Ohio voters decisively rejected Issue 1, Tuesday’s sole ballot item that sought to make it tougher to amend the state constitution, per AP.
Why it matters: The results are a victory for abortion rights advocates ahead of a constitutional amendment on November’s ballot that proposes to guarantee abortion access up until fetal viability.
Details: Issue 1 would have raised the passage threshold for future constitutional amendments from a simple majority to a 60% supermajority, along with stricter signature requirements to get amendments on the ballot.
There’s a reason they chose that 60% figure in the amendment proposal: if you don’t really think about it, it seems reasonable (it’s not even 2/3rds!) But in reality, in the country’s currently fractured political climate, getting to 60% is near impossible. Hell, if a Presidential candidate carries a state with 55% it’s considered a crushing defeat, so 60 is a crazy high bar.