Abortion and marijuana are on the ballot in Ohio

A voter fills out their ballot in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday. Megan Jelinger/Reuters

Two measures are on the ballot in Ohio: one on abortion and another on marijuana.

Ohio’s Issue 1 would add a section to the state constitution titled “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety.” It would guarantee the right to abortion, although the state would be allowed to prohibit it after fetal viability, except in cases of the life or health of the mother.

The determinations of viability and the life or health of the mother would both be made by the mother’s physician. It also includes protections for other reproductive decisions, including contraception and fertility treatment.

Abortion in Ohio is currently legal up to 22 weeks into a pregnancy, but only because a Cincinnati judge last year blocked a six-week abortion ban. Supporters of the measure have pitched it as a question of personal freedom, while opponents argue it goes too far.

Ohio voters will also decide on whether or not to legalize recreational marijuana. If Issue 2 is approved, Ohio would become the 24th state to legalize recreational marijuana.

The measure would legalize and regulate the cultivation, possession, sale, purchase and use of marijuana for adults 21 years and older. It would also tax marijuana sales and use that money to fund several programs, including a “cannabis social equity and jobs program.”

Ohio voters rejected a marijuana legalization ballot measure in 2015, but the state legislature legalized medical marijuana the next year.

Both of these ballot measures require a simple majority to be adopted.

In August, Ohio voters rejected a measure which would’ve made it harder to amend the state Constitution. While that measure would not have impacted the marijuana measure, which creates a new law rather than amending the constitution, it would’ve made it harder to enact the abortion rights amendment.

The August result was seen as a victory for supporters of abortion rights. 

And Ohio isn’t the bellwether it used to be, as Trump-era Republicans have made major gains in traditionally Democratic blue-collar counties.