An Ohio vote rejecting changes to how the state amends its constitution shows that abortion access continues to spur people to the polls, even in red states, and is ringing alarm bells among pro-life groups who want their GOP allies to fight back.
Ohio voters rejected “Issue 1” this week by a 57% to 43% margin. The measure would have required 60% support for voter-driven changes to the state constitution, up from a simple majority.
Republican lawmakers said the move was needed to keep outside interests from meddling in state affairs. But others saw a naked attempt to move the goalposts before a vote in November on whether to enshrine broad abortion rights in the state constitution after Republicans passed a six-week restriction on the procedure.
Voters in Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan opted last year to shore up abortion access after the Supreme Court opened the door to state limits, though Tuesday’s vote in Ohio vote carried extra significance.
The state has been trending red in recent years, and the result showed that even an arcane attempt to change underlying ballot-amendment rules in a lazy-summer election can drive pro-choice forces and their allies to the ballot box.
“Abortion access continues to be a great issue for Democrats, even in a low-turnout election in the middle of August in a red state,” said Darrell West, director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution. “People did not want to change the rules in the middle of the game.”
Pro-life groups said their side should view the Ohio vote as a wake-up call. Big-moneyed interests are willing to back an expansion of abortion rights, they said, so it is time to fight back.
“Everyone must take this threat seriously and recognize progressives will win if their opponents are scared into submission by the pro-abortion left,” the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America said. “So long as the Republicans and their supporters take the ostrich strategy and bury their heads in the sand, they will lose again and again.”
Abortion is legal until 20 weeks into pregnancy in Ohio, while a legal stay is in place against a six-week limit that was approved in the wake of the 2022 Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Pro-choice groups believe the six-week limit will be upheld, so they are pushing a November measure to allow abortion around 24 weeks into pregnancy, the fetal-viability standard used in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Their constitutional amendment also leaves fetal viability up to the judgment of the pregnant patient’s doctor.
David Pepper, the former chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, said Tuesday’s vote should give the pro-choice side some momentum as they plot to use the Dobbs decision as a political cudgel against Republicans and former President Donald Trump, who paved the way for the decision by appointing three conservative justices.
“In a way, the Dobbs decision said, ’Let’s send this back to the people.’ Well, that’s when you should be careful what you wish for,” Mr. Pepper said. “When they do have a chance to weigh in, so far it’s undefeated that — no matter how red or blue or purple a state may be — people want women to have the right to choose.”
President Biden, who could face Mr. Trump in a rematch in 2024, hailed Ohio voters for preserving the status quo on amendment rules.
“This measure was a blatant attempt to weaken voters’ voices and further erode the freedom of women to make their own health care decisions,” Mr. Biden said after Tuesday’s results. “Ohioans spoke loud and clear, and tonight democracy won.”
There might not be a straight line of support from Tuesday’s vote to the abortion-access measure in November. Some Ohioans, especially those in the center-right, might have been put off by the attempt to change the threshold for amendments but espouse pro-life positions.
On the flip side, major cities in Ohio have municipal elections in November, which may increase turnout among liberals who support abortion access.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican candidate for a U.S. Senate seat, said Tuesday’s loss 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,” he said.
Mr. LaRose said maintaining the amendment threshold at 50% exposes Ohio to a series of liberal changes beyond abortion, from shutting parents out of their children’s decision on gender-related surgeries to the imposition of new mandates on small businesses.
Mr. Pepper sees it differently. He said the GOP lawmakers’ failed effort reflected the perils of operating in gerrymandered districts.
“They’ve come to the conclusion they are popular when in fact they are benefiting from a pretty rigged system,” Mr. Pepper said. “They’ll never do this, but maybe it’s time to amend your views a little bit to what people actually want.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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