The campaigns for and against Issue 1 are spending millions of dollars on TV ads to get voters to the polls. On this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson talks with Herb Asher, retired Ohio State University political science professor.
An Unusual Election
We are less than a week away from knowing if it will be harder to change the Ohio Constitution.
The August special election will take place on Tuesday, August 8. The only issue on the ballot is whether to require a 60% majority to pass future constitutional amendments. This would also make it much harder for citizens to qualify for the ballot by requiring them to collect a minimum amount of signatures from all 88 Ohio counties, not just half of them as they do now.
Related: Ohio voter guide: What to know about the August special election
While this would affect all future changes to the constitution, make no mistake: this vote is designed to defeat the amendment Ohio voters will decide in November, the one that would enshrine abortion rights in the constitution.
In the last week of the campaign, both the Yes and No sides are spending millions of dollars on TV ads. Both sides are doing all they can to get their voters to the polls, which is especially challenging because it's August.
Snollygoster of the week
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, the primary statewide officeholder campaigning for Issue One, challenged his Republican competitors for the U.S. Senate seat, State Senator Matt Dolan and businessman Bernie Moreno, to donate $1 million to the campaign.
LaRose's challenge appears to be an attempt to shame his GOP Senate rivals. Moreno's campaign said he has already quietly donated six figures to the Issue One campaign, and Moreno has promised to match any donations made by LaRose dollar for dollar.
This is a not-so-subtle swipe at LaRose, who has far fewer personal financial resources than Moreno, who reported a net worth of up to $93 million in 2021.
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