Ohio voters rejected a measure that would have made it tougher to amend the state’s constitution. The proposal carried the baggage of being a backdoor attempt to restrict abortion rights and make gun regulation harder to enact through ballot initiatives.

Strip away that hidden agenda, however, and the idea of protecting the constitution from constant meddling is worthy of consideration, and one Michigan should explore.

The Ohio measure would have required ballot measures to get approval from 60% of voters to win passage. Currently in Ohio, as in Michigan, proposals pass on a simple majority.

That lower threshold makes it more tempting for special interests to bypass lawmakers and go directly to voters to put laws in place.

Michigan typically sees up to a half-dozen ballot proposals each election cycle, ranging from significant reforms such as legalizing marijuana to more mundane requests like issuing state bonds.

What’s lost in the direct democracy approach is the deliberative process of lawmaking, which typically includes legislative debate and public hearings before a vote is taken.

Ballot measures often rise or fall based on the amount of money spent by sponsors on advertising that often hides the full consequences of the new law.

Few proposals meet the true definition of a citizens initiative, where volunteers passionate about an issue gather the signatures to get a proposal on the ballot and publicly advocate for its passage.

In most cases, sponsors of a proposal hire professionals to collect signatures, and pay the tab for the campaign.

Changing the constitution should be a more arduous process to better assure the changes reflect the will of a clear majority of the people.

Just 26 states allow the ballot box to be used to enact laws or to repeal laws passed by the Legislature. Eleven of those states require a measure to get more than a simple majority to pass.

New Hampshire, for example, demands a 67% vote to amend the state constitution, and only permits amendments referred by the Legislature, while Florida mandates ballot initiatives receive at least 60% of the vote. In 2020, 60% of Florida voters approved a measure raising the minimum wage.

Hitting the 60% mark is far from impossible. Since 2000, Michigan voters have faced 37 ballot proposals. Twenty have passed, and 14 of those were enacted with more than 60% of the vote.

That list includes medical marijuana legalization, reform of term limits and creation of the redistricting commission.

Raising the threshold for passage will better assure the changes made to the state constitution through the ballot box truly reflect what the people want and not simply the ability of special interests to influence the ballot process for their own purposes.