Abortion rights advocates notched a key procedural win Tuesday in a push to enshrine reproductive rights in Ohio, the latest in a wave of direct action in states after a Supreme Court decision last year that wiped out a constitutional right to abortion.
Voters rejected a state constitutional amendment that would have made it tougher to approve changes to the Ohio Constitution. The change had been sought by opponents of a constitutional amendment set for a vote in November that could expand abortion rights.
With 95 percent of the vote counted Wednesday morning, 57 percent of votes were opposed to the initiative. It was the only item that appeared on the ballot statewide and was the state’s first August special election for a ballot measure since 1926.
