How Republicans are trying to make sure abortion isn’t directly on the ballot

Grace Panetta
Originally published by The 19th 

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In January, Ohio Republicans eliminated the state’s August special elections, citing high costs and low turnout.

Then in May, as organizers were gathering signatures to get an abortion rights measure on the ballot in November, they added one back.

It’s set for next Tuesday, when Ohio voters will decide whether to raise the threshold to pass constitutional amendments from a simple majority to a 60 percent supermajority. The Republicans who helped add the special election to amend the state’s over 100-year-old citizen-led initiative process did not hide their motivations: The GOP secretary of state said it was “100 percent” about keeping abortion off the ballot.

Across the country, Republican officials and activists who oppose abortion access have worked to make it harder to pass citizen-led ballot measures and added roadblocks to the process of getting abortion directly on the ballot  These attempts to stop voters from weighing in directly on abortion aren’t new, but advocates say the current anti-ballot-measure efforts are taking on a renewed pace and ferocity. As voters even in conservative states have chosen to back abortion rights, GOP legislators and officials have been willing to fundamentally change the rules of democracy.