On May 10, 2023, the Ohio state legislature passed SJR2, creating an expensive August 2023 election for a constitutional amendment that would:
- require ballot measures that modify the Ohio constitution to pass by 60% (instead of 50%) to take effect
- require citizen-led ballot initiatives to secure signatures from at least 5% of the electors from all 88 (instead of 44) Ohio counties
- eliminates a 10-day “cure” period for citizen-led ballot initiatives to collect additional signatures to meet the requirements
SJR2, if it passes, will instate minority rule in Ohio.
State officials had previously abolished August elections on the grounds that they were used to pass unpopular measures during low-turnout elections and that they were vulnerable to manipulations by out-of-state special interest groups. An out-of-state financier donated $1 million to a PAC funding the push to pass SJR2 is an out-of-state billionaire who helped fund the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Get involved! Visit Vote No in August.
Read ACLU Ohio’s opponent testimony for SJR2 here.
Read more about this issue from All Voting Is Local here.