According to the latest numbers from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, more people have cast early ballots for the Aug. 8 Special Election in one week than the entire early voting period last year.
So far this week, more than 3,500 people have voted. In comparison, 3,094 people cast ballots during the entire early voting period for last year's August Special Election.
Last year's August Special Election, held on Aug. 2, 2022, was a primary election for voters to select Republican and Democratic candidates for a number of state senator and state representative races across Ohio.
This year, there's just one item on the ballot — Issue 1, which would increase the votes needed to make a change to the state Constitution from a simple majority of 50% plus one vote to 60%.
Diving deeper
On the surface, Issue 1 appears to be just about raising the majority needed to change Ohio's Constitution, but Secretary State Frank LaRose said it's about one thing — preventing abortion — going back on statements he's made previously.
Up until June, every time LaRose had been asked if Issue 1 was related to an abortion vote, he denied it.
"If this is about one specific issue, then somebody's not really focused on what we're trying to accomplish here," the secretary said.
But the words he said to reporters appear different than when he spoke to his supporters.
"It’s 100% about keeping a radical pro-abortion amendment out of our constitution," LaRose said to them.
Raw video obtained by News 5 from Scanner Media shows the secretary at Lincoln Day on May 22, 2023, in Seneca County, with what advocates call "saying the quiet part out loud."
RELATED: Ohio Sec. of State LaRose admits move to make constitution harder to amend is ‘100% about… abortion’
You can watch more about LaRose and his statements regarding Issue 1 in the player below:
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