By Terence Burlij | CNN
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced Tuesday that organizers submitted enough valid signatures to put an amendment on the November ballot to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution.
“I hereby certify that petitioners submitted 495,938 total valid signatures on behalf of the proposed statewide initiative,” LaRose wrote in a letter to petitioners, clearing the hurdle of roughly 414,000 signatures required to be placed on the ballot this fall.
The proposed amendment in Ohio would ensure “every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s reproductive decisions.” The statewide vote would come a year after two of Ohio’s neighboring states – deep-red Kentucky and the political battleground of Michigan – supported abortion rights in their own ballot measures.
Ahead of the November election, Ohio voters face another key vote: an August 8 special election set by the Republican-controlled legislature, in which voters will decide whether to raise the threshold for amending the state constitution from the current simple majority to 60%.
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