CLEVELAND (WJW) – Ohio voters will decide on Issue One in six days, but in at least one Cleveland neighborhood, the debate is not happening at the ballot box.

It’s happening through vandalism, including arson.

Mason’s Creamery is a popular spot, especially on a hot August day in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood at West 44th Street and Bridge Avenue. 

Co-owner Jesse Mason, when he pulled up to the shop last Wednesday morning, noticed something was wrong.

“We had a vote “no” for Issue One sign that was prominently displayed here at our intersection and it was gone and you could see the faint outline of the wire that housed the sign and apparently somebody had burned it,” said Mason.

Mason immediately viewed the footage from one of his surveillance cameras and saw that someone had indeed set fire to the sign.

“Just got out of his truck very casually, took a lighter out and lit the sign on fire and pulled away,” Mason said.

Tuesday, Ohio voters will cast their ballot for or against Issue One, which would change the requirements to make amendments to the state’s Constitution.

Among the changes, 60% of voters would be needed for a constitutional  amendment, instead of 50% plus one. People would also need to gather signatures from all 88 counties instead of the current 44.

“Do you think it was just random vandalism, or you think it was a political statement?” FOX 8 asked.

“Oh absolutely a political statement,” Mason said.

Mason tells FOX 8, that same night, he wasn’t the only person who had a sign vandalized.

Just a few blocks down the street at West 44th and John Avenue, there is charred grass where a “Say No to Issue One” was burned and replaced.

“There have been multiple homes that have been targeted with fire, which you know, if you kick a sign down, we can stick it back up, but I think the arson sends a very poignant message,” said Mason.

On West 58th Street near Lorain Avenue, Sean Martin sent FOX 8 video of a man getting out of a similar truck around 4 a.m. Wednesday and vandalizing a sign also against Issue One in his neighbor’s yard.

“We had an outpouring from the community, bring some additional signs. So now, you know, we’ve got five or six signs here,” said Mason.

He believes no matter how anyone feels about Issue One, it should not be so divisive that it leads to this.

“One of the beautiful things about America, about Ohio is being able to voice your opinion with our votes and so for people to try to take that away or make it more difficult, I think is a tragedy,” Mason said.

A lieutenant in the Cleveland fire department’s arson investigation unit says they have identified a suspect in the Mason’s Creamery case, but the man is not yet in custody.