COLUMBUS, Ohio — Politicians in Columbus and across the state are sharing their thoughts after Ohio voters rejected Issue 1 on Tuesday.
The defeat of Issue 1 keeps in place a simple majority threshold for passing future constitutional amendments. It would have raised that to a 60% supermajority, which supporters said would protect the state’s foundational document from outside interest groups.
While abortion was not directly on the special election ballot, the result marks the latest setback for Republicans in a conservative-leaning state who favor imposing tough restrictions on the procedure. Ohio Republicans placed the question on the summer ballot in hopes of undercutting a citizen initiative voters will decide in November that seeks to enshrine abortion rights in the state.
City and state leaders and organizations across Ohio sounded off on the defeat of Issue 1:
Mayor Andrew Ginther
“Tonight is a win for Democracy, a win for Ohioans and is most certainly about showing extremist lawmakers with radical ideas that wrong is wrong. Issue 1 was wrong for Ohio, and I applaud my Columbus neighbors for standing up for their voice and their vote, saying decisions should be made by all who show up. Make no mistake, tonight is also about reproductive rights. Now more than ever, I urge all Columbus voters to find five friends and make sure all have a plan to vote like their life depends on it to protect choice this fall."
Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose
“I’m grateful that nearly 1.3 million Ohioans stood with us in this fight, but this is only one battle in a long war. Unfortunately, we were dramatically outspent by dark money billionaires from California to New York, and the giant ‘for sale’ sign still hangs on Ohio’s constitution. Ohioans will see the devastating impact of this vote soon enough. The radical activists that opposed Issue 1 are already planning amendments to shut parents out of a child’s life-altering medical procedure, force job killing wage mandates on small businesses, prevent law abiding citizens from protecting their families and remove critical protections for our first responders. I’ve said for months now that there’s an assault coming on our constitution, and that hasn’t changed. I’m just getting started in the fight to protect Ohio’s values.”
President Biden
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
“Ohioans saw this amendment for what it was: a power grab by powerful people designed to silence their voices. By rejecting State Issue 1, Ohioans rejected special interests and demanded that democracy remain where it belongs – in the hands of voters, not the rich and powerful. That is what has always guided me and I am proud to stand with Ohioans in this fight.”
Dennis Willard, spokesperson for the One Person One Vote Campaign.
"We did it. Tonight is a major victory for Democracy in Ohio. The majority still rules in Ohio, and the people’s power has been preserved – because Ohio voters showed up and overwhelmingly voted down Issue 1."
Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters
“Tonight was an important victory for our state, the voters of Ohio and the principle of majority rule. Ohio Democrats were proud to play our part in stopping this political power grab by out-of-touch politicians at the statehouse – most notably Frank LaRose, who made himself the face of this effort and is now officially Ohio’s biggest loser. But our work is far from over. Over the next 90 days, we’ll continue working to move our state forward and to protect abortion rights. Together, with the majority of Ohioans who believe in protecting reproductive rights, we’ll tell corrupt politicians trying to strip away our freedoms and pass a total abortion ban: we won’t go back."
Ohio House of Representative Speaker Jason Stephens
“The people of Ohio have spoken. It is now time to turn our attention to November. As a 100% pro-life conservative, we must defeat Issue 1 on November 7 to stop abortion from being a part of our state’s constitution.”
Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman
"This was a fight worth having and tonight we sent a message that we were close, and will continue efforts to protect the Ohio Constitution from wealthy out of state special interests. This was a heavy lift and we needed "all hands-on deck," which disappointingly we didn’t have. The opposition had twice the money coming from NY, CA and D.C., and a head start. We really needed to turn out our base and needed more help doing that from current and former elected officials. Make no mistake, standing on the side of wealthy California special interests will only make our state vulnerable to these continued far left attacks."