Republicans in the Ohio legislature are attempting to use a parliamentary procedure to circumvent the Democratic-supported GOP speaker of the house to get a proposition on the ballot that would raise the level of voter support needed to pass some amendments to the state constitution to 60% for a Spring special election.
According to the Associated Press, the change to the level of voter support needed to pass amendments–which would only be increased for amendments that did not pass through the GOP-dominated legislature–is being pushed through because Republicans want to head off ballot initiatives slated for the fall elections that protect abortion rights in the state and ensure voting power by adopting a less-gerrymandered map than the ones pushed by Republican legislators.
Republicans will stand for neither of those things, and intend to have the change to the state constitution on the special election ballot in May, when far fewer voters cast ballots. The measure to raise the level to pass voter-initiated amendments to 60% will need only 50% +1 vote to pass.