Ohio Republicans want a taller wall for those who disagree on abortion, gerrymandering

Imagine 59 percent of Ohioans voting for abortion rights, an end to gerrymandering or any other issue and losing.

Yes, losing.

That could happen as Ohio's powerful Republican supermajority works to further consolidate its chokehold on state government and silence the public's voice.

Just a week after Republicans swept all state offices and kept two-thirds majorities in the Ohio House and Senate, Secretary of State Frank LaRose unveiled a plan Thursday that would make it more difficult for Ohioans to change the state's constitution.

LaRose and state Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, want to require 60% of voters to enact citizen-led amendments, instead of a simple majority of 50% plus one vote. The concept ironically would require a change to the constitution itself with only majority approval.

The proposal comes as abortion advocates consider seeking voter approval of an initiative amendment securing a woman's right to an abortion in the state constitution and open government advocates consider new options to fight gerrymandering by Republicans.

LaRose denied any connection, but somehow the problem is so urgent, Republicans want their proposal to appear on May primary ballots, a rarity for a statewide issue. It would likely come before any new citizen-initiated proposals could make it before voters.

And in case you missed it, Republicans also moved last week to make voting more difficult in Ohio by making it harder to update voter registrations, enacting earlier deadlines for absentee voting and banning curbside voting for the elderly and disabled. They also made an aggressive move to strip most powers from the publicly-elected Ohio State Board of Education and give them to the governor.

“We know why they’re doing this: They want to stop all challenges to their power grab, but the people will not let it happen," state Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney, D-Cleveland, said of the LaRose/Stewart plan.

It's true there have been some sketchy constitutional amendments on Ohio's ballots, including a 2018 proposal to reduce penalties for crimes involving possession and use of illegal drugs. Thankfully, Ohio's voters were wise enough to soundly reject the issue by more than 1.1 million votes.

There also have been positive issues in 2015 and 2018, which lawmakers agreed to place on the ballot, to improve Ohio's redistricting process for Congress and the General Assembly. Both passed by wide margins, but were then largely ignored by Republicans this year.

Those victories show the 60 percent barrier is not insurmountable, although it may deter people from even trying to win. Recent abortion-rights ballot measures in other states did not reach 60% even though they won.

And even if LaRose's ill-advised plan passes, Ohioans would still be able to seek referendums to create or revoke state laws by gathering enough valid signatures and convincing just a majority of voters to agree. That's an expensive and time-consuming effort with no guarantees the General Assembly won't change any voter-approved law.

In that scenario, it would take incredible political fortitude for Republicans to overrule citizens and substantially change a voter-approved abortion law, for example.

But we've already seen Republicans ignore voters and the Ohio Supreme Court on the drawing of legislative districts this year.

It's one thing to play by the rules, win and wield influence. It's another to break the rules and then use the spoils of victory to further erode democracy.

Majority rules is the cornerstone principle of our country, if that matters to Republicans any more.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Changing Ohio's constitution for abortion rights may get tougher