Election Day in Ohio for Issue 1 is almost here.
In Clinton County, 2,236 voters had already cast their ballots as of Thursday evening, according to the Clinton County Board of Elections website.
The final opportunities for early voting are Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. at the Clinton County Board of Elections, located at 111 S. Nelson Ave. #4 in Wilmington. Absentee ballots that are mailed must be postmarked by Monday, Aug. 7, or must be dropped off in person by 7:30 p.m. on election night.
On Tuesday, Aug. 8, polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.
Proposed by a two-thirds majority of the Ohio General Assembly, State Issue 1 — the only issue on the ballot — carries the condition that any future constitutional amendment presented on a statewide ballot must secure a minimum of 60 percent of the vote for approval.
The amendment also introduces changes to initiated petitions seeking to modify the state constitution. Effective Jan. 1, 2024, such petitions will need to carry signatures from at least 5% of eligible voters in every county across the state. Moreover, the amendment clarifies that no new signatures can be added to an initiative petition once it has been filed with the Secretary of State on or after Jan. 1, 2024.
For further information or clarification regarding the special election, the Clinton County Board of Elections office is readily available to assist. Deputy Director La Tisha Kratzer shared that as of 10:45 a.m. on Friday morning, the Board of Elections had already accommodated 1,085 walk-in voters.
Feel free to reach out to the local board of elections at 937-382-3537 or via email at [email protected]. To access additional election-related details, visit the Board of Elections website at https://www.boe.ohio.gov/clinton/.
As of Wednesday, more than 533,000 people had voted by mail or in-person since early voting began July 11, according to data collected by The Associated Press. That’s nearly double the final early voting figures for Ohio’s two previous midterm primary elections, which included races for governor and Congress. In the May 2022 primary, for example, 288,700 people voted early, according to AP data.
It’s also more than three times the roughly 142,000 early ballots cast by mail or in-person during last year’s August elections, although drawing a comparison is tricky. August special elections traditionally have been held in even-numbered years and are intended for local races and issues. The last statewide question on an August ballot in Ohio was in 1926.
The polarizing battle over abortion in the state, with the constitutional amendment seeking to protect reproductive rights before voters in the fall, has driven the narrative for the campaigns supporting and opposing Issue 1. Both sides have invested heavily in get-out-the-vote strategies.
Elections officials across Ohio have been feeling the pressure of such a high-stakes election, especially after the Legislature abruptly reversed itself and called for the special election. In a tight 90-day time frame during what is usually a break period, county election boards have scrambled to train poll workers and find available polling locations.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
