An August special election that will determine citizens’ future access to the Ohio Constitution…and potentially the fate of an abortion rights amendment…can go forward as planned…despite state lawmakers passing a law last year that eliminated most elections in August. In a 4-3 decision, the high court found that the Legislature’s constitutional right to determine the dates of elections trumps any laws they might pass to limit them. The General Assembly’s exercise of its constitutional power “overrides any election statute that would otherwise prohibit the special election,” Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy wrote for the majority, allowing Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose to proceed with the Aug. 8 vote. Her opinion was joined by the court’s three other Republicans, with the three Democratic justices dissenting.