(C) Ohio Capital Journal
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Answering viewer questions about the Ohio proposal meant to stop abortion from becoming legal [1]
['Morgan Trau', 'More From Author', '- April']
Date: 2023-04-25
OCJ/WEWS readers and viewers have sent in dozens of questions about the GOP proposal to make it more difficult to amend the Ohio Constitution. This resolution is being streamlined to an August special election and is meant to stop abortion from becoming legal, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers say.
This is a complicated situation, so OCJ/WEWS posted a request for additional viewer questions on the station’s social media pages and brought them to legal expert Jonathan Entin and Statehouse leaders.
Ballot language that would allow voters to decide if Ohioans have the right to an abortion was certified in early March.
Republicans in the House and Senate are now trying to up the threshold for voters to change Ohio’s constitution.
House Joint Resolution 1 and Senate Joint Resolution 2 would make it harder to amend the Ohio constitution. They would require constitutional amendment initiative petitions to receive a 60% supermajority vote to pass, instead of the simple 50% +1. This means that about 40% of the state would get to choose the law.
The resolution has more rigorous signature requirements. Instead of getting signatures in just 44 counties, the lawmakers want to raise it to all 88.
Lawmakers also put forward a bill to reinstate August special elections, hoping to get their resolution on a ballot ahead of the November abortion vote. The legislators just voted a few months ago to get rid of them because they cost the state $20 million and have low voter turnout.
GOP leaders, including Senate President Matt Huffman, one of the bill sponsors, and a group of House Republicans, have all addressed how this would make it more difficult or even stop abortion from becoming legal in Ohio. Some have added that it wouldn’t just be abortion but also for other concerns like redistricting reform and recreational marijuana.
Questions
Q: How can the resolution apply retroactively to a ballot that was already certified? Asked by Dana from Cleveland
“The certification isn’t the final call about putting something on the ballot,” Entin said.
The abortion rights advocates need to have at least 442,958 signatures by July 5. Sec. of State Frank LaRose would need to validate those signatures.
“That could take a fair amount of time,” the expert said.
It is likely the verification won’t come before the August election, he added.
Q: For the signature gathering change, would this impact the abortion petition? Asked by Laura from Cleveland
Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said no.
“That doesn’t go into place until January of 24, because I think there would be constitutional problems with putting that into place for the signature-gathering effort,” the Republican said.
Q: When will we know for sure whether or not there will be an August election with this on the ballot? Asked by Twitter user ‘Ohio Legislative Watch’
“The Legislature has to pass something by May 10,” Entin said.
May 10 is the deadline for both the resolution and the August special election bill. But Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) said the legislation is up in the air in the House right now.
“You want to make sure that you’ve got the votes before you put something like that on the floor,” he said. “There’s a lot of counting noses going on.”
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https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/04/25/answering-viewer-questions-about-the-ohio-proposal-meant-to-stop-abortion-from-becoming-legal/
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