Over 140 Groups, Including Ohio AFL-CIO, Oppose Frank LaRose Overreach
Ohio is the third state this year where Republican lawmakers are trying to make it harder for citizen groups to amend state constitutions, according to a coalition of 140 groups that vowed on Tuesday to defeat the effort.
Ohio House Joint Resolution 6 would ask Ohio voters to increase the threshold required for citizen-initiated constitutional amendments to pass at the ballot box to 60%. Currently, a simple majority is necessary – 50% plus 1 vote.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican who backs the resolution, hopes it will pass the legislature by the end of the year so voters can decide the matter in May.
Common Cause Ohio was among a group of 140 voter rights, good government and labor organizations that gathered Tuesday to announce opposition to HJR 6. They’re sending a letter Tuesday to LaRose, and House Speaker Bob Cupp and Senate President Matt Huffman, both Republicans from Lima, asking them to halt efforts to increase the threshold by which a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment must pass.
If the legislature passes HJR 6 and puts it on ballot, the groups will form a campaign committee and work to defeat it at the ballot box, said Dennis Willard, of We Are Ohio.
“We’re trying to communicate to the supporters of HJR 6 that a yes campaign would be very difficult and very expensive, because we have the people on our side,” said Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio.