Delivering a win for abortion rights advocates, Ohio’s Issue 1 will fail, the Associate Press projects. The Republican-backed ballot initiative would have increased the threshold to amend the state’s constitution, making it more difficult for a measure that would enshrine abortion rights into the state’s constitution to pass later this year.
A “yes” vote on Issue 1 meant that constitutional amendments, including the abortion amendment, would have needed 60% support, rather than the existing minimum of 50% plus one. The increased threshold would have been put into place immediately if Issue 1 had passed.
Issue 1 also would have created more strict signature requirements for citizen-led measures to appear on the ballot. Currently, organizers must collect a number of signatures equal to 5% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election from half of Ohio’s 88 counties. If Issue 1 had passed, organizers would have needed signatures from all 88 counties.
In other circumstances, I would agree with you, but given the severity of the situation vis-a-vis abortion, we need to accept any victories we get to save innocent people from what is a blatant attempt at sparking a political civil war.
Which is one of the things that is so troubling about the situation. Fundamental questions about our democracy are being sacrificed on the altar of protecting our most basic rights from fascists. That should terrify everyone.