Update:
Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who put in a valiant effort to pass Amendment 1, released a statement on Twitter. Although the outcome was disappointing, LaRose’s statement had hopeful elements because it was “just one battle in a long war” and that “I am just beginning the fight to protect Ohio’s values.”
But he warned, as he did during the campaign for the amendment, that people from out of state were involved. (*1*) and that “Ohioans will soon see the devastating impact of this vote.”
When it’s for a noble cause, and it certainly is, it’s better to fight and lose than not at all.
My statement on issue 1: pic.twitter.com/Va9T7iGYMz
— Frank LaRose (@FrankLaRose) August 9, 2023
Original:
Ohioans voted against Amendment 1 in Tuesday’s special election, meaning the constitutional amendments must still pass by a 50 percent plus 1 majority. As a result, it will be much easier for out-of-state special interest groups to pass a pro-abortion ballot initiative in November. If the amendment were to pass, the voter approval threshold for constitutional amendments would augment to 60 percent for it to pass.
The consequences are very real and could come quickly if an initiative known as the Ohio Reproductive Decision-Making Rights Including Abortion Initiative is passed in just a few months. As Townhall said, passing the initiative could have huge implications for parental rights.
As Spencer mentioned back in May, reference March analysis from Carrie Severino and Frank Scaturro:
As Townhall reported earlier this year, Ohio voters will consider a radical constitutional amendment that supporters say is intended only to repeal Ohio’s “heartbeat law” that protects unborn children from abortion. Instead, as lawyers warned at the time, the amendment goes “much further” than its supporters claimed, and constitutes a radical instrument banning “virtually all restrictions on abortion and all other procedures, including gender reassignment surgery,” which “would invalidate not only parental consent, but also simply notifying parents of minors’ abortions or gender reassignment surgeries” and “abolish health protection for people of all ages undergoing these procedures.”
This means that the proposed amendment is as radical as it sounds, but that seems to be the whole point.
…
As you can see, while proponents of the amendment may falsely claim that the measure would merely repeal the Buckeye State’s heartbeat law and would have no impact on parents’ rights in Ohio, URGE has a clear track record of calling for, generally speaking, full parental rights.” abolished,” a goal that would be achieved by Ohio’s proposed amendment.
In several tweets in recent years, URGE has shamelessly declared that “parental involvement laws are unethical and must be abolished,” apparently for the benefit of every “pregnant person.”
So it’s no surprise that groups like Planned Parenthood and the ACLU have their fingerprints all over it, especially since they vocally oppose parental rights on issues like abortion and so-called gender-affirming care, which actually involves sterilization and organ mutilation sexual.
The results were announced at 20:09 by the decision-making center. As of Tuesday evening at 10:03 p.m., with an estimated 81% of the votes, the “No” side is leading with 56.41% of the votes while the “Yes” side has 43.59% of the votes.
Ohio Decision Headquarters Projects, 1st Edition, defeated.#The decision has been made: 20:09 EST
Find more results here: https://t.co/a5UfGjVDcx
— Decision DeskHQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) August 9, 2023
Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who is running in the Republican primary to replace Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, has consistently supported the amendment, as have pro-life groups.
LaRose was among those who participated in the debate in favor of the amendment and highlighted concerns that the amendment’s failure would allow out-of-state groups to fund liberal initiatives.
BREAKING: As I predicted, novel financial reports filed today show that $11.5 million is flowing into OH from California, Virginia, New York and DC to buy control of our state’s constitution. Tell them to adopt their radical agenda and go home and vote YES on issue 1. https://t.co/wL4Y4O5gYA pic.twitter.com/AtEU78Xv6D
— Frank LaRose (@FrankLaRose) July 27, 2023
Of the groups supporting the amendment, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America was the quickest to comment on its failure. The statement was particularly harsh towards those who “sat on the sidelines”, including the “silence of the establishment and the business community” and even Republicans for their inaction:
“This is a melancholy day for Ohio and a warning to pro-life states across the country. Millions of dollars and liberal gloomy money have flooded Ohio to provide a path for them to redeem their extreme policies in a pro-life state. Tragically, some sat on the sidelines while outside liberal groups poured millions of people into Ohio. A broad coalition of passionate pro-life Ohioans have come together to fight parental rights opponents and try to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, but the silence of the establishment and Ohio’s business community has left a vacuum too gigantic to overcome. Progressives rallied during this crucial election millions from outside groups to mislead Ohioans. Unfortunately, attacks on state constitutions are now a national tool of the extreme pro-abortion left. Everyone must take this threat seriously and recognize that progressives will win if their opponents are afraid of giving in to the pro-abortion left. As long as Republicans and their supporters adopt the ostrich strategy and stick their heads in the sand, they will lose again and stick their heads in the sand. Again.”
Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report aptly described the amendment’s failure as “a major victory for the pro-choice side.” He also discussed the issue’s connection to Brown’s 2018 victory.
Brown, the only statewide Democratic elected official in Ohio other than Democratic-aligned Supreme Court justices, is considered a particularly vulnerable official as the state becomes increasingly red. Ohio is therefore one of the most vital Senate races in 2024 to get a map that already looks favorable to Republicans, especially when it comes to seats that Democrats need to defend.
But despite his vulnerability, many people pointed out that the results of Tuesday’s special election could be favorable to Brown next November.
The final Ohio map from Issue 1 may look very similar to the ’18 Senate race map, where the strength of Sherrod Brown/the weakness of religious conservatives with blue-collar voters in eastern Ohio proved decisive.
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) August 9, 2023
