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In yet another major rebuke of Republicans over abortion rights, voters in Ohio on Tuesday handily turned down a GOP-led effort to make it more difficult to amend the state’s Constitution.
62 percent of Ohioans voted against Issue 1, when the Associated Press called the election with 36 percent of the vote in. Link: Ohio Ballot Measure Election Results 2023: Live Updates & Analysis (politico.com)

The measure would have raised the threshold to pass a constitutional amendment from a simple majority to 60 percent, as well as make it more complicated to get citizen-initiated ballot measures before voters in the first place. Both sides of the issue drew national attention and millions of dollarsduring the lead-up to what was expected to be an under-the-radar, off-year summer special election. Link: Ohio special election August 2023: Issue 1 is attracting millions - POLITICO

“Voters saw Issue 1 for what it was: a deceptive power grab designed to silence their voices and diminish their voting power,” Dennis Willard, spokesperson One Person One Vote, the main group opposing Issue 1, said in a statement. “We defeated Issue 1 because an enormous coalition that spans ideological divides came together to defend democracy.”

More than 600,000 people voted early on the issue, far outpacing past August elections in the Buckeye State, which had historically low turnout. The push to raise the threshold, initiated by the GOP-controlled state legislature, came as abortion-rights activists campaigned in support of a separate November initiative that would enshrine abortion rights in the state’s Constitution.

With the November vote on the horizon, the election became a proxy war over abortion rights — although proponents of Issue 1 insisted that it’s not just about abortion, but rather protecting the state Constitution from special interests.

Abortion-rights efforts prevailed in states across the country last year, as well as earlier this year in Wisconsin. But raising the bar would have created a new hurdle for the one on the ballot in Ohio this fall, as it’s unclear if it would pass a 60 percent threshold.
Opponents of Issue 1 rode those national successes from last year, and were bolstered by a cash advantage heading into the election. One Person One Vote raised $14.8 million, while Protect Our Constitution, the group supporting Issue 1, raised $4.9 million, according to state filings.

Issue 1’s defeat follows a streak of losses for Republicans looking to make it more difficult to put a measure before voters. GOP legislatures in Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio and Oklahoma debated bills in recent years that would implement similar hurdles. Few made it into law, and some of those that did were later struck down by courts.

“Post-2020, there was so much interest in efforts around voting access, and I think it was a mistake not to include the attacks on the ballot initiative process, which were already well underway in that conversation,” said Sarah Walker, policy and legal advocacy director for the progressive Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. “This is the first time I’m really seeing that effort [to show] that these things are linked. And ultimately, it’s about removing checks and balances to unfettered legislative power.”

By MADISON FERNANDEZ
Ally Mutnick contributed to this report.