Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, through the Ohio Attorney General‘s office, asked the Ohio Supreme Court to throw out a lawsuit challenging the Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment, Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 2, and an August special election to vote on it.
A Democratic-backed group, One Person One Vote, and a coalition of three Ohio residents, Jeniece Brock, Brent Edwards, and Christopher Tavenor, filed the lawsuit with the Ohio Supreme Court in response to the passage of a resolution, the Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment, aimed at altering the process of how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments on May 10th because the resolution is unconstitutional and illegal.
Lawmakers approved the amendment by a vote of 62-37, which triggered a special election in August to vote on the amendment that would mandate a 60 percent approval percentage for any future constitutional amendments, call for signatures from all 88 counties, and do away with the opportunity to “cure” petitions by collecting additional signatures if necessary.
Following the General Assembly’s decision, LaRose (pictured above) directed Ohio’s 88 county boards of elections to begin preparations for an August 8th statewide special election. The Ohio Ballot Board is expected to approve SJR 2’s language on Thursday.
The complaint asserts that the August special election is illegal since statewide special elections were banned by the General Assembly in December due to their high costs and poor voter turnout.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill (HB) 458 into law earlier this year, drastically altering the state’s election laws, including requiring a photo ID and eliminating August elections.
With reference to unsuccessful ballot initiatives in Arkansas and South Dakota in 2022, the lawsuit also claims that voters are against changes such as these.
The complaint, brought against LaRose asks the Ohio Supreme Court to remove SJR 2 from the August 8th special election ballot.
“This Court should not countenance this cynical attempt to undermine a century-old pillar of Ohio’s democracy by means of an illegal election,” the complaint says
In his response, LaRose rejected the coalition’s arguments that the state acted unlawfully by approving an August election just months after the legislature passed a bill to remove most of the late-summer voting.
LaRose requests that the Ohio Supreme Court dismisses the lawsuit filed by One Person by Vote and prohibits the prosecutor from refiling the charges.
“Respondent reserves the right to supplement his Answer with additional defenses, including affirmative defenses, as litigation in this matter proceeds. Thus, having fully answered Relators’ Complaint, Respondent requests that this Court dismiss Relators’ claims, with prejudice, and that Relators be awarded no relief, no costs, and no fees,” the response says.
The coalition has three days to file evidence, if any, rebutting the state’s arguments. It remains unclear when the state’s highest court will issue a judgment.
Republican lawmakers are working on getting SJR 2 on the special August election ballot before a proposed constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion in the state constitution goes before voters in November.
According to State Representative Adam Bird (R-Canal Winchester), it is “necessary” to allow Ohioans to vote on protecting the constitution in August.
“It allows Ohioans to vote on protecting the Constitution. This is pro-voter because Ohioans will get to decide this issue,” Rep. Bird said.
State Representative Beth Lear (R-Galena) told The Ohio Star that she finds it ironic that the people opposing the amendment hire an outside group to do their fighting for them but has “trust in Ohio voters over Leftist hacks every day.”
“How ironic the people who oppose making it more difficult for outside groups to manipulate our Constitution hire an outside group from DC to do their fighting for them. Marc Elias of Perkins Cole, the lawyer and firm made famous by manufacturing a fake story about President Trump and Russia, aren’t going to win in Ohio either. Ohioans are going to be the ones to decide whether they want their constitution filled with garbage like casinos and the elimination of parental rights or whether we’re going to make it harder to change our foundational document. I trust Ohio voters over Leftist hacks every day,” Lear told The Star.
The GOP maintains that it has a compelling legal argument and will prevail in court.
Secretary of State LaRose’s spokesperson Rob Nichols told The Star that “they do not comment on litigation.”
– – –
Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Frank LaRose” by Frank LaRose. Background Photo “Ohio Supreme Court” by Joffre Essley. CC BY-SA 2.0.
Editor’s Note: Beth Lear was a journalist with The Ohio Star from May 2019 to December 2019.
