Voters head to Ohio, Mississippi

The Ohio ballot measure will ask voters if they wish to raise the threshold for amending the state constitution in the future from a simple majority to 60 percent.

It would also increase requirements for signatures needed for citizens to put an amendment on the ballot and eliminate a 10-day period for a petitioner to obtain additional signatures if some are determined to be invalid. 

As The Hill’s Jared Gans reports, the question is only a procedural one on the surface, but holds significant repercussions for an upcoming measure on abortion that will be voted on in November. 

Abortion rights advocates obtained more than 700,000 signatures for a vote on whether the Ohio constitution should protect a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” with “reasonable limits.” 

Those advocating for the measure to raise the threshold, known as Issue 1, argue that it was designed to prevent special interests and out-of-state actors from being able to exert influence over Ohio’s governing document. But opponents have said it is being proposed to make passing the abortion measure more difficult and being held in August to try to ensure low turnout. 

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R), who has been among the biggest advocates for Issue 1, has largely argued that the measure is about protecting the integrity of the constitution, but he faced controversy after he made comments that it is “100 percent” about stopping the abortion rights measure. 

Members of both sides of the issue have drawn a line from Tuesday’s vote to the November election and the battle over abortion rights broadly, with Ohio the latest in an ongoing fight after the overturn of Roe v. Wade last year. 

In Mississippi, Republican and Democratic voters will decide who they want to be their party’s nominees for the off-year gubernatorial election in November, though both parties have presumed nominees likely to win their nomination. 

Incumbent GOP Gov. Tate Reeves (R) is running for a second term in office. He faces some opposition from an Army veteran and a physician but will likely easily win renomination. 

The Democrats have coalesced around state Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley, who is the only official candidate running in the primary. He is a second cousin of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll himself, Elvis Presley, and has referenced his family connection throughout his campaign. 

Reeves has emphasized the state’s low unemployment rate as part of his administration’s success, while Presley has argued that the working class has been left behind and slammed Reeves’ connection to a welfare scandal.