COLUMBUS, Ohio (NEWSnet/AP) — Ohio voters on Tuesday resoundingly rejected a Republican-backed measure that would have made it more difficult to change the state’s constitution.

The impact sets forth the rules for which a November abortion rights referendum will be settled.

The defeat of Issue 1 keeps in place a simple majority threshold for passing future constitutional amendments, rather than the 60% supermajority that was proposed. Its supporters said the higher bar would protect the state’s foundational document from outside interest groups.

Voters’ rejection of the proposal marked a rare rebuke for Ohio Republicans, who have held power across every branch of state government for 12 years.

Dennis Willard, a spokesperson for the opposition campaign One Person One Vote, called Issue 1 a “deceptive power grab” that was intended to diminish the influence of the state’s voters.

“Tonight is a major victory for democracy in Ohio,” Willard told a jubilant crowd at the opposition campaign’s watch party. “The majority still rules in Ohio.”

Republican lawmakers who had pushed the measure — and put it before voters during the height of summer vacation season — explained the defeat as a result of too little time to adequately explain its virtues to voters.

In a statement, Republican House Speaker Jason Stephens advised supporters to move past Tuesday's results to focus on trying to defeat the abortion rights measure: “The people of Ohio have spoken."

While abortion was not directly on the special election ballot, the result marks the latest setback for Republicans in a conservative-leaning state who favor imposing tough restrictions on the procedure. Ohio Republicans placed the question on the summer ballot in hopes of undercutting the citizen initiative that voters will decide in November that seeks to enshrine abortion rights in the state.

Interest in Tuesday's special election was intense. There were nearly 700,000 early in-person and mail ballots ahead of Tuesday’s final day of voting, more than double the number of advance votes in a typical primary election.

Copyright 2023 NEWSnet and The Associated Press. All rights reserved.