Union County farm on Sunday to hear from party officials and candidates about the importance of Issue 1. Their pitch: Passing this issue is critical to ensuring progressive ideas, such as abortion access and minimum wage increases, don't find their way into the constitution.

"Ohio is truly the battleground," said Mehek Cooke, an attorney who spoke for the anti-abortion group Protect Women Ohio. "They started in Ohio to test us, to test our fundamental values and ideals."

The Union County event featured U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, and Kari Lake, a Republican who lost last year's race for Arizona governor. While Moreno and Jordan mentioned Issue 1, the three also used their remarks to discuss the 2024 election and attack President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.

Still, Tuesday's election was the focus among Republicans statewide.

"One of the reasons there's such discord in this country is that we've become all or nothing," state Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, said during a stop at the Ohio State Fair. "So if we're going to change the constitution − documents that are designed to support our beliefs, our cultures, our traditions, our people and our rights − if we're going to change that, let's have a complete buy-in."

Dolan is also running in the Republican U.S. Senate primary for the chance to take on Brown in 2024.

Both sides believe their bases are fired up, and they're encouraged by surprisingly robust early voting turnout. But it remains to be seen how that enthusiasm will translate to Election Day − and which campaign was most effective in selling its message to Ohioans.

"I think Issue 1 is going to be super close," U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, told reporters at the state fair. "You could have a million and a half, maybe 2 million votes. It's probably going to be decided by a few thousand people. So get out there and make your voices heard. Even if you disagree with me, get out there and make your voice heard."

How to vote

Visit voteohio.gov to find your polling location, double check ID requirements and review other important information for Election Day. Polls close at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. If you're in line by then, you can still vote even if the clock hits 7:30.

Mail-in absentee ballots had to be postmarked by Monday. If you still need to return your absentee ballot, you can bring it to your local board of elections before 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Absentee ballots that were postmarked on or before Monday must be received by boards of elections by Aug. 12 to be counted.

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.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Issue 1: Groups make final pitch ahead of August special election