Lorain County voters turn down Issue 1 by significant margin

Lorain County voters soundly defeated Issue 1, a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution that would have made it more difficult for citizen-led initiatives seeking to amend the state's governing document. With all precincts reporting, Issue 1 failed 53,119 votes to 31,489 votes, or 62.8 percent to 37.2 percent, according to complete but unofficial results from the Lorain County Board of Elections. Lorain County and statewide Democrats celebrated what they saw as a rebuke of Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who publicly touted Issue 1 as a means to defeat a so-called leftist agenda by making it more difficult for progressive groups outside of Ohio to change state law in their favor — including with a proposed constitutional amendment protecting reproductive rights appearing on the Nov. 7 ballot in Ohio. "This was a stupid idea by (Frank) LaRose, this was just stupid and I hope tonight's statistics show him that maybe you need to think before you do this stuff," said Lorain County Democratic Party Chairwoman Sharon Sweda, who was attending a Democratic watch party at Quaker Steak & Lube in Sheffield. "It didn't matter if you were a Democrat or a Republican or an independent, you weren't about to give up your rights, your democracy, for Frank LaRose." "You always have to be cautious, you always have to know it can go either way. I always tell candidates, 'Don't get in the race if you think you can't lose.' But that aside, we have had such an outpouring of people who really — it didn't matter what side they were on — they absolutely could not understand why they should support such an initiative," she said. A proponent of Issue 1, Lorain County Republican Party Chairman David Arredondo said he wasn't surprised it went down to defeat. He blamed "out-of-state money that poured in" and said Issue 1's opponents got their message out to voters first. "They were up with ads that preceded ours by a month and those ads were very deceitful and confusing and had a lot of people unsure of what the heck it was all about," Arredondo said Tuesday night. "It took a while for us to get our forces together, to get our ads up and unfortunately it was too little, too late to get people to come out and vote yes." He said he encountered "a few Republicans" who voted against Issue 1 early because they misunderstood the proposed amendment, "and later figured out it was really about the Constitution and they regretted having voted already." "I'm not surprised there were some people who voted yes who should have voted no," Arredondo said. More than 20,000 early voters turned out in a 3-to-1 ratio against Issue 1 in Lorain County, casting 16,576 "no" votes (75 percent) to 5,401 "yes" votes (25 percent), according to the first round of complete but unofficial results posted by the Lorain County Board of Elections after polls closed on Tuesday. Supporters of Issue 1 included the Ohio Republican Party, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Ohio Right to Life, the Buckeye Firearms Association, and numerous trade and business councils. Opponents included the nonpartisan League of Women Voters, the Ohio Democratic Party, a bipartisan group of four former Ohio governors and five former Ohio attorneys general, and the Ohio ACLU. The special election cost Ohio an estimated $20 million, with local boards of elections receiving reimbursement from the state. "It has been an incredible journey meeting people, talking with people," Sweda said. "As a Democrat who has always been out canvassing and knocking on doors and knowing you can meet a lot of opposition, this was completely the opposite. You never had opposition, it was fun." Other reactions Ohio politicians and organizations had a variety of reactions to Issue 1's failure. "Today, Ohioans sent a clear message: one person, one vote must remain a bedrock principle in a representative democracy," said U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo. "I was proud to stand with a clear majority in voting No on Issue 1 as outside interests and the Ohio legislature attempted once again to undermine the rights of each and every Ohioan -- just as they did with the criminal bailout of First Energy, as they did in passing illegally gerrymandered districts to enshrine their rule, and now again in this attempt to silence citizen-led initiatives. Today, we protected Ohio's constitution. Tomorrow, the fight continues." "We did it. Tonight is a major victory for Democracy in Ohio. The majority still rules in Ohio, and the people's power has been preserved — because Ohio voters showed up and overwhelmingly voted down Issue 1," said Dennis Willard, spokesperson for the One Person One Vote Campaign, which fought Issue 1. "Voters saw Issue 1 for what it was: A deceptive power grab designed to silence their voices and diminish their voting power. We defeated Issue 1 because an enormous coalition that spans ideological divides came together to defend democracy." Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga, whose labor organization ran a statewide campaign to defeat Issue 1, said in a news release that Tuesday's night's election results "showed the impact of a united labor movement that rallied to defend the Ohio Constitution and protect simple majority vote by educating, informing, and mobilizing voters across the state to vote NO on Issue 1.:"We are grateful for the union members and activists who over the last nine months exposed the hypocrisy and dishonesty of the proponents and their fraudulent issue, and turned out working people in massive numbers to protect the principle of one-person, one-vote," Burga said. "The resounding defeat of Issue 1 puts the legislative backers and Secretary of State (Frank) LaRose on notice that the citizens of this state and working people will never relinquish their constitutional right to direct democracy and simple majority rule." Protect Women Ohio, a pro-life group, said Tuesday night's election results "prove exactly why Ohio's constitution needs and deserves additional protections," blaming "liberal dark money groups funded by a Swiss billionaire" that "swooped in during the 11th hour and blanketed Ohio with deceptive ads." "Today, Ohioans won. Ohioans saw Issue 1 for what it was — an attempt to deny our families a voice, even when it comes to our most personal decisions, said Rhiannon Carnes, spokeswoman for Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights. Now, Ohioans will turn their focus to rejecting extremism and government control to ensure families have the freedom to make decisions that are best for them. Ohioans believe that abortion is a personal, private decision that should be up to them and their families without government meddling in their business." Staff writer Kevin Martin contributed to this story. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.