New Moves

Ohio’s elections chief on championed a lame duck push to require a supermajority of voters in order to pass certain constitutional amendments, a move that came the same day further voter restrictions were added to a significant rewrite of Ohio’s election laws. Secretary of State Frank LaRose said requiring a 60% supermajority to amend Ohio’s constitution would be “a win for good government” and assure a broad base of support to make changes to the state’s founding document. He also said that such a threshold would assure bipartisan consensus and prevent special interest groups from buying their way in. The same standard would not apply to constitutional amendments advanced by of the state’s GOP-controlled state Legislature, where LaRose argues a supermajority vote of lawmakers is already required. Currently, Republicans hold more than 60% of votes in both chambers, percentages that will grow next session.