Ohio Democrats launch campaign against August special election measure
Ohio Republicans are behind this measure to enact a 60 percent threshold for citizen-led ballot measures to pass instead of a simple majority.
They've tried it before, but this time they're banking on historically low turnouts for these types of elections.
That's why Ohio Democrats are countering with the "No in August" campaign.
"We have made a commitment through the 'One Person, One Vote' campaign to do 523,000 doors in the next 87 days; we will do about 130,000 calls," said Liz Walters, chair of the Ohio Democratic Party, on a Zoom call Thursday with the party's executive committee.
They launched their full-court press against a GOP-led special election this summer.
A measure on that ballot would establish a 60-percent supermajority for any ballot initiative requiring signatures to pass.
"The goal is to get as many people to turn out and vote no against this as possible," said Democratic state rep Lauren McNally of Youngstown. She tells 21 News there's lots of public support for the campaign, but admits that overcoming high-powered Republican donor money will be a challenge.
"The amount of Ohioans who came down to speak out against this was amazing and it was in stark contrast to the amount of out-of-staters who spoke for it," McNally said Thursday.
Just weeks ago, Ohio Republicans voted to do away with special elections.
Now that pro-choice groups want to put reproductive rights on the ballot in November, those same Republicans have changed their tune.
"It's a personal right that they're attacking," said McNally. "We're no longer going to have one person, one vote and that's your personal right as an American, an Ohioan.
McNally says it's that sense of urgency that she and Ohio Democrats hope will buck the trend of historically low turnout for those August special elections.
Interestingly enough, this special election in August to establish the 60-percent supermajority would only require a simple majority to be enacted.
That simple majority for ballot initiatives to pass has been in place since 1912.
We talked to Ohio Republicans about their position on this matter a couple weeks ago.
