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Issue 1 was projected to fail on Tuesday, according to Decision Desk HQ, dealing a blow to Ohio Republicans who wanted to hamstring a November ballot question on abortion rights.
Decision Desk HQ, an election results reporting agency providing results and race calls for the USA TODAY Network Ohio, called the race around 8:09 p.m. With about 28% of the vote counted, no vote was leading 68% to 32%.
Tuesday’s election was the culmination of a months-long fight that began last year, when Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Rep. Brian Stewart first introduced a plan to tighten the rules for constitutional amendments. The debate played out in the halls of the Ohio Statehouse, on the campaign trail and even in the courtroom as opponents tried to stop GOP lawmakers in their tracks.
Proponents of the measure said they want to keep controversial policies out of the constitution and reserve it for the state’s fundamental rights and values. Critics argued the ballot measure was a power grab that would hamstring the rights of citizens to place an issue on the ballot.
Ohioans appeared to buy the message opponents were selling.
Politics:Abortion rights (and 2024 election playbooks) face critical vote on Issue 1 in Ohio
Ohio Issue 1 live results
What would Issue 1 have done?
Issue 1, if passed, would have required a 60% of the vote to enact new constitutional amendments instead of a simple majority. It also would have:
- Required citizens who want to place an amendment on the ballot to collect signatures from at least 5% of voters from the last gubernatorial election in all 88 counties, instead of the current 44.
- Eliminated a 10-day cure period that allows citizens to replace any signatures deemed faulty by the secretary of state’s office.
Who introduced Issue 1 in Ohio?
The GOP-controlled Legislature set the Aug. 8 election after months of infighting over the best path forward. LaRose and Stewart initially wanted to put the question before voters in May, but the conversation shifted to August despite a new election law that restricts most August special elections.
Republicans made it clear that they wanted to hold the election before November, when Ohioans will decide whether to enshrine reproductive rights in the constitution. That turned Tuesday’s election into a nationally watched proxy war over the abortion debate, as Ohio is the only state voting on the issue in 2023.
Even with such high stakes, convincing Ohioans to pay attention to a convoluted political issue in the summer cost both sides millions of dollars.
The One Person One Vote coalition opposing Issue 1 spent roughly $12.4 million on TV, cable and radio advertising, according to ad-tracking firm Medium Buying. The group dominated the airwaves for weeks − much to the chagrin of Issue 1 supporters − but Protect Our Constitution eventually launched ad buys to the tune of $2.5 million.
The anti-abortion group Protect Women Ohio spent roughly $7.1 million in advertising to support Issue 1.
More:Issue 1 poll: Most Ohio voters oppose plan to make it harder to amend constitution
Both campaigns were largely bankrolled by out-of-state donors, even as they railed against the influence of outside interests. Protect Our Constitution received most of its funding from Illinois billionaire and conservative donor Richard Uihlein, while opponents got substantial help from progressive groups in California and Washington, D.C.
The full cost of the election won’t be known until September, when the campaigns face their next filing deadline.
Their efforts appeared to pay off, to a certain degree. Critics of Issue 1 were concerned that turnout would be low, and lawmakers limited August special elections for that very reason. But nearly 642,000 people cast early in-person or absentee ballots, outpacing the early vote turnout for the May 2022 primary.
Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
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