Some Good Political News

It appears that the voters of Ohio have very, very soundly and thoroughly defeated Issue 1, an attempt to undermine democratic processes by the Ohio Republican Party. This was so craven that Democrats and Republicans lined up to condemn the measure. Here's what the Republicans tried to put over on the citizenry:

1. Passed a law outlawing summer voting.
2. Put this measure on the ballot in August anyway, an obvious vote suppression ploy.
3. Attempted in Issue 1 to raise the threshold for passing a ballot initiative from 50% + one vote to 60% +1 vote.\

Two points: one is that Ohio's citizens are trying to get an initiative on the ballot for November that will enshrine the right to abortion. Yes, the attempt to impose a supermajority for initiatives was directly connected to this. The GOP can see that when abortion is on the ballot, somehow a majority of Americans would like the procedure to remain legal. Second, as a resident of California, I can tell you that supermajorities are incredibly anti-democratic, because a minority gets to thwart the will of the majority. 

So, good for Ohio, and good for abortion rights.