Ohio is considering making changes to its constitution to make it more difficult to amend.
OHIOANS ARE not accustomed to voting in August. In the past, elections were only held in the summer under exceptional circumstances. Even then, voter turnout was low, with last year’s August primaries, including a Senate seat election, seeing only single-digit participation. However, this year, early voting records suggest that Ohioans are voting in numbers similar to a general election, all to answer one question.
On August 8th, in a special election, the Buckeye State will decide whether to make its constitution harder to amend. In Ohio, residents can gather signatures to trigger a popular vote on proposed amendments. This referendum, proposed by the state legislature, would require citizen-sponsored amendments to collect signatures from every county, instead of the current requirement of just half the counties. For those amendments that meet this requirement, the threshold for passage would be raised to 60% of the vote (from a simple majority).
Supporters argue that these changes would leave the task of legislating to the legislature. According to Brian Stewart, the representative leading the charge for the special election, if the statehouse makes a mistake, “we can change it tomorrow.” Once something is included in the constitution, it tends to remain there. Proponents in Ohio believe that the higher bar will encourage bipartisanship.
2023-08-07 08:06:06
Link from www.economist.com
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