Ohio Votes Against Special Election Measure, Boosting Pro-Abortion Campaign

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HIGHLAND COUNTY, Ohioโ€”Ohioans voted on Aug. 8 to reject stricter requirements for citizen-initiated amendments to the state’s constitution in a move that could bode well for activistsโ€™ efforts to codify abortion rights later this year.

With reporting from all precincts and an outstanding 58,000 ballots, the “no” vote won 57.01 percent to the “yes” vote’s 42.99 percent.

The question put to voters in Tuesdayโ€™s special election was whether they supported increasing the threshold for passing citizen-led amendments to the Ohio Constitution from a simple majority to 60 percent of voters.

A โ€œyesโ€ vote on Issue 1 also indicated support for requiring petitioners to gather signatures from all 88 countiesโ€”up from the current standard of 44โ€”and nixing the 10-day cure period allowing the collection of additional signatures if a petition is found to have initially missed the mark.

But what drove many voters to the pollsโ€”in much higher numbers than expectedโ€”was the knowledge that the amendment could make or break another ballot initiative to enshrine a right to abortion in the stateโ€™s constitution. That proposed amendment is set to appear on Ohioansโ€™ ballots in November.

And with Issue 1โ€™s failure Tuesday, another victory may be on the horizon for pro-abortion activists.

Political Campaigns

In the lead-up to Election Day, campaigns both for and against Issue 1 argued that the measure would cede power to out-of-state interest groups.

While Republicans promoted the amendment as a safeguard to prevent outside groups from influencing the Ohio Constitution, Democrats charged that the measure itself was being pushed by outside extremists aiming to thwart the will of the voters on the proposed abortion amendment.

Specifically, the measure on the November ballot asserts a right to โ€œmake and carry out oneโ€™s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing oneโ€™s own pregnancy, miscarriage care, and abortion.โ€

Currently, abortion is legal in Ohio through 22 weeks of pregnancy as enforcement of a six-week limit on the procedureโ€”passed in 2019โ€”has been halted by legal challenges.

In July, aย USA Today/Suffolk University pollย found that 58 percent of likely Ohio voters supported the abortion amendmentโ€”a majority, but 2 percent shy of the Issue 1 threshold.

Byย Samantha Flomย andย Jeff Louderback

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