ohio election results

Ohio decides to support ratifying a state constitution amendment that would protect abortion rights.

ohio election results According to the Associated Press, Ohio voters have chosen to amend their state constitution to protect the right to an abortion and other reproductive rights.

This cycle, Ohio was the only state to vote directly on access to abortion. Prior to the 2024 presidential election, the campaign was closely followed nationwide as a gauge of how much support there is for abortion rights among voters.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last year, proponents of abortion rights have pushed to put the topic directly before voters through constitutional amendments and ballot measures. This outcome extends their winning streak. Since then, seven states have put abortion access on the ballot. Anti-abortion rights organizations were defeated in each case.

The vote, according to President Biden, was a “win” for democracy.

Voters nationwide and Ohioans rejected attempts by MAGA Republican lawmakers to enact stringent abortion prohibitions that put women’s lives and health in danger, make them travel hundreds of miles for care, and threaten to criminalize medical professionals for giving patients the treatment they need and are qualified to give,” Biden stated in a statement on Tuesday night.

The amendment’s approval will prevent the reintroduction of a state statute that forbids abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, when fetal heart activity is detectable.

A year ago, a county court placed the law on hold in response to a lawsuit filed by doctors who claimed that although the law protected the mother’s life, some women were being placed in risky situations. The Ohio Supreme Court, which is presided over by Republicans and has three justices who have openly stated their opposition to abortion rights, received an appeal from the state regarding that decision. Ads supporting and opposing the amendment dominated the airwaves during the heated campaign.

In an advertisement, Republican governor Mike DeWine, who is adamantly opposed to the amendment, criticized the proposal and said it was “not right for Ohio.”

The vote on Tuesday follows a proposal by Republican lawmakers to amend the state constitution to require a 60% passage threshold rather than a simple majority in order to change the requirements for constitutional amendments, which was placed on a special August ballot. It was unsuccessful.

Numerous surveys consistently indicate that between 55% and 58% of Ohioans favor some degree of abortion rights.

Voters in Ohio also had a say in whether or not marijuana should be legalized in the state. See the outcomes down below.

Election results for Ohio: The constitution protects access to abortions as a victory for reproductive rights.

Ohio’s COLUMBUS — Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade last year, proponents of abortion rights have gained yet another victory when Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment on Tuesday that guarantees access to abortion and other reproductive health care.

Following the historic decision, Ohio voters chose to uphold access to abortion services, making it the seventh state to do so. This year, Ohio is the only one to examine a statewide abortion rights issue.

Democrats are hoping that this contentious off-year election will energize their voters and help President Joe Biden retain the White House in 2024, so the outcome could be a bellwether for that year. Next year, similar protections are expected to be put to a vote by voters in Arizona, Missouri, and other states.

Ohio’s constitutional amendment, designated as Issue 1 on the ballot contained some of the strongest language of any statewide ballot initiative since the Supreme Court’s decision to protect access to abortion. The amendment’s opponents had claimed that it would endanger parental rights, permit minors to have gender surgeries without limitations, and legalize “partial birth” abortions—which are currently illegal on the federal level.

According to public surveys, approximately two-thirds of Americans believe that abortion should be permitted generally during the first few months of pregnancy. This view has been reinforced in both strongly Republican and Democratic states since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe in June 2022.

State-level initiatives in California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, and Vermont, prior to the Ohio vote, had either upheld or reversed efforts to restrict access to abortion.

Ohio’s constitutional amendment saw a high turnout of voters, including early voting election in an off-year. With no exceptions for rape or incest, a 2019 Republican-passed state law that outlaws most abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected will virtually be reversed if Issue 1 is approved. This law is one of about twenty abortion restrictions that the Ohio Legislature has passed recently; it is presently on hold due to court challenges.

The right to “make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions,” which includes birth control, fertility treatments, miscarriage, and abortion, was expressly stated in Issue 1.

As long as there were provisions for situations where a doctor concluded the woman’s “life or health” was in danger, it permitted the state to control the procedure beyond fetal viability. The definition of viability was the moment when

With appropriate interventions, the fetus had “a significant likelihood of survival” outside the womb.

In an attempt to thwart the amendment, anti-abortion organizations tested a range of messages with the assistance of Republican governor Mike DeWine. Their main strategy was to emphasize the claim that the proposal was too radical for the state. The campaign theme for the supporters was to keep the government out of private family matters.

The most recent vote came after a special election held in August at the behest of the Republican-controlled Legislature, which sought to raise the bar for future constitutional amendments from a simple majority to 60% of the vote. Part of the purpose of that proposal was to undermine the abortion rights vote on Tuesday.

That special election question was soundly defeated by voters, paving the way for the high-stakesautumnal abortion drive.