The Ohio House of Representatives approved an amendment on Wednesday that tries to alter how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments and legislation to allow for a statewide special election in August to vote on it.
The Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment, Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 2 would mandate a 60 percent approval percentage for any future constitutional amendments, call for signatures from all 88 counties, and do away with the opportunity to “cure” petitions by collecting additional signatures if necessary.
Hundreds of proponents and detractors of the proposal gathered in the Statehouse’s hallways in advance of the vote, and the House ultimately voted to approve it. Speaker of the House Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) (pictured above) ordered the demonstrators to leave after their cries disrupted members’ deliberations.
Lawmakers approved SJR 2 by a vote of 62 to 37.
Although lawmakers removed the measure’s language providing for an August 8th special election on Tuesday, Representatives narrowly approved in a 56-43 vote on Wednesday to place it back in.
Placing the amendment on the August ballot allows lawmakers to get ahead of the November election, where pro-choice advocates plan to attempt to enshrine abortion into the state constitution.
According to State Representative Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) SJR 2 continues the debate of what the constitution should be and how it should or should not be adjusted. He said that the state Constitution is a sacred document that special interest groups should not be able to amend so easily.
“We have watched repeatedly outside groups making major adjustments to our state constitution. Special interests see Ohio as an easy mark. It’s time for reform,” Rep. Stewart said.
According to Stewart, 32 states do not allow any constitutional amendments to be added from outside groups. Stewart noted that SJR 2 does not take away citizens’ rights to propose initiative petitions but includes a guardrail to protect the state constitution.
“This is as it should be. Under SJR 2 good ideas will pass,” Stewart said.
State Representative Tracy Richardson (R-Marysville) echoed Stewart saying that “the rights in the constitution are sacred and should be treated as such.”
Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) called the passage of SJR 2 a “power grab.”
“This is an unfair, unpopular, and undemocratic power grab. It is an attack on our constitution,” Russo said.
Stewart refuted this, saying that Russo’s claims are false.
“It merely asks Ohioans if they want to approve a 60 percent threshold or not by voting in a free and fair election. If that is really someone’s idea of an attack on democracy, they need to turn off cable news, log off Twitter and come back to reality. It’s not the end of the debate,” Stewart said.
According to State Representative Adam Bird (R-Canal Winchester), “today’s vote is democratic, fair, popular, and necessary.”
“It allows Ohioans to vote on protecting the Constitution. This is pro-voter because Ohioans will get to decide this issue. My yes vote today will allow voters to go to the ballot box,” Bird said.
According to Alex Triantafilou, the newly elected head of the Ohio Republican Party, the party applauded the approval of the Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment.
“Speaker Jason Stephens, President Matt Huffman, and other members have done a tremendous job navigating this difficult issue, and I applaud their strong leadership. The Ohio Constitution is a foundational document that should absolutely have a higher threshold to amend, and I am confident Ohio voters will agree in August,” Triantafilou said.
SJR2 will be sent to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose for approval because the Ohio Senate previously approved the proposal and the related August election in mid-April. Ohio’s election authorities must plan to conduct an August special election if LaRose approves.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Jason Stephens” by Jason Stephens.
