Secretary of State Frank LaRose was all decked out for Election Day this Tuesday, wearing his custom-made 鈥業 Voted鈥� sticker socks, hidden under his khakis, and a walkie-talkie that connected him with all 88 county boards of elections.
During a May election with just one statewide race鈥攁 legislative-led constitutional amendment鈥攁nd dismal turnout, it鈥檚 hard not to think about future cycles, and LaRose certainly was. He and GOP Attorney General Dave Yost are fielding citizen-led efforts to make the ballot nearly every cycle.
Right now, there鈥檚 the referendum on Senate Bill 1, the anti-diversity, equity and inclusion law that bans faculty strikes at universities, and then more than one proposed constitutional amendment: one to end qualified immunity, another to end real property taxes. The latter is awaiting certification from Yost, which is due Friday.
Different interests are questioning the voters directly, rather than lobbying their elected officials. It鈥檚 become far too frequent, LaRose said.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that governing by constitutional amendment is a wise idea,鈥� LaRose said Tuesday. 鈥淚 think constitutional amendments should be rare.鈥�
Ohio GOP executive and legislative leaders tried, and failed by nearly 7 points, to raise the constitutional amendment threshold in 2023鈥攆rom 50% plus one to 60%.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know whether there鈥檚 any appetite to do that again in the General Assembly, but if there were some effort like that to raise the bar on a constitutional amendment, I would be for that,鈥� LaRose said.
House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said he鈥檚 not sure whether there is a realistic path right now, even though he鈥檚 remains pro 60% to pass, as do others in his caucus.
鈥淭here may be good government folks who want it raised to 60%,鈥� Huffman said Wednesday. 鈥淚 think that it should be.鈥�
Progressives saw back-to-back wins that year, defeating that Issue 1 in August 2023, and then again with an amendment codifying abortion rights.
Direct democracy, League of Women Voters Executive Director Jen Miller said, 鈥渋s fundamental to Ohio.鈥�
鈥淲e have had that right here in Ohio for constitutional amendments that are citizen-led since 1912,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淎nd what we see over and over again, unfortunately, is that the lawmakers want to take that power away, they want to be able to have the power just for themselves to make laws.鈥�
LaRose and Yost, who is running for governor in 2026, believe the petitions process needs adjusted in other ways, as well.
Over four years, Yost rejected the qualified immunity petition eight times prior to taking it to the U.S Supreme Court, which declined to consider his request to stay a preliminary injunction and forced him to certify the petition summary language.
When certifying the language 鈥渙ver his objections,鈥� Yost added that his office would work on 鈥渓egislation to reform the ballot initiative summary process to protect the integrity of Ohio鈥檚 elections.鈥�
Some of the rejections came from Yost鈥檚 frustration with the title of the petition. LaRose believes amendment titles are too often written as slogans, he said, which could mislead voters.
But the Ohio Ballot Board, which LaRose heads, has final say over the actual language that voters see鈥攁nd advocates have taken issue with how he has rewritten recent amendment efforts, including on abortion and gerrymandering.
(Note: This story has been edited to reflect the Ohio Ballot Board鈥檚 role in constitutional amendments.)
