In Ohio, abortion battle triggers fight over direct democracy
Beverly Johnson votes without fail in every local, state, and federal election. But she didn’t know much about Ohio’s upcoming special election until last week, when singer-songwriter John Legend showed up at her house.
“I was on the porch when he came up,” says Ms. Johnson, a home day care provider. “I just [stood] there with my mouth open.”
Mr. Legend was in the majority-Black Cincinnati neighborhood encouraging residents to turn out and vote against the sole item on the Aug. 8 ballot – a Republican-written proposal known as Issue 1, which would make it harder to amend Ohio’s Constitution.
Across the state, activists have been deploying celebrities and urging voters to turn out for what The Columbus Dispatch calls “one of the most significant If it passes, Issue 1 would raise the threshold for approving constitutional amendments to 60%, up from a simple majority. It also would make it harder for citizens to put such measures on the ballot in the first place.
