Voters in Ohio are energized about the special election on Tuesday to increase the difficulty of amending the state constitution, which will have significant implications for the fate of abortion in the Buckeye State this November.
"It feels like the energy of a month before a presidential campaign in the state of Ohio," said Michelle Ashley, the lead field organizer in Ohio for the anti-abortion interest group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.
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Ashley and Amy Natoce of Protect Women Ohio told the Washington Examiner that voters of all walks of life are invested in Tuesday's vote on Issue 1, which would raise the required majority to pass a constitutional amendment to 60% of a popular vote.
Issue 1 will have a direct effect on the amendment on the ballot in the November election to enshrine abortion rights in the Ohio Constitution.
Strongly backed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood, the amendment prohibits the state from acting in a way that would, “directly or indirectly, burden, penalize, prohibit, interfere with, or discriminate against” individual exercise or assistance in obtaining abortion and contraception access. Although the amendment allows the state legislature to regulate abortion after fetal viability, the amendment still allows a physician to determine that an abortion is in the best health interest of the mother.
Although the abortion battle is what has launched Ohio into the spotlight in recent weeks, most Ohioans are focused on how Issue 1 will affect the trajectory of their state constitution.
"Ohioans, like any state, they're proud, and they want to ... feel that we're directing the future of the state, not some outside groups who want to impose their will," Ashley said.
With Ohio being the leading state for early and mail-in voting options, nearly 580,000 Ohioans have already cast their ballots in the contentious election. Nearly 400,000 people have shown up for early in-person voting at polling places across the state.
Sharon Bronso of Cincinnati, who is an Issue 1 canvasser and a volunteer at her local polling location, told the Washington Examiner that there has "been a steady stream of people coming in. Sometimes there have been lines, so people are exercising their right to vote early."
Ohio is only one of 18 states that allow for citizen-petition amendments to the state constitution. Only half of those states do not require more than a 50% majority to certify an amendment.
Nactoce told the Washington Examiner that the color and interpersonal dynamics in Ohio have been the most important pieces of the puzzle left out of the plethora of coverage on the election.
"The grassroots energy has been phenomenal," said Natoce, describing the pop-up rallies that are unaffiliated with interest groups in the state. "There's just been this really big groundswell of support."
"What I'm seeing is people that weren't engaged in the political process before, whether for the pro-life movement or otherwise, now are getting off the bench and onto the field," Ashley said. "I've never seen so much unity ... among people for an issue and just 'how can I help'?"
Canvassers have also witnessed the same enthusiasm.
"When I'm out canvassing, there are high schoolers out canvassing, there are college students out canvassing. That is really, really encouraging because any movement that's going to last, you've got to have a strong young base," Bronso said.
"It is very interesting to see all the different ages that are all concerned about this," said Sophia Foisy of Columbus. "It's been really overwhelming."
Voters have told Ashley that increasing the difficulty of amending the Ohio Constitution "is just common sense."
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"[The] states' founding document should not be so easy to amend," Ashley said. "There are other avenues, and when you feel like groups ... can't get things done through the legislative process [and say] we're going to circumvent that ... it's really disturbing to many Ohioans."
In-person Election Day voting in Ohio starts at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday and closes at 7:30 p.m.