Written by Meaghan Walsh
Today, voters in Ohio head to the polls to decide if they should strengthen standards to pass constitutional amendments in the state. Ohio is one of 26 states that allows citizens to initiate ballot measures to amend the state constitution. Currently, Ohio amendment measures need to pass by simple majority to be enshrined into the constitution. However, with a vote on abortion looming this November, some argue that groups are using this month’s vote to raise the amendment threshold before abortion access is put in front of voters this fall. With over $26M spent on the constitutional amendment issue and $5M already reserved on the upcoming abortion amendment, it’s clear that what would otherwise be a sleepy August election has become a battleground for democratic values and reproductive rights in the state.
On January 6, 2023, House Bill 458 eliminated most August elections in Ohio due to their high cost. However, with the passage of House Joint Resolution 2 on May 10th, an August election was scheduled to vote on Issue 1, which would raise the threshold for both submitting and approving constitutional amendments. Opponents of Issue 1 claimed that this decision directly coincided with efforts to put an abortion amendment on the ballot in the fall, which was approved to go to a November vote 11 weeks later on July 25th. Since Issue 1 would take effect immediately if passed in August, it would affect the required threshold of votes for the abortion amendment vote later this year. Thus, moving the goalposts mere months before the election.
Currently, Ohio allows for abortions at up to 22 weeks. When Roe v. Wade was overturned on June 24th, 2022, Ohio had already passed a trigger law called Senate Bill 23 that would ban abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat. However, there is currently a preliminary injunction on this bill from a Hamilton County judge that is indefinitely blocking the legislation from taking effect. To solidify abortion rights in Ohio, the Ohio Right to Make Reproductive Decisions Including Abortion Initiative is on the ballot in November. The proposed constitutional amendment gives Ohioans the constitutional right to “make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions” including abortion, contraception, fertility treatment, miscarriage care, and continuing pregnancy. Supporters are looking to enshrine reproductive access in the state constitution through this citizen-initiated ballot measure process.
If Issue 1 is passed, campaigns will need signatures from all 88 counties for a constitutional amendment to appear on the ballot. Currently, campaigns need signatures from 44. Issue 1 would also eliminate the 10-day period for campaigns to gather additional signatures if the original submission did not have enough valid entries. Most significantly, if approved, Issue 1 will increase the standard to pass constitutional amendments from a simple majority to 60%. If Issue 1 succeeds, Ohio would tie Florida for the highest approval requirement to pass citizen-initiated constitutional amendments in the country and would make Ohio the only state to require full coverage from every county when collecting signatures.
Opponents of Issue 1 directly tie the constitutional change proposal to democratic principles and the upcoming abortion amendment in their ad messaging. The group One Person One Vote states that Issue 1 will end majority rule in Ohio, highlighting the role of special interests in creating the election, and connects the amendment to abortion access in Ohio. Overall, this group has spent $15.8M on ads leading up to the August election.
Proponents of Issue 1 suggest the proposal will strengthen the electoral system and protect Ohio youth. Overall, they have spent over $10.7M leading up to the election today. Groups supporting Issue 1, like Protect Our Constitution, claim that under current law, outside special interests can easily change the constitution. In their view, this does not align with the intentions of the founders since there is a 66 percent bar to amend the U.S. Constitution. Protect Our Constitution has spent $2.7M on ads overall. Other groups, such as Protect Women Ohio, have spent $12.6M on ads discussing both Issue 1 as well as the upcoming abortion amendment on the ballot this fall. Protect Women Ohio claim that Issue 1 and the abortion amendment will impact parental rights and facilitate transgender ideology and abortion access for minors in the state. These claims stem from concern that “the [abortion] amendment makes no distinction for age.” These ads are the main source of abortion amendment advertising, with Protect Women Ohio spending $5.2M so far this year to combat the upcoming measure.
When totaling spending for both the constitutional amendment vote and the abortion amendment on the ballot this fall, spending between Republicans and Democrats is neck and neck. Republicans only have a $6K spending advantage over Democrats. Interestingly, Democrats are greatly outspending Republicans in the constitutional amendment election whereas Republicans hold a strong in abortion amendment advertising.
Currently, Republicans outspend Democrats by $212K in Columbus, $214K in Cincinnati, $230K in Toledo, and $359K in Dayton between the two issues. Meanwhile, Democrats outspend Republicans in Cleveland and Youngstown by $557K and $192K, respectively. Such tight advantages underscore the competitive nature of this election as abortion is brought to bear on voters in Ohio.
Both Democratic and Republican advertisers focus on the connection between Issue 1 and reproductive access in the state. The $31.9M in spending on these issues in an off-year is significant. The high spending total emphasizes the significance of abortion access in the American political landscape following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. For more information on the impact of abortion messaging in political ads, check out our whitepaper on the impact of abortion messaging in the 2022 Midterms.
