On August 8, 2023, a special election was held in all 88 counties in Ohio to decide whether Issue One would redefine how the state’s constitution is amended.
Issue One set out to raise the percentage of votes needed to amend the constitution from a 50% majority to a 60% supermajority, along with other requirements. This measure was sponsored by Republicans in the Ohio state legislature, like Representative Brian Lorenz of District 60.
“I’ve looked at Issue One as an opportunity for Ohioans all to come together to strengthen our Constitution, to stop special interest groups from coming into our state and setting up policies and programs that may or may not be good for our residents,” Lorenz said in a Talisman interview. “At the end of the day, we’re all left paying for that, while outside interests are making money off of us, and not really giving anything back.”
While proponents of the issue claim that it would have protected the rights of Ohioans from outside interest groups, Democratic activists say that this sentiment is misplaced.
“[The purpose of Issue One] was to limit the ability of ordinary citizens to initiate legislation,” Delaware Democratic Party Chair Peg Watkins said in a Talisman interview. “[We fought against it] so that we could get the state of Ohio to do what the people want, instead of what a gerrymandered legislature wants to do.”
Support for a Reproductive Rights Amendment has garnered enough signatures to appear on the November ballot, which according to some Ohio Democrats, is what spurred the creation of Issue One.
The November amendment would grant every Ohioan the right to decide the extent of their own reproductive care, including accessing contraceptives, fertility treatment, miscarriage care and abortion.
Compared to other decisions related to reproductive health, this amendment would secure reproductive rights previously endangered by a slew of bills introduced after the overruling of the Roe V. Wade decision.
“The government doesn’t belong in everybody’s bedroom,” Watkins said. “On our side, I think it does a disservice when we talk about enshrining abortion rights. Nobody wants to [have an abortion]. It’s not really a choice. It’s not something that you need politicians involved in.”
Yet the alignment of the issue may be greyer than Republican or Democratic interests.
“Folks that were in disagreement with it, perpetuated that [Issue One] would take away your voting rights, basically taking away how we would pass legislation,” Lorenz said. “That wasn’t accurate at all.”
Issue One was ultimately voted down by a 57% majority, with most Delaware voters choosing “No.” Many Hayes students of voting age, including senior Marta Bourget, cast their ballot.
“I would say that I was already politically active before I could legally vote anyway,” Bourget said. “So it was just obvious that I was going to vote, especially on an issue that correlates to a topic that I’m passionate about.”
Many were surprised by the result of the vote, as Ohio has historically leaned to the right. However, the lines between parties became blurred as Republican voters jumped on board a new wave to strike down Issue One.
“In Delaware County, we have about a third of our voters that are affiliated with each of the two political parties and then a third are unaffiliated voters,” Watkins said. “But I am aware that there were a number of Republicans who not only voted to say no to Issue One in August, but also signed the petition for reproductive health as it was being distributed.”
Yet as the November vote on the Reproductive Rights Amendment approaches, political attitudes are beginning to heat up once more.
“I feel like the political climate right now is very hostile,” Bourget said. “Like the only politics that are being covered are the extreme left and extreme right.”
However, with historic turnouts at the poll booths, Issue One saw record civic activity on the part of interest groups, political pundits and everyday citizens.
“A lot more people came out and voted, and a lot of young people came out and voted,” Lorenz said. “It excites me that we’ve had so many people come out and exercise their rights. We typically don’t get that. And the turnout that we had for that was exceptional. That’s what it’s all about, you know, people going out and exercising their right to speak their voice.”

This story was originally published on Hayes Talisman on October 2, 2023.