(Ohio voters overwhelmingly rejected an attempt Tuesday to make it more difficult for citizens to change the constitution—a measure intended to prevent Democrats from enshrining abortion via a November referendum.
In a special election that cost state taxpayers $15 million and came less than a year after Republican lawmakers outlawed August special elections, a GOP-backed amendment that would have required a 60% majority to pass a constitutional amendment failed 61% to 39%.
“Obviously, there are a lot of folks that did not want this to happen—not just because of the November issues, but for all of the other ones that are coming,” Republican Senate President Matt Huffman said in a statement expressing his disappointment, while predicting that lawmakers may try again in the future.
The Associated Press called the defeat at 8:58 p.m. with 20% of precincts reporting.
That triggered a wave of hysterical celebration from Democrat party operatives nationwide, who suddenly treated the relatively obscure and convoluted issue like it had been a crucial bellwether all along.
Hope every Democrat uses Ohio as an important lesson for every race in 2024. Talk about abortion. Talk about gun violence. Talk about what Republicans are doing to democracy. And go where young voters are. THIS is how you win. And tonight, we won. The fight is only starting…
— Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) August 9, 2023
The Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus called the defeat of Issue 1 a win for democracy.
“The defeat of Issue 1 will go down in history as a victory for our state and democracy,” said Minority Leader Nickie J. Antonio, D-Lakewood. “Ohioans saw through the despicable attempt to silence voters and chose to preserve majority rule.”
A proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot would guarantee abortion rights in the state.
“Ohioans sent a clear message tonight that they won’t allow Republicans to rig our democracy,” said U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Ohio. “Whether it’s reproductive rights, voting rights or labor rights, these freedoms should not be subject to the whims of out-of-touch politicians. Tonight, we celebrate, but the fight continues in November.”
That proposed amendment says every individual has a right to make and carry out their own reproductive decisions, including by not limited to decisions on contraception, fertility, treatment, continuing one’s pregnancy, miscarriage care and abortion.
It would prohibit abortion after “fetal viability” except to protect the mother’s life. It defines fetal viability as when a fetus has a significant likelihood of survival outside the uterus with reasonable measures.
A proposed amendment that would make recreational marijuana legal could also be on the November ballot.
Reports came Tuesday of high voter turnout, especially for a special election with a single issue, with the state’s largest counties showing turnout more than double from the May primary elections.
More than 700,000 early ballots were cast, more than twice as many as early votes during primary elections in 2018 and 2022 with high-profile races.
Some counties were even higher. Hamilton County (Cincinnati) showed a turnout of more than 38%, while Cuyahoga (Cleveland) was higher than 36%.
The ACLU-Ohio tweeted that precincts in Stark County ran out of ballots before the polls closed and told voters waiting on ballots or in line when polls closed at 7:30 p.m. to stay in line.
Issue 1 needed only a 50%-plus-one majority to pass. It was the only issue on the ballot.
It would have required any petition filed for an amendment to be signed by at least 5% of each county’s electors based on the county’s total vote during the last gubernatorial election. A petition needs 5% from 44 of the state’s 88 counties.
According to Ballotpedia, more than 80% of political contributions on both sides of Issue 1 came from out-of-state donors.
