Rep. Gross calls defeat of Issue 1 ‘a devastating loss for all Ohioans.’

More than 89,000 Butler County voters had their say in Tuesday’s special election.

The Butler County Board of Elections reports turnout at 35%. According to final, unofficial results from the BOE, 50.3% voted yes on Issue 1, while 49.7% voted no.

South in Hamilton County, the issue was rejected by 67% voting no.

Rep. Jennifer Gross, R-West Chester Twp., told the Journal-News, “This is a devastating loss for all Ohioans. Whether folks supported Issue 1 because they were pro-life, pro-second amendment, pro-business, proOhio farmer, and pro-backing police qualified immunity, we no doubt took a hard defeat.”

Butler County Democratic Party Chair Kathy Wyenandt said Ohioans responded by rebuking the efforts of the Republicans who favored Issue 1.

“A broad coalition of groups and individuals around the state partnered and worked very hard to defeat this egregious GOP power grab and earn a win for democracy and the people of Ohio,” she said. “I’m extremely proud of the BCDP team and everyone else who worked hard to protect majority rule.”

Ohio voters rejected Issue 1 and kept the state constitution as-is, denying the state legislature’s proposal to make it significantly harder to amend the

Ohio constitution.

If Issue 1 had passed, it would have had far-reaching implications on a range of policies, but most immediately, it would have subjected the inbound abortion-rights ballot question in November to a 60% threshold, instead of a simple majority, in order to pass. Issue 1’s rejection confirms that the abortion-rights amendment will need only a simple majority in order to pass.

With more than 99% of precincts reporting statewide late Tuesday, the vote was 57% “no” and 43% “yes.”

Ohio voters last considered a constitutional amendment proposal in 1926.