Honestly, if you've been following Ohio politics lately, you've probably noticed that "Issue 1" has become a bit of a moving target. It feels like every time you turn around, there’s a new lawn sign or a frantic TV ad shouting about it. That’s because, in the span of just about 15 months, Ohioans actually voted on three completely different versions of "Issue 1."
It’s confusing.
One day it’s about abortion. The next, it’s about how many signatures you need to change the law. Then, suddenly, it’s about "Citizens Not Politicians" and drawing squiggly lines on a map. If you’re feeling a little whiplash, you aren’t alone. To really understand the Ohio Issue 1 results, you have to look at the three distinct battles that played out across 2023 and 2024.
The August 2023 Showdown: Changing the Rules
The first big fight happened in a month usually reserved for state fairs and summer vacations: August. In a rare special election on August 8, 2023, Republican lawmakers put forward a proposal to make it much harder to change the Ohio Constitution.
Basically, they wanted to raise the bar for passing any future constitutional amendment from a simple majority ($50%$ plus one vote) to a $60%$ supermajority.
They also wanted to make the signature-gathering process a total nightmare. Instead of needing signatures from 44 of Ohio's 88 counties, they wanted to require them from every single county. Secretary of State Frank LaRose was pretty open about the intent, essentially saying it was about stopping a "radical" abortion amendment planned for that November.
The results? Ohioans weren't having it.
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The measure failed spectacularly. About $57%$ of voters said "No," keeping the simple majority threshold intact. Turnout was surprisingly high for a random Tuesday in August, with over 3 million people showing up. It was a clear signal that Buckeyes, regardless of how they felt about specific issues, didn't want to give up their power to change the state's founding document.
November 2023: The Abortion Amendment Passes
Because the August attempt failed, the path was clear for the "real" Issue 1 in November 2023. This version was all about reproductive rights.
It was a big deal.
The amendment aimed to enshrine the right to "make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions" in the state constitution. This included everything from contraception and miscarriage care to abortion up to the point of "fetal viability."
When the Ohio Issue 1 results for November were finalized, the "Yes" side won with $56.8%$ of the vote.
- Total "Yes" votes: 2,227,384
- Total "No" votes: 1,695,480
This was a massive shift. Ohio, a state that has trended deep red in recent years, effectively voted to protect abortion access. It wasn't just the big cities like Columbus and Cleveland carrying the weight; the "Yes" vote was broad enough to suggest a real cross-section of the population wanted these protections.
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November 2024: The Redistricting Plot Twist
Fast forward a year, and we had yet another "Issue 1" on the ballot in November 2024. This one was different. It wasn't about social issues; it was about gerrymandering.
The goal of the 2024 amendment was to take the power to draw political maps away from the Ohio Redistricting Commission (which is made up of elected politicians) and give it to a 15-member citizen-led commission. This group would consist of five Republicans, five Democrats, and five independents.
The campaign, led by a group called Citizens Not Politicians, argued that politicians shouldn't be allowed to pick their own voters. They pointed to the fact that the Ohio Supreme Court had rejected previous maps seven times for being unconstitutionally gerrymandered.
But this time, the Ohio Issue 1 results went the other way.
Voters rejected the amendment $53.7%$ to $46.3%$.
Why did it fail when the others succeeded? It’s complicated. One major factor was the ballot language itself. The Republican-controlled Ballot Board wrote a summary that said the amendment would "require" gerrymandering—even though the organizers claimed it would do the exact opposite.
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Voters walked into the booth, read the word "gerrymandering" in the official description, and many got spooked. Despite being outspent by the "Yes" campaign, the "No" side successfully painted the proposal as an "unaccountable bureaucracy."
Why These Results Still Matter Today
Looking at these three separate elections, you get a wild picture of Ohio's political identity. It’s a state that values its own voting power (August 2023) and supports reproductive freedom (November 2023), but is deeply skeptical of complex structural changes to the government (November 2024).
The defeat of the 2024 redistricting amendment means the current system—where politicians draw the lines—stays in place for now. Governor Mike DeWine has suggested he might support a different version of reform in the future, but for the immediate elections, the status quo remains.
If you're trying to make sense of all this, here is the "too long; didn't read" version of the saga:
- August 2023: Voters stopped a plan to make the constitution harder to change ($57%$ No).
- November 2023: Voters protected abortion rights ($56.8%$ Yes).
- November 2024: Voters rejected a citizen-led redistricting commission ($53.7%$ No).
The big takeaway? Ohioans are engaged, but they are also very wary of how ballot questions are phrased. Messaging and "ballot board" wording can be just as powerful as millions of dollars in TV ads.
What You Can Do Next
If you want to stay on top of how these results affect your specific district or future elections, you should:
- Check your voter registration: Given the legal battles over maps, your polling place or district might change in the coming years.
- Read the full text of future amendments: As we saw in 2024, the summary you see on the ballot doesn't always tell the whole story.
- Follow the Ohio Supreme Court: They are the ultimate referees for how these amendments are interpreted and enforced.
The dust is still settling on the 2024 results, but one thing is certain: Issue 1, in all its forms, has fundamentally reshaped Ohio's legal and political landscape.