As Issue 1 fails in Ohio, here’s what Oxford voters had to say

Ohioans voted to reject Issue 1 Tuesday night with 57% of voters across the state saying no to the ballot issue.

Issue 1 aimed to put barriers up that would lower the chances of citizens amending Ohio’s constitution. The issue would have required a 60% majority for ballot measures to pass and for amendments to acquire signatures from all 88 counties before appearing on the ballot.

Excluding precincts tied to Miami University where students are off-campus for the summer, Butler County had large turnout numbers. Butler County initially appeared to be against the measure, with 55% of votes counted by 9 p.m. against the measure, but by morning the yes votes had taken a narrow lead at 50.3%.

Votes against Issue 1 prevailed in every Oxford and Oxford Township precinct. Similar results could be seen on a smaller scale as voters exited the Talawanda High School polling place.

Photo by Luke Macy | The Miami Student
Chris Taggart has conservative views, but he voted no on Issue 1 to protect citizens' role in democracy.

Chris Taggart, a material handler, firmly voted no on Issue 1. He also didn’t know anyone who was planning to vote yes on the issue.

Taggart leans conservative but disagrees with many politicians. He wants citizens to play a role in the state’s decisions, which is why he rejected the ballot issue.

“I don’t even think it should be on the board,” Taggart said. “I think it’s pretty clear the people should be in charge of our laws.”

Taggart said the voting process went smoothly and quickly for him, with Issue 1 being the only decision on the ballot. He was fine with the August date as well, saying that “sometimes things come up.”

Photo by Luke Macy | The Miami Student
Amy Lamborg voted to reject Issue 1, citing the upcoming vote to protect abortion rights in November as a factor in her decision.

Amy Lamborg, a grant writer at Miami and a Democrat, was frustrated by Issue 1.

“It makes me angry because the Republicans are just doing it as an end run around the November abortion topic,” Lamborg said.

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Lamborg was also surprised that the Republicans supported the ballot issue, citing that it goes against some of the party’s beliefs including limiting the role of government.

Lamborg would have preferred for the election to be in November, but she said the voting process went smoothly for her.

However, not everyone had the same experience. One voter, who wished to remain anonymous, was registered in Butler County but had an out-of-state license. The voter had to go back to her house to get her passport, which had expired but was still less than 15 years old and valid for renewal.

The voter had to call a governmental office to fix the situation before she could vote. She was frustrated because she wanted to vote yes, but she felt the Republicans who supported the ballot issue were also the ones making it more difficult to vote.

Photo by Luke Macy | The Miami Student
Butler County Progressive PAC members were the only people in the evening giving out information near the polling place. The group advised voters to reject the ballot issue.

Standing outside the polls, the Butler County Progressive PAC handed out yellow fliers listing reasons to vote no on the ballot issue.

Judy Kolbas, a member of the PAC, said they had been the only ones outside the polls advocating for a side. She also said Talawanda’s location had been “amazingly busy.”

Based on what Kolbas had seen from the day, she believed the no vote would hold.

“We’ve heard two predictions,” Kolbas said. “One that it was going to go down overwhelmingly and one that it was going to tie. But based on what we’ve seen, we think it’s going to go down overwhelmingly.”

@lukejmacy

macylj@miamioh.edu