Ohio voters reject ballot measure in win for abortion rights advocates
By Joseph Ax
(Reuters) -Ohio voters on Tuesday rejected a Republican-backed measure that would have made it harder to amend the state constitution, an initiative aimed at lowering the chances of passage for a November referendum that would protect abortion access statewide.
The results in the special election were a crucial victory for abortion rights advocates, who would have faced the daunting prospect of securing a super-majority of voters this fall if the measure had passed.
The proposal, known as Issue 1, would have lifted the threshold for passing future changes to the state constitution to 60% of voters, up from 50%, as well as imposing more stringent standards for getting such measures on the ballot in the first place.
With more than 1.2 million votes counted, 60% of Ohioans had voted no, compared with 40% who voted yes, according to the Ohio secretary of state's office. That margin was enough for Decision Desk HQ and the Associated Press to call the race.
The election was the latest statewide battle over abortion more than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated a nationwide right. Advocacy groups on both sides of the abortion issue spent millions of dollars ahead of Tuesday's vote.
Ballot initiatives have become powerful tools for abortion rights activists in states where abortion opponents, usually Republicans, control the legislature or hold the governor's office.
Voters in Kansas and Kentucky, both solidly conservative states, rejected measures last year that would have declared that their state constitutions do not protect abortion rights.
On Tuesday, abortion rights groups in Arizona, a key presidential swing state, launched an effort to put the issue before voters in November 2024.
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