In Ohio, a fight over democracy — and abortion

WASHINGTON — 

On Tuesday night, Ohio voters rejected an effort that would have made it harder to amend the state’s constitution.

The measure had consequences not only for the viability of direct democracy — in Ohio and in other states, including California, that allow voters to amend their constitutions — but also the fight over reproductive rights.

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark case that ensured access to abortion, lawmakers in Ohio moved to restrict the procedure and enforce a preexisting ban on it. State abortion-rights advocates soon responded by proposing an amendment that would enshrine rights to the procedure in the state constitution.

But before people were able to vote on this measure, they had to decide whether or not to make it harder to pass.

Hello, I’m Erin B. Logan. I cover national politics for the Los Angeles Times. This week, we are going to discuss democracy and the fight for abortion rights in Ohio.

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An abortion proxy war?

Abortion rights in Ohio drew international attention last July when a 10-year-old girl from the state was forced to leave it to terminate her pregnancy. The episode became a flashpoint for both sides of the aisle. Although right-wing leaders cast doubt on the story, many on the left pointed to the moment as an example of the real consequences of the fall of Roe vs. Wade.

On the ground, advocates quickly mobilized and proposed an amendment to enshrine protection for abortion rights in the state constitution.

But before the November vote on this measure could happen, Republicans put another question on the ballot: Should a supermajority be required to amend the state’s constitution?

The question, Issue 1, would have made it harder for citizen-led amendments to make it to the ballot by requiring proposers to obtain signatures from all 88 counties instead of 44.

This ballot proposal was advanced by Ohio’s Republican secretary of state, Frank LaRose, who contends that backing this proposal would help keep wealthy special interest groups at arm’s length.

LaRose, however, has also acknowledged that it “is 100% about keeping a radical pro-abortion amendment out of our constitution,” as he reportedly said at a local dinner this summer. “The left wants to jam it in there this coming November.”

Far-reaching consequences

Republicans currently in or pursuing office largely supported the measure, including former Vice President Mike Pence who in a Tuesday video claimed “left-wing interests have abused the constitutional amendment process in Ohio to get their extreme agenda into law.”

The state’s amendment process has its roots in the early 1900s, and many of the key amendments would not have surpassed the 60% threshold, the Ohio Capital Journal reported.

In 2006, a citizen-led effort to raise the minimum wage to $6.85 passed with 56.6% of the vote and a lawmaker-proposed amendment that placed term limits for the governor won with 55.5% of the vote in 1954.

Previous measures, including bond issues which have been a boon for the state’s economy, would have failed under the 60% rule, said former GOP Ohio Gov. Bob Taft.

Taft opposes the measure, along with other former Republican and Democratic Ohio governors including John Kasich and Ted Strickland.

Taft chided the GOP for forcing this issue in the summertime when voter turnout is expected to be low.

“This is a kind of change that really needs to be considered by all the people who go out and vote in a presidential election,” Taft said.

Early voter turnout was heavy in blue-leaning counties, the Associated Press reported. Nearly 700,000 voters cast early in-person and mail ballots ahead of Tuesday’s final day of voting, more than double the number of advance votes in a typical primary election.

As of Wednesday morning, 57% of voters had rejected the proposal. Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in a tweet praised the results, saying that those who voted against the measure “rejected special interests and demanded that democracy remain where it belongs — in the hands of voters, not the rich and powerful.”

The latest from the campaign trail

— Capitol Hill is tight quarters, especially for members from the same state, Times writer Cameron Joseph reported. And some California Democrats admit that having Barbara Lee, Adam B. Schiff and Katie Porter running against one another has created an uncomfortable situation.

— A Texas man who advocated for a mass shooting of poll workers and threatened two Arizona officials and their children has been sentenced to 3½ years in federal prison, prosecutors said Friday, according to the Associated Press. The U.S. saw a proliferation of threats against election officials after former President Trump falsely claimed that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

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The view from Washington

—The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted an emergency appeal from the Biden administration and revived federal rules that forbid the sale or use of homemade or assembled guns that can be bought online and are untraceable, Times writer David G. Savage reported. This gun-rights dispute does not turn on the 2nd Amendment, but it has great practical significance. Police in California say ghost guns have been surging in number and put lethal weapons in the hands of criminals and teenagers who cannot legally buy a gun from a licensed dealer.

—The Biden administration and European Union rushed to condemn the coup in Niger and have lamented the potential loss of their last reliable West African ally as international pressure continued to mount, Times writer Tracy Wilkinson reported. Losing Niger could be seen as a victory for Russia, experts say.

—Special counsel Jack Smith’s team Monday disputed rules proposed by former President Trump’s legal team to define how evidence can be distributed during the trial over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, accusing Trump of trying to play out his trial in the media, Times writer Sarah D. Wire reported.

The view from California

—Workers, managers and elected officials braced for one of the biggest labor actions to hit Los Angeles city government in a generation — a one-day walkout by the union that represents traffic officers, gardeners, mechanics, custodians, lifeguards, engineers and scores of other government jobs, Times writer David Zahniser reported. The walkout is expected to disrupt public services large and small, but Mayor Karen Bass said the city is “not going to shut down.”

—Voting in California has never been easier, Times writer Benjamin Oreskes reported. Still, the people who vote most often remain older, whiter and wealthier than most Californians, according to a new survey from UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies.

The Associated Press contributed reporting. Sign up for our California Politics newsletter to get the best of The Times’ state politics reporting. And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and send pictures of your adorable furbabies to me at erin.logan@latimes.com.