The state legislature, which is dominated by Republicans, wanted to change the threshold for constitutional changes from a simple majority to 60%.
It was primarily perceived as an attempt to scuttle a referendum on adding abortion rights in the constitution.
President Joe Biden hailed it as a win for women and democracy.
According to Mr. Biden, the Republican-backed action was a “blatant attempt to weaken voters’ voices and further erode women’s freedom to make their own health care decisions.”
A prohibition on the practice beyond six weeks of pregnancy went into force in Ohio when the US Supreme Court ended women’s access to abortions on a national level a year ago. However, the rule is temporarily on hold due to a legal challenge.
By securing the right to an abortion in the state’s constitution, pro-choice organizations in Ohio hope to overturn this during the elections in November.By Wednesday morning, nearly all voting precincts had reported their results, and Issue 1, the measure up for a vote, had been defeated by a margin of 57% to 43%.
Issue 1 is a “deceptive power grab designed to silence” the voice of voters, according to a statement from the campaign organization One Person, One Vote to Politico.
According to Liz Walters, chair of the Ohio Democratic Party, the outcome represents “a victory for the kind of state we want to see”.
On this topic, more than 600,000 people cast early ballots, an unusually high turnout for elections held in August in the state.
In Ohio’s special election on August 8, just Issue 1 was on the ballot.
If approved, it would have raised the 50% to 60% bar for accepting changes. Additionally, Issue 1 would have required petitioners to collect signatures from 5% of eligible voters in each of Ohio’s 88 counties, as opposed to the existing requirement of 44, making it more difficult to bring amendments before voters in the first place.
Only 19 of 71 proposed amendments have met the 50% threshold in the 111 years since Ohio’s voters first granted citizens the right to offer amendments.
Republicans who control the legislature in Ohio, including Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, supported Issue 1.
Issue 1 was allegedly created to defend the Ohio constitution against outside financial interests, according to Mr. LaRose and his backers.
However, Issue 1’s detractors, a varied and bipartisan coalition, believed that it was really a move to stop the abortion amendment.
58, 59% of Ohioans support this amendment, according to polls, according to Kellie Copeland, executive director of Pro-Choice Ohio. They so sought to make it just out of reach.
And Mr. LaRose appeared to corroborate these widely-held fears at a private event in May.
“I support life. In a video shot by Scanner Media, Mr. LaRose remarked, “I believe many of you are as well. This is solely to prevent an extreme pro-abortion amendment from being incorporated into our constitution.
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