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Special August election unlikely

David Skolnick

There is a movement among a number of Republicans in the General Assembly to put a state constitutional amendment on a special Aug. 8 ballot to require future amendments to get at least 60 percent of the vote, rather than a simply majority, to win approval.

While the bill is moving quickly in the state Senate and likely will pass there, passage appears less certain in the Ohio House as Speaker Jason Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, doesn’t favor putting that measure on a special August ballot. But he hasn’t ruled it out.

The Legislature in December voted to eliminate special August elections except to fill vacant congressional seats. Local governments and school districts could put a tax issue on an August ballot if they are entirely in the congressional district during a special election or if they are designated by the state auditor as being in fiscal emergency.

The timing of the change to the state constitution is important as supporters of an abortion rights amendment are collecting signatures to get that on the Nov. 7 ballot. Getting 60 percent approval on such an amendment is obviously more difficult than a simple majority.

In explaining a week ago why he was putting the brakes on the 60-percent proposal for August, Stephens tweeted: “Let me be abundantly clear, I am and have always been 100 percent pro-life. I will stand for life at every turn; however, I am not for changing the rules willy nilly at a whim when it comes to changing our constitution.”

But he told reporters Wednesday about the special election “that is always a possibility.”

Stephens became speaker largely because he convinced Democrats that he would be easier to work with than state Rep. Derek Merrin, R-Monclova, who had won the Republican House Caucus’ vote for the job.

While Stephens and top House Democrats said no deal was made for the votes, perhaps that wasn’t the case.

There was an August election last year during the redistricting debacle that had state legislative and political party state central committee member races on a ballot. It cost about $20 million to conduct with record low turnout for a statewide election.

The only time there was a statewide constitutional amendment for consideration on an August ballot in Ohio was 97 years ago.

The state Senate could approve its version of the 60-percent constitutional amendment bill in a few weeks.

Several Republican legislators acknowledge the potential abortion rights amendment plays a role in wanting to increase the approval threshold.

There is no guarantee that the abortion proposal even will make it to the ballot.

Those supporting the proposal have until July 5 to collect 413,446 valid voter signatures in at least half of Ohio’s 88 counties. The groups backing the proposal plan to collect at least 700,000 signatures to ensure they meet that requirement, as numerous signatures get thrown out.

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, it gave states authority to determine if and when women can have abortions.

Republican-controlled Ohio Legislature passed in 2019 the so-called “heartbeat bill,” which bans abortions performed after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, usually about six weeks into a pregnancy. Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Christian Jenkins, a Democrat, granted a preliminary injunction in October to block the law, keeping abortions legal in Ohio until about 20 to 22 weeks.

The state attorney general’s office has appealed that decision to the Ohio Supreme Court, which hasn’t decided whether to review it.

The proposed abortion rights amendment’s summary reads: “Every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one’s own pregnancy, miscarriage care and abortion” and the state shall not “burden, penalize, prohibit, interfere with” that right.

If approved, the state couldn’t ban abortions until “after fetal viability,” which is when a fetus can survive outside the uterus — about 23 to 24 weeks into a pregnancy. Also, an abortion could be done any time the patient’s doctor determines the woman’s life or health is in danger under the proposal.

David Skolnick covers politics for The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle.

dskolnick@tribtoday.com

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