Supporters and opponents of a GOP-backed measure that would make it harder to amend the Ohio constitution packed the statehouse rotunda Wednesday, May 10, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio ahead of the politically fractured Ohio House's vote. (AP Photo/Samantha Hendrickson)

Early voting in Ohio began last week for the state’s Aug. 8 special election, and more than 116,000 Ohioans have already cast their ballots in person while another 38,000 absentee ballots have been turned in.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who recently launched his 2024 U.S. Senate bid to try and unseat Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), announced a roughly five-fold increase in voter activity compared to last year’s August primary elections.

For context, there were 138,000 early votes in the 2022 May primaries that saw a GOP Senate primary with seven candidates. The Ohio Capital Journal projects that at the current pace, the early vote total could even surpass the 2022 midterms from last November.

On the ballot is Issue 1, a ballot proposal that would raise the threshold for passing future constitutional amendments from a simple majority to 60%. Issue 1 would also require signatures from all 88 counties across the state (only 44 are currently required,) and it would eliminate the period for making up signatures if petitions are denied, meaning organizers would have one chance to collect enough.

Republican lawmakers were able to get Issue 1 on the ballot without any Democratic support thanks to their supermajorities in the state Senate and House. Republicans are likely trying to circumvent a potential ballot measure in the future that would protect abortion rights in Ohio. Issue 1 is the latest attempt by a Republican-controlled legislature to make the ballot initiative process harder for citizens to organize and pass policies without going through elected representatives.

If Issue 1 is voted down, the path for abortion rights protection would remain possible. Abortion is currently legal in Ohio up to 22 weeks into the pregnancy after a lower court blocked a six-week ban drawn up by the Republican-led legislature. That law was passed in 2019 and went into effect when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Recent polls from Suffolk University show that most Ohioans support a constitutional amendment to establish a right to reproductive health care (although the 57.6% approval would not be enough to pass a 60% threshold.) The polls also show that Ohioans disapprove of Issue 1 by a two-to-one margin, with 57% against, 26% for and 17% undecided.

The ban was indefinitely blocked by Common Pleas Court Judge Christian Jenkins last October. Jenkins’ ruling came after abortion rights in Ohio were nationally publicized following the rape of a ten-year-old who was forced to seek an abortion across state lines because of the ban.