Ohio voters firmly reject State Issue 1

COLUMBUS — Ohio voters said “no” to Republican state lawmakers on Tuesday.

State Issue 1, an amendment to the state Constitution proposed by GOP members in the Statehouse, fell flat.

The amendment would have made it far more difficult in the future to amend the Ohio Constitution, including a need for 60 percent voter approval, instead of the simple majority needed today.

According to the Ohio Secretary of State’s website, as of 10:30 p.m., nearly 57 percent of voters rejected the amendment with more than 80 percent of the vote counted, according to unofficial results.

With 2.8 million votes counted, there were 1,585,371 against the proposal, compared to 1,217,791 in favor.

Most major news outlets across the state called the race less than two hours after polls closed at 7:30 p.m., including the Associated Press at 9 p.m.

The defeat was a blow to Republicans who had sought to make a November ballot question on abortion rights harder to pass.

In Richland County, voters supported Issue 1, according to the local Board of Elections website.

With all 83 precincts reporting, 60.89 percent of the county’s voters (18,526) voted in favor with 11,901 against (39.11 percent). The 30,427 ballots cast represented 37.47 percent of the county’s eligible voters.

The timing of Ohio lawmakers in putting the issue on the August ballot was not lost on anyone. It’s a scenario that’s played out in states around the country for a year.

It’s all about abortion, an issue the U.S. Supreme Court left to individual states to decide for themselves when it overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, ending a 50-year federal precedent.

While some Republicans have said Issue 1 is not just about abortion, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose made his intentions clear during a speaking event to Seneca County Republicans in May.

“This is 100 percent about keeping a radical pro-abortion amendment out of our constitution,” said LaRose, who is considering a run for the U.S. Senate in 2024.

“The left wants to jam it in there this coming November,” LaRose told the party faithful.

Ohio lawmakers had passed a near complete ban on abortion in 2019, a move that was halted by a federal court shortly after it took effect following the Dobbs decision.

Currently, abortion is legal in Ohio up to about 22 weeks of pregnancy, a law that the group Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom hopes to change with its own citizen-initiative drive — a move that will now still require a simple majority vote.

That proposal will relax abortion restrictions, make it more patient-physician oriented and prevent the state from interfering in a woman’s right to an abortion before fetus viability, which is around 24 weeks according to the National Institutes of Health.

Here is how it played out for the last several months:

— In December 2022, the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed a bill to eliminate August special elections, saying ending it would save taxpayers’ money.

— In March, the pro-choice groups had their ballot language certified and began circulating petitions.

— In May, those same GOP-led lawmakers voted to put the amendment on the ballot in August — staging the same kind of special election they had chosen to eliminate a few months earlier.

The change of heart from Republican lawmakers was clear to see.

Under the current Ohio Constitution, it takes a simple majority of voters to amend the document.

If approved by a majority of voters in August, changing the state constitution would have required 60 percent statewide approval.

But it would also require anyone circulating petitions to propose a constitutional ballot issue to gain the signatures of at least 5 percent of registered voters in every one of Ohio’s 88 counties.

The current requirement is that those signatures come from at least 44 counties.

That change didn’t get as much attention, but it certainly would have changed the rules of the game when it comes to amending Ohio’s Constitution.

It also would have eliminated a 10-day “cure period” during which amendment campaigns can collect additional signatures if their first batch falls short.

Earlier updates:

As of 10 p.m., according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s website, State Issue 1 was being rejected by 56.45 percent of voters across the Buckeye State.

With 2,399,334 votes counted, the website reported that 1,354,314 residents rejected the proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution. There were 1,045,020 in favor.

As of 9:40 p.m. in Richland County, there were 8,840 votes in favor of Issue 1 (53.99 percent) and 7,532 against (46.91 percent.) That’s with 77 of 83 precincts counted, according to the local Board of Elections website.

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As of 9:30 p.m., according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s website, State Issue 1 was being rejected by 57.22 percent of voters. With 1,840,027 votes counted, the website reported there had been 1,052,851 votes against the proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution and 787,176 in favor.

As of 9:15 p.m. in Richland County, there were 7,115 votes in favor of Issue 1 (52.03 percent) and 6,561 against (47.97 percent.) That’s with 58 of 83 precincts counted, according to the local Board of Elections website.

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U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) issued a statement Tuesday night regarding voting on State Issue 1 across the state.

“Ohioans saw this amendment for what it was: a power grab by powerful people designed to silence their voices,” the Mansfield native said. “By rejecting State Issue 1, Ohioans rejected special interests and demanded that democracy remain where it belongs – in the hands of voters, not the rich and powerful. That is what has always guided me and I am proud to stand with Ohioans in this fight.”

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State Issue 1 has been defeated in Ohio, according to a story published by the Associated Press.

“Ohio voters on Tuesday resoundingly rejected a Republican-backed measure that would have made it more difficult to change the state’s constitution, setting up a fall campaign that will become the nation’s latest referendum on abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned nationwide protections last year,” according to the AP story.

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As of 9 p.m., according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s website, State Issue 1 was being rejected by 60.69 percent of voters across the state. There were 733,046 “no” votes and 474,748 “yes” votes, according to the website.

In Richland County, results on Issue 1 were evenly split as of 9 p.m. There were 5,535 yes votes (50.89 percent) and 5,342 no votes (49.11 percent), according to the local Board of Elections. That’s with 14 of 83 precincts reported, about 13.4 percent of eligible voters.

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As of 8:30 p.m., according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s website, there were 550,466 (67.55 percent) votes against State Issue 1 and 264,382 (32.45 percent) in favor.

MANSFIELD — Should it be tougher to amend the Ohio Constitution now that abortion is being left up to individual states to decide?

That’s the basic question voters will decide tonight during a statewide special election.

Polls closed around the state at 7:30 p.m. and vote counting has begun.

The only thing on the ballot, State Issue 1 gives voters a chance to make amending the constitution more difficult — just three months before a pro-choice group will have its own amendment issue on the ballot.

Richland Source will provide updated statewide vote totals throughout the evening. We will also report how the issue fared locally.

As of 8 p.m., according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s website, there were 446,776 (70.4) percent votes against the issue and 187,555 (29.6) in favor.

There are 7,950,303 registered voters in Ohio.

In Richland County, as of 8 p.m., the local board of elections reported 4,726 votes against and 3,978 in favor.

Results are unofficial, and properly postmarked absentee ballots received by the deadline will be counted.

Check back with Richland Source tonight for updates.