Buckeye Reporter

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) endorsed the Issue 1 ballot initiative in a new ad released today by the group, "Protect Our Constitution."

"The left attacks our values everyday, I see it and you see it, and they threaten Ohio's way of life," said Jordan in the ad. "That's why we need to get out and vote yes on Issue 1."

"Voting yes will protect Ohio’s values by making sure special interests can’t buy their way into our state constitution," said Jordan. "Raising the bar for constitutional amendments just makes sense if you're a parent, a taxpayer, a gun owner, a farmer — heck, for every hardworking Ohioan."

Issue 1 would raise the threshold necessary to pass an amendment to Ohio's State Constitution from 50%+1 to 60%. It would also require signatures gathered to support amendments to include voters from all 88 of Ohio's counties and restrict "do-overs" on signature submissions, which would give signature-gatherers one chance to properly obtain signatures for a proposed amendment.

Jordan joins U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), and Sec. of State Frank LaRose (R-Ohio) in endorsing the initiative.  

Among the organizations supporting Issue 1 is Ohio Gun Owners, with the group's director, Chris Dorr, writing that current state law allows "Bloomberg, Soros or any other hate-America billionaire" to "spend tens of millions of dollars in a statewide fake news media campaign to convince the public that repealing Ohio’s Constitutional right to own firearms will ‘make us safe.'"

Opponents of Issue 1 include California resident and musician John Legend, who appeared at a rally last week opposing the initiative. Legend has been politically active in recent years, endorsing the “Defund the Police” movement in 2020, and contributing to The Bail Project, a group that posted bail for Black Lives Matter rioters and was sued in 2022 for “releasing a serial criminal who less than a week later tried to murder a waiter” in Las Vegas. 

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, as well as the Communist Party of Ohio.

Other groups opposing Issue 1 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.

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.