Today's Referendum In Ohio

As we noted yesterday ("the ugly"), Ohioans -- hopefully more progressives than Christofascist MAGAts -- will vote today on a referendum proposed by right-wing authoritarian Republicans to make it harder to amend the state's constitution. At stake is reproductive rights, as the New York Times reports:

"The Republican-led State Legislature ordered the referendum, known as Issue 1, this spring in a vote that was largely along party lines. Proponents argued that it is too easy for special interests to rewrite the State Constitution to their benefit. [snip]

But Republicans soon conceded that the referendum was really prompted by something else: the November effort to add an abortion-rights amendment to the Constitution, and the success last year of six ballot proposals across the country protecting abortion after Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Ohio’s proposed amendment is the product of a grass roots campaign mounted after the Legislature enacted one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans last year. (It has not yet taken effect, as the State Supreme Court is reviewing the measure.)" (our emphasis)

The Ohio constitution has been able to be amended by a simple majority vote since 1912, but the referendum if passed would raise the bar to 60%.  The so-called "grass roots campaign" behind the issue has been one engineered by astroturf groups backed by right-wing billionaires, and by the gun lobby, who see enshrining issues like women's reproductive rights and gun safety in the constitution as a mortal threat to their privileged positions.

As they usually do, neo-fascist Republicans have also made it harder for voters in Democratic cities to cast ballots in person:

"One wrinkle potentially looms large: Two-thirds of all early ballots were cast in person — that is, at polling places. But Ohio law allows in-person early voting at only one location in each county, meaning that the 870,000 registered voters in heavily Democratic Cuyahoga County, home to Cleveland, are allotted the same number of polling places as the 41,000 registered voters in heavily Republican Lawrence County, on the state’s southern border."  (our emphasis)

That kind of right-wing authoritarianism is what's threatening our democracy going forward. Instead of developing policies that are popular with the majority, Republicans know that's an electoral loser for them, so they move the goalposts with the aid of their wealthy donors. All the more reason to vote NO on Issue 1.

(photo: Associated Press)