Ohio voters reject Issue 1, leaving path open for reproductive rights protection in the future

Ohio held a special election Tuesday to decide the fate of Issue 1, a ballot initiative that was ultimately rejected by voters by a massive margin.

Decision Desk HQ called the race in favor of the “no” campaign at 8:09 p.m. EST, just 39 minutes after polls closed. As of 3:10 p.m. EST Wednesday, just 43% of voters (over 1.3 million) chose “yes” and 57% (over 1.7 million) chose “no,” a 14-percentage-point difference.

If it had passed, Issue 1 would have increased the threshold for future ballot initiatives from 50% to 60% while also increasing signature requirements for the citizen-led process to pass laws. This is a tactic used by Republican-controlled states to stop popular policies from passing outside the state government. One of Issue 1’s main architects was Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who bragged to his constituents about the measure potentially blocking progressive policies like abortion access, recreational marijuana and increasing the minimum wage.

CAUGHT ON TAPE: Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who is working to make it harder for Ohioans to pass any majority-supported ballot measure, admits at a GOP event that the effort is “100%” about denying abortion access.

(VIDEO: @WEWS ) pic.twitter.com/lvNVPz9V96

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) June 3, 2023

The rejection of Issue 1 could have major implications for not only abortion access in Ohio, but also the shape of the 2024 elections. Come November, Ohio will become the  latest state to vote on a measure to protect reproductive rights since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision to remove the right to an abortion. Other Republican-controlled states including Kansas and Kentucky saw citizen-led abortion measures pass without Republican support in their respective assemblies. The reversal of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court has seemingly been a benefit to Democrats who saw key wins in the 2022 midterms despite predictions of a wave of Republican victories that never came.

Issue 1’s failure also gives LaRose’s U.S. Senate campaign its first major setback. Abortion was surely on the forefront, but this vote could have also been influenced by Ohio’s long history of citizen-led ballot measures. Many of them would not have passed with 60% of the vote, including raising the minimum wage and allowing casinos in Ohio cities.

EDITOR’S NOTE (8/9): This article has been edited to add updated vote totals.