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 voters on Tuesday resoundingly rejected a Republican-backed measure that would have made it more difficult to change the state’s constitution, setting up a fall campaign that will become the nation’s latest referendum on abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned nationwide protections last year.

  • curve@lemmy.world
    119·
    1 year ago

    Abortion is the big ticket item and the headline isn’t wrong but it’s also more than that- it would’ve basically given the Ohio Republican Party power for decades. They already illegally gerrymander, etc. and this would’ve made them even more unaccountable.

    • Current rules- 44 counties to get signatures, 10 day cure period to gather more if you fall short, 50+% to pass.
    • Proposed rules- 5% from ALL 88 counties, no cure period, 60% to pass.

    Essentially, grassroots initiatives already have a high hurdle and this would’ve made them effectively impossible. Only big moneyed interests could ever get anything on the ballot again.

    Very, very happy it failed.

    • FoxBJK
      101·
      1 year ago

      From my city’s Democrat group:

      What landmark changes to Ohio law would have FAILED under Issue 1?

      In just the 21st century:

      • 2000: Clean Ohio Fund; state can sell enviro bonds (57% in favor…would have FAILED)
      • 2005: Third Frontier program to modernize Ohio’s economy (54% in favor…would have FAILED)
      • 2006: Increasing minimum wage (57% in favor…would have FAILED)
      • 2009: Legalizing gambling at casinos in Cbus, CLE, Cincy, Toledo (53% in favor…would have FAILED)
      • 2015: Barring businesses from using amendment process to form monopolies (51% in favor…would have FAILED)

      Let’s go further back now:

      • 1923: Remove the phrase “white male” from parts of the constitution describing VOTER ELIGIBILITY (56% in favor…would have FAILED)
      • 1933: Giving counties authority to create city charters with “home rule” (53% in favor…would have failed)
      • 1933: Set the 10-mill property tax limit that local governments can impose without getting approval from voters (59.7% in favor…would have FAILED)
      • 1949: Ending the practice of straight-ticket voting; voters must mark their candidates, not just check off a party (57% in favor…would have failed)
      • 1953: Creation of Ohio state school board, which advises local school districts on education policy (57% in favor…would have failed)
      • 1953: Allowing People of Color to serve in the Ohio National Guard (57% in favor…would have failed)
      • 1961: Allowing Women to serve in Ohio National Guard (50.1% in favor…would have failed)
      • 1975: Allowing charitable orgs to run bingo games, a form of gambling (54% in favor…would have failed)
      • 1978: Prison labor reform (54% in favor…would have failed)
      • 1982: Enabled lower-interest, first-time home-buyer programs that continue today (57% in favor…would have failed)
      • 1990: Tax credits and other steps to help finance housing projects (53% in favor…would have failed)
      • JJROKCZ@lemmy.world
        23·
        1 year ago

        So basically everything good in the last century wouldve failed and this law would’ve ensured Ohio would slide into the same useless bucket as Alabama on the national scale

        • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
          13·
          1 year ago

          That’s what they’re trying now. Ohio is a major state, with multiple major cities, and a long history as a swing state due to being roughly even rural/urban. Like Columbus is really queer, Cleveland is just as Great Lakes as Toronto, Detroit, and Chicago, and we’ve also got Appalachia and a lot of what you probably can’t tell isn’t rural Indiana. Add in that Columbus is a major hub for business and it’s very valuable and perceived as takable.

      • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
        41·
        1 year ago

        Man looking at some of these with the years next to them and Ohio used to be kinda based

        And yeah there are other things that may desperately need to be changed about our constitution that wouldn’t clear the 60% mark even beyond abortion. Namely our constitution currently prohibits recognition of gay marriage, which while no longer an issue in the Obergefell era, may become relevant again depending on who bribes the Supreme Court.

        They’re trying to force the big Cs to live at the whims of rural Ohioans despite how close the urban/rural population is