Definitely a Good News Night

Bummer of a birthmark, Ohio Republicans

The Republicans in the Ohio legislature decided to try to short circuit the upcoming referendum to repeal their ban on abortion with State Issue 1, which would require a super-majority for citizen initiatives.

It lost by 14 points.

The voters just told them to go Cheney themselves:

Ohio’s State Issue 1 has failed as voters rejected Republican lawmakers’ attempt to make it harder for the public to propose and approve changes to the state constitution.

With 2.7 million votes counted and 87% of precincts reporting, Issue 1 trailed 57% to 43%, a margin sufficient for the Associated Press the call the race even as more votes have yet to be tabulated.

………

Issue 1 would have required 60% of voters to approve the abortion-rights issue or any other future proposed constitutional amendments, up from the longstanding 50% plus one-vote requirement. It also would have made it much harder for citizen groups to get amendment proposals on the ballot by requiring them to gather signatures from all 88 Ohio counties, instead of half, and eliminating a 10-day “cure” period for campaigns to gather more signatures if they initially fall short.

………

But the pro-Issue 1 campaign generally sidestepped the issue, focusing their appeals to voters on arguing a 60% bar would prevent deep-pocketed groups from writing their interests into the state constitution, or reframing the issue as a protection against liberal groups that want to promote progressive views on gender in classrooms.

Both approaches are a tacit acknowledgment that abortion rights are politically popular, and that the abortion-rights amendment is likely to clear 50% in November.

The “no” campaign meanwhile framed Issue 1 as an attempt by politicians to take electoral power away from the public. Some ads mentioned abortion by accusing Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose and others of trying to game the rules to block a vote on a policy a majority of Ohioans support. The campaign benefitted from some Republican support, including from former Attorney General Betty Montgomery and ex-Gov. Bob Taft, 2000s-era Republicans who opposed Issue 1.

This does not bode well for the Republicans in November.

Now, in addition to Congressional elections, voters are going to be voting on legal marijuana and abortion rights, and they know that those votes will matter.