By an overwhelming majority of 57% to 43%, in what was considered as a huge win for voting rights and pro-choice advocates, Ohioans voted against a measure that would have made it harder for constitutional amendments to pass, by raising the vote threshold from a simple majority to 60%.
The measure was spearheaded by State Representative Brian Stewart and Secretary of State Frank LaRose (both Republicans). Stewart said it was an attempt to stop “far-left ballot proposals,” while LaRose was more explicit by saying that its purpose was “100% about keeping a radical pro-abortion amendment out of our constitution.”
The effort was seen as a large failure by the Republican Party who backed the measure and suffered a 14 point loss. Democrats are still able to launch constitution amendment referenda with topics such as transgender rights, minimum wage, redistricting, police reform, and most importantly abortion.
Ohio’s legislature signed a six week abortion ban into law following the Dobbs decision. While it was later blocked by a judge, abortion rights are still not guaranteed by Ohio state law.
Here is a list of current states with constitutional amendment thresholds greater than 50%+1:
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