Democracy Prevails as Ohioans Defeat Issue 1

COLUMBUS— State Rep. Phil Robinson (D-Solon) praises the citizens of Ohio for their overwhelming support in defeating Issue 1 during the August 8th Special Election.

“The citizens of Ohio defeated efforts to weaken our rights. When a gerrymandered legislature fails you, amending the state constitution is how we can correct that and put people first. We defended the rules in our state and beat special interests who are trying to stop citizen-led initiatives,” said Rep. Robinson. “This election is a victory for all Ohioans. The efforts to rush this ill-advised special election could have had low turnout. Instead, the people came out, with nearly five times the turnout of the last August special election. However, the work does not end here. Now Ohioans need to use the rights they just protected to help us get Ohio back on track and put the people first.”

The defeat of Issue 1 is a significant victory for safeguarding Ohio’s democratic process while respecting the diverse opinions of its citizens. It ensures that future constitutional changes will reflect the majority’s will and uphold the principle of a democratic republic and “one person, one vote.”

Over three-million people voted in the August 2023 special election, with 57% of Ohioans voting against Issue 1. Amongst registered voters, there was an almost 38.5% turnout to vote on Issue 1. By comparison, the August 2022 primaries special election had an 8% turnout rate, closer to the typical rates of August special elections.

In the last 111 years, there have been 71 citizen proposed amendments and only 19 have passed, not counting initiatives that failed to get enough signatures to get on the ballot. Issue 1 was not citizen driven through gathering signatures, but was created by the state legislature through Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 2, which was passed along a party vote by Republicans, who chose to have the vote in August when there is typically historic low turnout.

House Democrats will continue to put people first and uphold the democratic values that can make Ohio a beacon of freedom, justice, dignity, and opportunity.