COLUMBUS – Ohioans this week will vote on two ballot issues that could impact life in the state for a generation or more.
Voters will decide Tuesday whether to amend the Ohio Constitution to protect access to abortion services and will vote on another measure that would legalize recreational marijuana use.
Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. COTA will waive fares for customers all day (5:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m.) on Election Day to encourage voters to get to the polls.
Hear interviews from both sides of the issues on “Perspective”
The abortion amendment – Issue 1 on the statewide ballot on Tuesday — has become one of the nation’s highest-profile elections this year and is the latest state-level skirmish over the issue since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
It would establish the right to “make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions” on matters including abortion, contraception and fertility treatment. It would also allow for abortions to be banned once it has been established that the fetus can survive outside of the womb, unless a physician determines that continuing with the pregnancy would endanger the patient’s “life or health.”
Intense attention from national groups has made Ohio a testing ground for fresh campaign messaging — some of it misleading. The amendment has drawn more than $60 million in combined spending so far.
Opponents have been working to persuade Ohio voters that the amendment goes too far and that vague language in the amendment leaves the path open for schools and individual doctors to assist minors in obtaining abortions or undergo gender transformation therapies without parents’ knowledge or permission.
“They intentionally used very broad language so that the amendment applies to far more than your typical pro-life/pro-choice arguments that we see in Ohio and across the country,” said Amy Natoce, press secretary for Protect Women Ohio, one of the groups leading the effort to defeat Issue 1.
Proponents argue the amendment would prohibit government entities from interfering with Ohioans’ right to make choices about their healthcare.
“Should Ohioans be able to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions or should that be the government?” said Kelly Copeland, of Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights. “People need to be very clear: Our opponents want that to be the government.”
A different ballot measure from August that had the backing of pro-life groups received only 43% of the statewide vote, with a significant number of Republicans siding with abortion rights advocates.
That issue would have raised the threshold for a constitutional amendment to pass to 60% of the popular vote. Issue 1 needs only a simple majority of the popular vote to be approved. In 2022, 59% of voters in Ohio’s midterm elections supported abortion being legal in most or all cases, according to AP VoteCast.
Issue 2 would allow marijuana use
The other statewide ballot issue is a proposal to legalize recreational adult use of marijuana.
Supporters of legalization say it’s about returning revenue that Ohio has lost to states where marijuana is legal, and taking power away from illegal drug markets.
If the issue passes, Ohio would become the 24th state to legalize cannabis for adult use.
“Those states know what the majority of Ohioans already know, that regulated markets work. That prohibition of marijuana has been a total failure,” said Tom Haren, spokesperson for Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, which collected petition signatures to have the measure placed on the ballot.
But opponents argue it endangers Ohioans and may lead to more work and traffic accidents.
The measure would allow adults 21 and over to buy and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and to grow plants at home. A 10% tax would be imposed on purchases, to be spent on administrative costs, addiction treatment programs, municipalities with dispensaries and social equity and jobs programs.
Critics of Issue 2 say, despite the law limiting use and possession to those 21 and over, young people will be encouraged to try marijuana because it will be seen as permissible and they might suffer serious consequences to their physical and mental health.
“What happens when cannabis, or recreational marijuana, is in a state, the use goes up dramatically,” Adanced Recovery Systems addiction specialist Dr. Kevin Wandler said.
Opposition has come from prosecutors, the Fraternal Order of Police, the state’s children’s hospitals and the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.
Unlike Issue 1, Issue 2 – “An Act to Control and Regulate Adult Use Cannabis” — is not a constitutional amendment. As an “initiated statute,” it has the power of law but legislators can make changes to its provisions if it is approved.
Voters in Columbus will choose between incumbent Democratic mayor Andrew Ginther and Republican Joe Motil and will select members of City Council under a new distrct/at-large hybrid election system.
There are local tax issues on the ballot across the state.