Buckeye Reporter

U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) stars in a new digital ad endorsing an August 8th ballot initiative that would make it harder to change the Ohio Constitution.

“Radical activists want to change the Ohio Constitution and strip away parental rights on August 8th,” Vance said in a new video posted on the Protect Our Kids Ohio YouTube page. “Let's stop them.”

“Vote yes to protect our kids,” said Vance.

Screenshot from new "Protect Our Kids Ohio" video featuring U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) | YouTube - Protect Our Kids Ohio Page

The ballot initiative, Issue 1, would require petition-based statewide constitutional amendments to pass with 60 percent of the vote, not simple majorities. 

Vance joins Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R-Ohio) in backing the initiative.

Opposing the initiative are “a roster of left-leaning advocacy groups,” reported the Buckeye Reporter on May 1. 

These groups include Black Lives Matter Cleveland, Black Lives Matter Dayton, Pro-Choice Ohio, Black Out and Proud, the Cleveland Bi+ Network, Columbus New Liberals, Democrat Socialists of America-Cleveland, Ensuring Parole for Incarcerated Citizens, New Voices for Reproductive Justice and the Ohio Federation of Teachers.

The initiative also is opposed by “Red, Wine, and Blue,” a Shaker Heights-based group of "suburban wine moms" that's been fighting to keep pornographic books in Ohio K-12 school libraries is launching a new offensive, according to the Cleveland Reporter. 

Also opposing Issue 1 is the Communist Part of Ohio, which recently “gathered to 'stand with drag queens and families'" during a protest outside a "Drag Story Hour" event at the Near West Side Theatre in Cleveland. 

Including Ohio, currently 15 U.S. states allow for statewide initiatives to change their constitutions, including Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, and South Dakota. 

Illinois, Arizona and Florida have 60 percent vote thresholds; Colorado's is 55 percent.