Dean Emeritus Steinglass: Ohio’s August Special Election May Be Unconstitutional

Ohio’s recent Joint Resolution 2 requires a 60 percent vote to approve any amendments to the Ohio Constitution.  Voters will have to approve this new threshold at an August special election.

Steven Steinglass, Dean Emeritus of the Cleveland State University College of Law, opined recently on NPR that the resolution itself contains a vehicle to create an election. He says those are “two distinct legal instruments that cannot be combined.” But Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman said legal counsel for the legislature told lawmakers the resolution is legal.

Now, a coalition of groups has filed a suit with the Ohio Supreme Court to block the special election by challenging the constitutional validity of the joint resolution.

Dean Emeritus Steinglass also is the author of the research guide: Ohio Constitution – Law and History.