If the proposed amendment receives the necessary number of signatures, meets the required deadlines, and follows the laws related to ballot language, then voters can choose whether to adopt the amendment by directly voting for or against the proposal on a ballot.
Under current law, voters only need a majority for an initiative to be added to the state constitution.
How would the Aug. 8 constitutional amendment reform ballot initiative change that?
Before Ohioans vote on the constitutional amendment related to abortion, there will be voting on a constitutional amendment that would change the process for adopting amendments, which could make it more difficult for the Nov. 7 abortion proposal to be adopted.
The Aug. 8 constitutional amendment proposal would amend several sections in Article II and Article XVI of the Ohio Constitution to reform how ballot initiatives are adopted.
The most significant change is that it would require proposed constitutional amendments to receive support from at least 60% of voters rather than the current 50% plus one needed to adopt an amendment.
If a majority of voters approve the Aug. 8 constitutional amendment, then the new threshold would immediately go into effect. For all subsequent constitutional amendment ballot initiatives, including the Nov. 7 ballot initiative, supporters will need to get 60% of the electorate rather than just a majority. If the initiative fails, the threshold will remain at 50% plus one.
The proposed amendment would make two additional changes to the constitutional amendment adoption process, but these other changes would not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2024.
One of those changes would require petitioners to receive signatures from every county in the state. Under current law, petitioners only need signatures from half of the state’s counties. The required number of per-county signatures is 5% of the electorate, which is determined by how many people voted in the most recent gubernatorial election.
The other change would eliminate a provision that allows petitioners 10 additional days to gather signatures for a proposed constitutional amendment if the original submission did not have enough valid signatures.
These changes would only apply to ballot initiatives that would amend the state constitution, but they would not apply to other ballot initiatives.
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Early voting for this constitutional amendment has already begun.
What are Ohio abortion laws right now?
Under current Ohio law, abortion is legal up to 22 weeks of pregnancy, which is shortly before most unborn children reach viability.
Ohio lawmakers passed legislation to ban abortion when a fetal heartbeat can be detected — which occurs at about six weeks of pregnancy — which was signed into law in 2019. Although it was meant to go into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a judge approved an injunction to indefinitely block the state from enforcing the law.
The litigation over the legality of the six-week abortion ban is still pending.
Tyler Arnold is a staff reporter for Catholic News Agency, based in EWTN News’ Washington Bureau. He previously worked at The Center Square and has been published in a variety of outlets, including The Associated Press, National Review, The American Conservative, and The Federalist.