Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s (R) office said Tuesday supporters had submitted nearly 496,000 valid signatures, far more than the required amount of 413,446.
But first, supporters of the amendment to enshrine abortion rights into the state’s constitution will need to defeat Issue 1, a separate measure that will face voters in a special election Aug. 8.
State Republicans created the special election for the sole purpose of passing Issue 1, which would create a constitutional amendment to make it much harder to pass any additional amendments.
To enact a constitutional amendment, Issue 1 would raise the threshold of every other amendment from a simple majority to 60 percent. But Issue 1 would only need a simple majority to pass.
Some supporters of Issue 1 have contended it isn’t necessarily about abortion, and the language on the special-election ballot does not include the word “abortion.
But Ohio Right to Life on Tuesday called on “every pro-life Ohioan” to vote yes “to ensure that our Constitution, our preborn, and our families are protected.”
Ohio has become a major test case in the fight over abortion on the ballot. Every state that put abortion on the ballot in 2022 voted in favor of protecting access to the procedure in some way, including Republican-leaning Kentucky and Kansas.
None of those measures received more than 60 percent of the vote, though some polling suggests support for the Ohio measure is close to that threshold.
If passed, the amendment would establish a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” with “reasonable limits.” Similar to the standard once set under Roe v. Wade, the amendment would permit abortion up to the point when a fetus can survive outside of the womb, usually around 24 weeks into a pregnancy.
Ohio passed a six-week abortion ban shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, before a state court put the ban on hold last fall.
“Today was an important victory for Ohio women, and Ohio Democrats were proud to play our part,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chairwoman Elizabeth Walters. “Out-of-touch politicians are relentlessly attacking women’s fundamental rights, inserting themselves into women’s personal, medical decisions and laying the groundwork for a total abortion ban in Ohio.”
