WASHINGTON – Voters in the US state of Ohio on Tuesday rejected changing the state Constitution to make it more difficult to introduce amendments, a measure proposed by Republicans that would have hampered initiatives to shield access to abortion.
The measure would have increased the minimum percentage of votes needed to pass constitutional amendments to 60%, from the simple majority of 50% currently in force.
Although the proposal did not specifically mention abortion, most US media outlets noted that its approval would likely have affected a proposed November vote that seeks to shield access to abortion in the state Constitution.
Thus, among the groups that supported the Republican measure were several anti-abortion activists, according to The Hill.
However, and according to preliminary results collected by the main media, Ohio voters have decided to reject the measure.
In addition to raising the percentage of votes needed to approve amendments, the proposal went through making the process by which citizens can propose changes to the state Constitution more difficult, increasing the number of signatures required and eliminating the grace period that currently exists in case that some of the signatures are not valid.
The Washington Post also noted that voter turnout has been high, especially in a month (August) where it is difficult for voters to get involved.
The Ohio vote has aroused national interest: Mike Pence, former US vice president (2017-2021) and current Republican presidential candidate, asked the citizens of the state to approve the proposal to avoid the November abortion amendment.
For her part, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, called on Twitter to vote against the measure to protect reproductive rights and electoral rights in general.
Many expect the abortion issue to rise to the fore again during the 2024 presidential election, as it did during last November’s midterms, generally galvanizing Democrats to better results. than what was expected.
Since the US Supreme Court struck down federal abortion protections in June last year, a handful of states have proposed changing their regional constitutions to include abortion access as a right.
Organizations defending reproductive rights in Ohio wanted to follow this example and collected the more than 400,000 signatures necessary to propose the vote, which was given the green light in July in the state Congress.
The vote on the constitutional amendment is scheduled for November 7.
Currently, more than twenty states in the country prohibit or limit women’s access to medical termination of pregnancy. Some, like Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas or Alabama, do not even include exceptions for cases of incest or rape.
