Abortion Rights Prevail in Surprise Ohio Vote, a Stunning Rebuke to Supreme Court: Here's What It Means

A measure designed to make it harder to put issues like abortion rights on the ballot was defeated

In what's being lauded as a victory for abortion rights, Ohio voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly defeated a Republican-backed ballot measure that aimed to make it more difficult to change the state constitution.

The measure, known as Issue One, would have raised the threshold of support required for future state constitutional amendments from a simple majority of over 50% to a full 60%.

The Republican-backed measure also would have made it more difficult for groups to place future citizens' issues on the ballot by requiring them to obtain signatures from voters in all of Ohio’s 88 counties, instead of the 44 currently required. It also would have eliminated a 10-day period by which groups can gather additional signatures to replace any deemed invalid by state or local officials.

Related: President Joe Biden Calls Supreme Court's Decision to Overturn Roe v. Wade 'a Tragic Error'

Critics of Issue One argued that Republicans were in favor of the measure as a means of ensuring the defeat of a constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights, which will be on the state's November’s ballot.

The defeat of the measure is significant, in that it reveals voter distaste in conservative attempts to restrict abortion access across the country — even in Ohio, where Donald Trump won the 2020 election by eight points.

"Today, Ohio voters rejected an effort by Republican lawmakers and special interests to change the state's constitutional amendment process," President Joe Biden said in a statement Tuesday night. "This measure was a blatant attempt to weaken voters' voices and further erode the freedom of women to make their own health care decisions. Ohioans spoke loud and clear, and tonight democracy won."

Related: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Signs 6-Week Abortion Ban into Law

In June 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a ruling that eliminated the constitutional right to abortion, in what Republicans at the time hailed as a victory. But since then, voters have by and large shown their opposition to statewide efforts to criminalize abortion or make it harder for women to seek an abortion.

During the November midterm elections, voters in numerous states — including Michigan and Kentucky — voted to protect abortion access via various ballot measures. In August 2022, Kansans also defended their right to abortion by decisively shooting down a proposed anti-choice amendment to the constitution.

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Even some Republican donors have worried that state politicians' stances on abortion are too extreme. In recent weeks, wealthy donors have second-guessed their support of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign or put a pause on funding altogether, some citing the Republican's stance on abortion. (The governor signed into law a six-week abortion ban in April.)

Nelson Peltz, a billionaire businessman and the father of actress Nicola Peltz Beckham, is among the donors having second thoughts, with a source telling Financial Times Peltz "thinks that most of DeSantis’s policies are acceptable, but his position on abortion is way too severe."

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