Ohio voters rejected Issue 1 on Tuesday, dealing a blow to Republicans who wanted to hamstring a November ballot question on abortion rights.
The no vote prevailed 57% to 43% with over 3 million votes cast, according to unofficial results. About 58,000 absentee and provisional ballots were outstanding as of Wednesday.
“Tonight, Ohioans claimed a victory over out-of-touch, corrupt politicians who bet against majority rule, who bet against democracy,” Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters told reporters at an election night gathering in Columbus. “Tonight, Ohioans everywhere have claimed a victory for the kind of state we want to see.”
Tuesday’s election was the culmination of a months-long fight that began last year, when Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Rep. Brian Stewart first introduced a plan to tighten the rules for constitutional amendments. The debate played out in the halls of the Ohio Statehouse, on the campaign trail and even in the courtroom as opponents tried to stop GOP lawmakers in their tracks.
Proponents of the measure said they want to keep controversial policies out of the constitution and reserve it for the state’s fundamental rights and values. Critics argued the ballot measure was a power grab that would hamstring the rights of citizens to place an issue on the ballot.
Ohioans appeared to buy the message opponents were selling. “No” votes poured in from progressive strongholds around Columbus, Cincinnati, Akron and Cleveland, but the measure also garnered opposition from voters in key GOP areas.
For example, nearly 58% of voters in suburban Delaware County north of Columbus rejected Issue 1 despite the county’s long history of supporting Republicans.
Politics: Abortion rights (and 2024 election playbooks) face critical vote on Issue 1 in Ohio
The fight over Issue 1 generated national attention.
“Today, Ohio voters rejected an effort by Republican lawmakers and special interests to change the state’s constitutional amendment process,” President Joe Biden said in a statement Tuesday night. “This measure was a blatant attempt to weaken voters’ voices and further erode the freedom of women to make their own health care decisions. Ohioans spoke loud and clear, and tonight democracy won.”
Ohio Issue 1 live results
Ohio August election sets stage for abortion fight in November
Tuesday’s outcome means it’s business as usual for changing the Ohio Constitution. Future proposed amendments will only need a simple majority of the vote to take effect, and there will be no changes to the signature-gathering process for citizen groups.
That’s good news for supporters of abortion access, who placed a proposal on the November ballot to enshrine reproductive rights in the constitution. Republicans set the August election to preempt that vote and make it harder for the abortion amendment to pass.
The move turned Tuesday’s election into a nationally watched proxy war over the abortion debate, as Ohio is the only state voting on the issue in 2023.
“Winning in August was vital,” said Lauren Blauvelt, vice president of government affairs for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio. “It is important that majority rule is the standard. It is the right that Ohioans had for 100 years. We’re not going to give that up.”
Opponents of the abortion amendment funneled millions of dollars into the campaign to support Issue 1. Now, they’re focused solely on convincing Ohioans to vote no in November − the opposite message they sold for August.
“I think the Republicans that decided to vote no today voted no outside of their positions on abortion, Second Amendment or small businesses,” Ohio Right to Life Pr