Nearly four in 10 voters came out in the heat of late July and early August to reject Issue One. On this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, host Mike Thompson talks with supporters and opponents about the next steps.
Issue 1 rejected
Ohioans said no to requiring future amendments to get 60% of the vote. They also said no to tougher requirements for citizen groups to put amendments on the ballot.
It was a rare win for statewide Democrats.
Voters in large metropolitan counties opposed the issue. Smaller, rural counties largely supported the measure but were divided.
Supporters of the issue, such as Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman, tried to explain away the loss. He said they did not have enough time to get their message out and not enough high-profile Republicans campaigning for it.
No doubt, this was a proxy vote on the abortion issue. Abortion rights opponents, such as Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis, vowed to regroup for November's proposed amendment guaranteeing abortion rights in the constitution.
Snollygoster of the Week
Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman is complaining that one reason the "Yes on One" side lost is because the "No on One" side had a head start.
That's an odd take since Republicans in the Ohio General Assembly came up with the idea. They started talking about this last November and they set the election date. That’s like the hare blaming the Tortoise for not joining him for a nap. Aesop would have written a fable about Issue One.
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