Rallying support for Issue 1
(Photo by Kristen Hainkel)U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, left, speaks to the crowd at a pro-Issue 1 rally Saturday, while state Rep. Don Jones, R-Freeport, center, and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose listen. “Issue 1, Tuesday August the eighth, is not about abortion,” Johnson said. “It’s not about gun control. It is not about a $15-an-hour minimum wage. It is not about anything else other than protecting our constitution.”
(Photo by Kristen Hainkel)Alex Triantafilou, right, chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, introduces Secretary of State Frank LaRose to attendees at Saturday’s rally in support of Issue 1 on the Aug. 8 ballot. “When we work together, great things happen,” Triantafilou said. “It’s not an easy job.”
(Photo by Kristen Hainkel)Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose holds up his copies of the U.S. and Ohio constitutions. He compared the standards of changing each document. “The U.S. Constitution is about 7,000 words long and has only been changed 27 times because it’s not easy to amend,” he said. “The Ohio Constitution has grown to nearly 70,000 words and has been amended almost 200 times. It’s far too easy to change.”
(Photo by Kristen Hainkel)U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, left, speaks to the crowd at a pro-Issue 1 rally Saturday, while state Rep. Don Jones, R-Freeport, center, and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose listen. “Issue 1, Tuesday August the eighth, is not about abortion,” Johnson said. “It’s not about gun control. It is not about a $15-an-hour minimum wage. It is not about anything else other than protecting our constitution.”
(Photo by Kristen Hainkel)Alex Triantafilou, right, chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, introduces Secretary of State Frank LaRose to attendees at Saturday’s rally in support of Issue 1 on the Aug. 8 ballot. “When we work together, great things happen,” Triantafilou said. “It’s not an easy job.”
(Photo by Kristen Hainkel)Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose holds up his copies of the U.S. and Ohio constitutions. He compared the standards of changing each document. “The U.S. Constitution is about 7,000 words long and has only been changed 27 times because it’s not easy to amend,” he said. “The Ohio Constitution has grown to nearly 70,000 words and has been amended almost 200 times. It’s far too easy to change.”
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More than 60 people attended a "Vote Yes on Issue 1" rally Saturday at the Washington County Republican Party headquarters on Putnam Street in Marietta.
Speakers included county GOP Chairman Joe Derkin; state Rep. Don Jones, R-Freeport; Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou; U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio; and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
If passed, Issue 1 will increase the threshold for passage of an amendment to the state Constitution from a simple majority to 60% starting with an abortion rights amendment on the ballot this fall.
In addition, as of Jan. 1, proposed constitutional amendments would need the signatures of at least 5% of those who voted in the last gubernatorial election from all of the state's 88 counties to qualify for the ballot rather than the current 44-county minimum. It would also eliminate the 10-day period when citizen-led campaigns can submit additional signatures if they fall short the first time.