to-stop-abortion-ballot-issues-missouri-and-ohio-want-to-make-it-harder-to-amend-the-constitution

Missouri and Ohio Republicans have said that raising the constitutional threshold from a simple majority is aimed at scuttling initiatives expanding abortion rights.

As Missouri Republicans mull over whether to put a measure on next year’s ballot making it harder to amend the state constitution, at least one other state with similar political characteristics will soon vote on the idea.

Voters in Ohio will decide Aug. 8 whether to raise the threshold to amend the constitution to 60%. Like Missouri, Ohio is a former presidential swing state that’s become much more Republican in recent years. And backers of the idea say there needs to be a higher standard to enact consequential policy items than a simple majority.