'One of the really striking aspects of state constitutions is that they are so much easier to amend, especially in the 18 states that have initiative processes.' BrennanCenter's alicia_bannon on why making it harder may be abortion opponents' next move:
from state legislatures in making it more difficult to amend state constitutions, particularly through ballot measures.was narrow but potentially significant for the success of the ballot measure: the timing of the special election in which voters will decide whether to adopt the amendment.
Earlier this year, Ohio enacted a law requiring that special elections be held only on certain dates specified by statute. Votes on constitutional amendments were not included on the list of authorized August special elections, and a separate provision required any special election for a constitutional amendment to correspond with the primary election date, which under Ohio law does not occur in August.
These limits on August amendments had been supported by the secretary of state and local election officials because August elections are expensive to implement and have low turnout. Nevertheless, when the legislature adopted a joint resolution to put the proposed amendment on the ballot, it called for an August 8 election—a move that critics suggested was designed to make it harder to organize opposition to the change.
In a 4-3 ruling, the court concluded that the legislature was within its powers to set an August date, pointing to a state constitutional provision authorizing the Ohio General Assembly to submit a proposed amendment to voters “at either a special or general election as the General Assembly may prescribe.” Citing a 1910 dictionary definition of “prescribe” , the court concluded that a special election could take place on a date specified in the joint resolution proposing the amendment.
One of the really striking aspects of state constitutions is that they are so much easier to amend, especially in the 18 states that have initiative processes. It’s one of the ways that state constitutionalism is far more dynamic—and populist—than what we’re used to in the federal context. One thing to watch in Ohio is whether this dynamism may end up being used to tighten voters’ ability to change their constitutions going forward.
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