WASHINGTON — A proposal to enshrine abortion rights in Ohio’s Constitution was approved in a statewide election Tuesday, with a significant number of Republicans joining with Democrats to ensure the measure’s passage.
The Associated Press has called the race, with votes cast in favor of proposal winning with about 56% of the vote, compared with about 44% for votes cast in opposition — a lead of approximately 232,000 votes as of the latest tally.
Known as “Issue 1,” the proposal would amend the state Constitution to establish the right to “make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions” on matters including abortion, contraception and fertility treatment. It would also allow for abortions to be banned once it has been established that the fetus can survive outside of the womb, unless a physician determines that continuing with the pregnancy would endanger the patient’s “life or health.”
Tuesday’s vote followed a similar path as an August ballot measure election that would have raised the threshold to amend the state Constitution from a simple majority to 60% of the statewide vote. The August measure, which failed 57% to 43%, did not mention abortion or reproductive rights specifically but quickly became a proxy fight over reproductive rights as it would have made it more difficult for Tuesday’s measure to pass.
In this election, the more than 836,000 advance votes cast by mail or in-person before Election Day broke heavily in favor of the amendment, with Yes votes receiving roughly 63%, compared with 37% for No votes. This is not surprising, considering Ohio Democrats campaigned heavily in favor of Issue 1, and pre-Election Day voting tends to skew heavily Democratic.
The Yes side also appeared to have a slight lead among votes cast on Election Day, which is notable because Election Day votes have tended to favor Republicans ever since Donald Trump discouraged advance voting in his failed 2020 reelection bid. The No side initially led…
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