Republicans in Ohio are already kind of resigned to the failure of Issue 1 at the polls on Tuesday, seeing massive early turnout a bad sign for the ballot measure engineered specifically to kneecap a November ballot measure guaranteeing abortion rights in the Buckeye State by raising the threshold for all future referenda to pass from 50 to 60 percent and increasing the number of counties from which signatures in ballot measure petition must be drawn, Punchbowl reports.

That more than 1.2 million Ohioans have already turned out for the single question August special election makes it pretty much a done deal to Republicans, and a not great sign for a leading proponent, Secretary of State and 2024 GOP Senate primary candidate Frank LaRose, who pushed hard for the pointless waste of taxpayer resources designed solely to make participatory democracy more difficult, especially with regard to abortion. “Frank LaRose has wrapped his arms around this issue and staked his entire political career. He has spent the entirety of the summer campaigning on this issue, to the detriment of his day job,” Ohio Dem Party Chair Elizabeth Walters told Punchbowl.

“If Issue 1 does not pass then a lot of things are at risk,” said credibly accused domestic abuser and fraud Congressman Max Miller. “Not only abortion but also gun ownership and possession, redistricting, education curriculum for our children and other big issues. All these things will be at risk because a simple majority will be able to fundamentally alter our constitution on a whim.”