Early voting begins for Ohio's Aug. 8 special election

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Early voting is underway for Ohio's August special election in which voters are asked if it should be tougher to amend the state constitution.

Historically, August elections have single-digit voter turnout, but Tuesday was a “shocking” first day of early voter turnout for election officials; at the Franklin County Board of Elections, 1,488 people cast their ballots.

“This is the most people I’ve ever seen coming out to vote early,” voter Alexander Han said.

Han said he votes early in nearly every election and said he was pleasantly surprised to stand in line Tuesday morning.

“This is about as important as it gets when you’re talking about not just voting and doing your civic duty, but specifically voting on something that pertains to our right to vote,” Han said.

“This is one of the most important elections in Ohio in decades,” Rep. Derek Merrin (R-Monclova) said. “There needs to be a high standard to protect our constitution. That’s what we are trying to do.”

Voters are at the polls to decide whether it should be more difficult to amend the state’s constitution. Right now, to amend the Ohio Constitution, it takes a simple majority of Ohioans to vote in favor of the proposal, but if issue 1 passes, it will increase the threshold to 60%.

“If 6 out of 10 Ohioans can’t agree that the constitution should be changed, then it shouldn’t be changed,” Merrin said. “We need to have consensus and bipartisan support for when you’re changing the constitution.”

“This is a right that the people of Ohio have had to access their democracy and demand accountability from their legislature and elected leaders for over 100 years,” Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) said.

It would also require proposed amendment petitions to contain signatures from all of the state's 88 counties, not just the current threshold of 44, in order for the proposal to make it to the ballot.

“Republican extremists pushed for this because they do not want to be held accountable for their extreme policies that are out of touch with the people of Ohio,” Russo said.

“This isn’t necessarily Republican versus Democrat,” Merrin said. “This is about, 'Do you support the constitution, for the most part, as we have it?’ or ‘Do you want to willy nilly have people trying to change this thing every election cycle?'"

On both sides of the argument, advocates said early signs of high voter turnout can play in their favor.

“They were counting on us to not be engaged and not paying attention,” Mayor Andrew Ginther (D-Columbus) said. “They were wrong and we’re going to prove them wrong every day until August 8 when we defeat this issue.”

“I think conservative voters are going to be better this cycle with early voting,” Merrin said. “I think the word is getting out and people are trusting the system more.”

Early voting will continue until Aug. 8, with hours gradually ramping up. You will need a photo ID to vote in this election.