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Issue 1, a ballot initiative that asks Ohio voters if the state should strengthen the petition process and raise the threshold to 60% for approving constitutional amendment proposals, has the support of Ohio Farm Bureau.

“Our members created policies through our grassroots process which strongly supports these proposed constitutional changes,” said Adam Sharp, executive vice president of Ohio Farm Bureau. “Making the process of amending Ohio’s Constitution more fair and thoughtful is something our members think is important and this resolution will accomplish just that.”

The ballot measure will be part of a special election Aug. 8. If passed, the resolution will raise the threshold for approving constitutional amendments to 60% and also will modify the requirements for the petition process for proposals to change the constitution, requiring no less than 5% of the electors represented from every county of the state to sign a petition. Currently, signatures must be gathered for only 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties. Additionally, the initiative would eliminate a 10-day period that petitioners are granted to replace any invalid signatures. Notably, Issue 1 only applies to constitutional changes, and the initiated petition process to amend Ohio law remains unchanged.

“Ohio voters, no matter which county they are from, have differing ideas when they head to the polls, so leaving half of the state’s counties out of the petition process for any statewide constitutional amendment change doesn’t seem right,” Sharp said. “This isn’t about one single social issue for our members. It is about getting all corners of the state involved when a constitutional amendment that would impact all Ohioans is at stake. For too long, many of Ohio’s rural communities have been overlooked and not had a voice on what amendments to the constitution may be considered.”

The passage of this issue would also protect Ohio agriculture and the state’s food security by having a more thoughtful approach to amending the Ohio Constitution. In recent years, efforts have been made by outside special interest groups to push anti-agricultural initiatives to make it more difficult to produce food in the U.S. and incentivize imports from other countries. As a result, the U.S. has seen historic agricultural trade surpluses shift to trade deficits, which directly impacts Ohio Farm Bureau members and family farms across the country.