CatholicVote Needs YOUR Help in OH — Vote YES on Issue 1 in the August 8 Ohio Special Election

Buckeyes must vote YES on Issue 1 if they want to protect their constitution, both now and in the future, from unlimited abortion and anti-parental rights legislation.

Radical pro-abortion organizations such as Planned Parenthood and the ACLU are pushing an extreme abortion amendment into the Ohio state constitution. The proposed amendment would permanently impose unlimited abortion and sex-change surgeries without parental consent. 

Ohio is vulnerable to these radical organizations because all they need now is a 50% + 1 majority vote in a general referendum to succeed. 

The Ohio House Republicans, however, have proposed a potential solution called Issue 1 that would amend the constitution to raise the threshold to 60%. By voting “YES” on Issue 1 in the August 8 special election, Ohio voters can keep these extreme abortion laws out of Ohio while strengthening the Ohio constitution.

If we fail to raise that threshold, we will face an uphill battle to keep these extreme anti-parental rights abortion laws out of our state. By raising the threshold to 60%, we could provide ourselves security that in the future the constitution will only be changed upon a true supermajority consensus. This will place a buffer between well-funded outside radical groups and our state laws.  

Logan Church, Ohioan and Political Director here at Catholic Vote, explained why it is important for Ohio to have a constitution that is not easily amended: 

It seems simple to me — We should be certain that there is overwhelming public support before we change our constitution. Our rights were never intended to be vulnerable, but unfortunately, that is the case under the current process.

Ohio voters, not outside radical interest groups, should control our own governing documents. 

“Our state constitution is not for sale,” said Church:

Ohio families are tired of out-of-touch special interest groups thinking they can buy our votes and change the values of our state. I believe that it is our responsibility to protect the values of Ohio families, and you can do that by voting yes on August 8.

The CatholicVote team is reaching out to every Catholic parish in Ohio and encouraging them to support the threshold amendment on August 8. There are over 891 Catholic churches and over 1.5 million Catholics in Ohio. If even half of them voted yes in the August election, we would almost certainly win. 

The bad news? This August election is looking to have record-low turnout, which is why we can’t stress enough how important it is for Catholic Ohio voters to vote YES either through early voting, mail in voting, or on August 8.

“These radical far-left groups will try and pull the wool over the voters’ eyes and frame Issue 1 as an attack on their freedoms when in reality it protects them,” said Church. 

Ohio families want the opportunity to make a fair wage, raise their children the way they see fit, and have the right to decide what’s best for their family. If we do not protect our constitution in August, we risk these freedoms in November.