Ohio Issue 1
Economists: Abortion protections will lead to better outcomes for Ohio women
Abortion rights will be on the ballot in November, and Ohio Republican politicians who oppose them are again trying to stack the deck. However, a majority of economists who were surveyed this month said that such rights will improve economic prospects for women — especially those who are poor. After the U.S. Supreme Court in […]
A warning told again: Politics and religion don’t mix
In a special election on Aug. 8 scheduled by a gerrymandered, authoritarian legislature intent on manipulating low voter turnout during a hot summer, Ohio citizens went to the polls and did something extraordinary in these fractious times. They upheld democracy. The election was to approve a ballot issue that made it nearly impossible to amend […]
Issue 1 exposed the rot in Ohio government. And the people now still have the power to fix it
When former Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich got his hat handed to him by incensed voters over a restrictive collective bargaining law he championed, he was duly chastened. Ohioans sent a loud message to the overreaching first-term governor on Senate Bill 5 in 2011, the anti-union legislation that would have gutted the political power of […]
Frank LaRose’s very bad day. Sec. of State dodged press, issued angry statement as Issue 1 failed
It’s unclear whether, going into Tuesday, Frank LaRose anticipated that the measure he was championing was going to fail — even though related issues have gotten trounced in state after state after state. But by Election Day, early voting had been torrid for weeks — especially in big cities where people were likely to vote […]
Mostly silent on Issue 1, Ohio Gov. DeWine now gears up for debate over abortion rights amendment
In the wake of Issue 1’s failure, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is turning his attention squarely on an abortion rights amendment voters will consider in November. Unlike with Issue 1, DeWine appears much more interested in making a case to voters. The governor insisted the amendment doesn’t square with what he believes the majority of […]
Ohio voters affirm the “Defense of Democracy” enacted by Oregonians 25 years ago
Voters in Ohio turned back a blatant attempt to change the rules of their democracy this week, when they trounced a ballot referral designed by the state’s Republican Legislature to stymie a citizen initiative headed to the ballot in November. The issue in this case was abortion rights, which elevated Ohio’s Issue 1 to national prominence. And just as […]
Blame game: Issue 1 supporters pointing fingers after resounding loss
As the dust settled on election night, Republicans who led the push to restrict constitutional amendment initiatives with Issue 1 began making excuses, shifting blame and promising retribution. Instead of placing a period on a disappointing months-long campaign, they offered an ellipses — steadfastly refusing to acknowledge their effort was out of step with Ohio […]
How Issue 1 was defeated
Unlikely allies came together to defeat Issue 1, which would have taken away majority rule in Ohio. Opponents struck down Issue 1, which would have made it harder to amend the state constitution. With all of the votes counted, Vote No had an overwhelming 57% majority of the vote compared to 43% for Vote Yes, […]
What happened in Ohio Tuesday? Voters refused to be suckered, and stood up for themselves
Ohioans, I’m so proud of you. You stood up for yourselves. You refused to let corrupt politicians and lobbyists steal your power. You paid homage to generations before us who won us these rights, and you protected them for future generations. You won a noble and historic victory for democracy in Ohio, and you should […]
Ohio’s Issue 1 goes down to defeat
The Republican-led effort to make amending Ohio’s constitution more difficult has failed. As of 11:45 p.m., unofficial results for the Aug. 8 special election show voters rejected Issue 1 57% to 43%. The Associated Press called the race at 9 p.m. While precincts were still reporting late into the night and absentee ballots will continue […]
After Issue 1, Ohioans have a new opportunity to end GOP stranglehold
When the Ohio GOP came up with Issue 1 as a cheap ploy to thwart a constitutional amendment to enshrine the right to abortion and contraception in the Ohio state constitution, they thought this was a slam dunk. Assuming that the historic trends of low voter turnout for August elections would be the way to […]
Ohio voters reject Issue 1 constitutional amendment changes, the Associated Press projects
Ohio voters have rejected state Issue 1, which sought to make it harder for voters to pass constitutional amendments, the Associated Press has projected. The full counting of unofficial results is ongoing, but the AP has officially projected that the “No” side has won. As of 10 p.m., with three-fourths of precincts counted statewide, the […]