Ohio’s Resolution On Abortion Rights Attracts Funding From Illinois

In Ohio, there was a recent vote on whether to make it harder to amend the state constitution. If successful, the threshold for amending the constitution would have been raised to a 60% majority, making it more challenging to pass amendments. This move was primarily pushed by Republicans due to an upcoming vote to codify abortion rights in Ohio.

The vote was closely watched, and notable figures from other states got involved in the campaign. Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois, who supports abortion access, contributed $250,000 to the Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom PAC, which was against raising the threshold. 

On the other side, conservative mega-donor Dick Uihlein from Illinois donated $4 million to Protect our Constitution, which supported the higher threshold.

Ultimately, the vote to raise the threshold failed, meaning that future attempts to amend the Ohio state constitution will continue to require a simple majority.

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In Illinois, there’s a similar requirement for amending the state constitution. The 1970 Illinois State Constitution established that a three-fifths majority or a majority of those voting in the election is needed for an amendment to pass. This replaced the previous two-thirds majority requirement.

Potential amendments are being considered for the 2024 election in Illinois, including codifying abortion rights into the state constitution. 

The Reproductive Health Act currently guarantees access to abortion, but adding it to the constitution would make it more difficult to change in the future.

Additionally, there’s talk of revisiting the graduated state income tax, which failed in 2020. Some politicians are considering a reformed income tax amendment that would lower taxes on middle-class individuals while increasing tax revenues for the state.

The ongoing debates and political efforts are still in process around amending state constitutions, particularly on issues like abortion rights and taxation on different class citizens.