IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.
Syndication: Akron Beacon Journal
A voter fills out his special election ballot at Community Vineyard Church, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.Jeff Lange / Akron Beacon Journal / USA Today Network

By the numbers: Ohio's special election

Voters head to the polls in Ohio to weigh raising the threshold to amend the state's constitution via a ballot initiative.

By

Voters head to the polls in Ohio Tuesday for a special election on the process for amending the state's constitution, which will set the stage for a battle over abortion rights in the fall.

Tuesday's election will decide the fate of "Issue 1," a constitutional amendment that would make it more difficult to change the state's constitution via a ballot initiative. That could have an impact on a vote in the fall on an initiative that would enshrine abortion rights into the state's constitution.

Here's a look at Tuesday's election, by the numbers:

60%: The new threshold to pass a constitutional amendment by ballot initiative if Issue 1 passes on Tuesday. The current threshold to an amendment is by majority vote.

88: The number of counties in Ohio. If Issue 1 passes, amendment proposals will have to meet signature thresholds in all 88 counties. Currently, amendment proposals must meet signature thresholds in 44 counties.

578,490: How many absentee and early in-person ballots have been cast in the special election as of Aug. 4 since early voting started on June 23, according to the Secretary of State's office. That's double the early vote total from last year's May primary, which included competitive primaries for governor and Senate.

$26.5 million: How much money has been spent on ads in the special election, according to the ad tracking firm AdImpact.

$15.9 million: How much money outside groups opposing Issue 1 have spent on ads, with almost all of that ad spending coming from one group: One Person One Vote. The group is mainly funded by groups outside of Ohio, and by groups that do not have to disclose their donors, per Cleveland.com.

$10.7 million: How much money outside groups supporting Issue 1 have spent ads, per AdImpact. That includes Protect Our Constitution, which received funding from GOP megadonor Richard Uihlein, who lives in Illinois.

495,938: The number of valid signatures abortion rights advocates submitted to the Secretary of State' office, allowing an amendment enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution to qualify for the November ballot, per the Cincinnati Enquirer.