Plan to change Ohio constitutional rules may get August vote ahead of fall abortion issue

Ohio voters could decide in August whether the state should increase the votes needed to amend the constitution if Senate Republicans get their way.

Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said Tuesday that his caucus is mulling whether to place the question on the ballot in a statewide August special election. The discussions come as advocates begin to collect signatures on a proposed amendment for the November ballot that would expand abortion access in Ohio.

"We could do it in November if we wanted to," Huffman said. "But I think we have lots of special elections in different times other than May and November. Of course, we've eliminated the August election as a recurring election, but we're going to certainly look at that."

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The proposal, first introduced last year by Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, would require 60% of voters to enact constitutional amendments, instead of a simple majority. The resolution itself is an amendment, meaning a simple majority of voters would need to approve it before it could take effect.

Stewart and Secretary of State Frank LaRose tried to fast-track the resolution during last year's lame-duck session so it could make the May ballot, but it didn't have enough support in the House. Advocates blasted the move as a power grab by Republicans who control state government.

Stewart reintroduced the resolution this year with some changes, including one that would require petitioners to get voter signatures from all 88 counties instead of 44. But the House failed to pass it in time for the May election, which allies of Rep. Derek Merrin, R-Monclova, argued was part of a deal between Speaker Jason Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, and Democrats to elect Stephens as speaker earlier this year.

The measure is scheduled for its first committee hearing Wednesday.

"Ohioans have had the sacred right to amend the Constitution through ballot initiatives since 1912, and we call on lawmakers to abandon HJR 1, which would make citizen-led ballot initiatives practically impossible," said Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio. "HJR 1 is undemocratic and unnecessary, but if the General Assembly rushes the proposal through, it will likely fail at the ballot box, because it’s also incredibly unpopular."

What happens from here?

The future of the resolution is far from certain.

A new voting law passed last year eliminated most local August special elections after proponents − including LaRose − argued they're too costly. To put Stewart's resolution on the August ballot, lawmakers would have to pass it by May and call a statewide special election for that purpose.

“The General Assembly sets the time, place and manner for Ohio elections, and right now the issue is in their hands," LaRose spokesman Rob Nichols said.

Stewart declined to answer questions on any plans for August.

Opponents of the abortion ballot initiative, meanwhile, are eager to enact changes to the amendment process. Aaron Baer, president of the Center for Christian Virtue, said they're urging lawmakers to act quickly, although he would not say whether they're pushing for August specifically.

“It’s a no-brainer for the General Assembly," Baer said. "They got elected to make the laws. The constitution is something that should not be so easily bought into."

Huffman agrees. He said Senate GOP conversations stem in part from the abortion initiative, but he believes this resolution would preempt other "bad things" from getting into the Constitution, such as recreational marijuana. (The only active effort to legalize marijuana is happening through the initiated statute process, not a constitutional amendment.)

"Frankly, if I'd known that the House wasn't going to pass this by the end of the year or in January, the Senate would have just gone ahead and done it," Huffman said.

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.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Senate GOP eyes August election for 60% threshold on amendments