Advocates for LGBTQ rights in Ohio are facing new challenges in their effort to amend the state's constitution. The Ohio Ballot Board has decided that a proposed amendment, which includes provisions for marriage equality and anti-discrimination protections, must be split into two separate issues for voter consideration, Signal Cleveland reported. The decision stems from an Ohio law that prescribes amendments to be singular in topic, to avoid "logrolling."
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, and other Republicans on the board have thus complicated matters for the Ohio Equal Rights Amendment's supporters. They will now need to collect twice as many voter signatures if they want both parts of their original proposal to make it to the ballot box. The Cincinnati Enquirer highlighted remarks made by LaRose, pointing out that while many Ohioans may support marriage equality, they might not favor "creating 12 new protected classes under a bunch of different circumstances."
At the center of the debate is whether the overarching theme of equal rights binds the amendment's elements sufficiently as one issue. "Protecting Ohioans' Constitutional Rights Amendment" attorney Corey Colombo argued for its unity in a recent meeting, but this was not enough to sway the Republican-led board. The campaign now faces a significant logistical and financial burden, potentially until the 2026 ballot, as detailed by Lis Regula of the leadership committee, according to News 5 Cleveland.
Currently, Ohio upholds federal law, following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, which recognized the right to marriage for same-sex couples nationally. However, Ohio's constitution has not been amended to reflect this federal law, maintaining a ban that is essentially dormant but nonetheless present. LaRose has stated that the Ballot Board's deliberation was not a reflection on the content of the amendment, but strictly a matter of legal compliance with the one-subject rule. The implications of this decision, though, speak beyond mere procedural technicality, as it echoes into the homes and lives of those seeking acknowledgment and protection under the law.
