Abortion Is Officially on the Ballot in Ohio's August and November Elections

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Abortion Is Officially on the Ballot in Ohio’s August and November Elections
7/25/2023 by Roxy Szal



A pro-abortion rights rally on May 14, 2023—two weeks after the Dobbs v. Jackson decision overturning Roe v. Wade leaked from the Supreme Court. (Whitney Saleski / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images)

It’s official: Abortion rights advocates in Ohio have met the signature requirement to place a measure on the Nov. 7, 2023, ballot that would codify abortion rights in the state constitution. The proposed constitutional amendment reads: “Every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one’s own pregnancy, miscarriage care and abortion.” Petitioners received a total of 495,938 valid signatures (exceeding the required minimum of 413,446) collected from 55 counties in Ohio (exceeding the minimum requirement of 44). Almost 60 percent of Ohio voters back the abortion rights amendment—including 81 percent of Democrats, 70 percent of independents, and 85 percent of independent women—according to a recent USA TODAY Network/Suffolk University poll.

Before the amendment gets in front of voters, though, it faces one more unique obstacle: an Aug. 8 election, where voters are tasked to decide if future constitutional amendments will need to meet a threshold of 60 percent support, rather than 50 percent (or a simple majority). The measure—Ohio Issue 1, the 60 Percent Vote Requirement to Approve Constitutional Amendments Measure—would also mandate that signatures come from every single county in the state, meaning one county could band together to stop a measure from progressing across the entire state.

A yes vote supports amending the state constitution to increase the threshold to 60 percent.
A no vote rejects the change, maintaining that a simple majority vote is required for voters to approve new constitutional amendments.

A poll this week showed 57 percent of Ohio voters do not support Issue 1, and just 27 percent were in favor. (About 17 percent were undecided.)

Issue 1 is an initiative led by Republican legislators. House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D) said it would “take away power from people and put it more firmly into politicians’ hands.”

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“Every person deserves respect, dignity and the right to make reproductive healthcare decisions, including those related to their own pregnancy, miscarriage care, and abortion free from government interference,” said Lauren Blauvelt and Dr. Lauren Beene, both on the executive committee of Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights. “I think folks are really paying attention,” said Heather Shumaker, director of state abortion access for the National Women’s Law Center, which supports the amendment. Including Ohio, 26 states allow citizens to propose new statutes or constitutional amendments. “Ballot measures have emerged as one of the most promising strategies to preserve abortion access,” said Shumaker.

https://msmagazine.com/2023/07/25/ohio-abortion-election/