Less than a month ago, Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose told reporters he wouldn't be surprised at a single-digit turnout for the August 8th special election, similar to last year. But after weeks of campaigning from both sides including multi-millions of dollars in advertising, early voting turnout has surpassed expectations, with totals showing five times higher than last August, and more than double last May's primary that included competitive races for US Senate and Governor.
Today's election for State Issue 1 asks voters to decide whether it should be harder to amend the state constitution, by raising the voting threshold from the current simple majority to 60%. If passed, Issue 1 would also make it harder to get proposed amendments on the ballot by expanding signature gathering requirements from 44 counties to all 88 counties, and it would eliminate the current 10 day cure period that allows campaigns to replace or correct signatures if deemed faulty.
We're going to start today's show by talking to our reporters who are at polling locations across Northeast Ohio, and ask them how voters they've talked to are feeling about today's election.
Later this hour, we'll talk about the challenges facing local theaters post-pandemic, and how they are adapting to a new normal. And we'll talk to a local and national health expert about efforts to provide needed vaccinations to people in Ukraine.
Guests:
-Abigail Bottar, Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Taylor Wizner, Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Tony Sias, President & CEO, Karamu House
-Melanie YC Pepe, Chief Executive and Artistic Director, Weathervane Playhouse
-Charles Fee, Producing Artistic Director, Great Lakes Theater
-William Pewen, Ph.D., Health Science Consultant
-Taras Mahlay, M.D., Board Member, Cleveland Maidan Association
