In-person voting for a November ballot measure on abortion rights began Wednesday in Ohio, the last state where voters will decide the issue after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a nationwide right to the procedure last year.

Ohio is the only state to put an abortion rights question before voters in this case, making it a testing ground for messaging ahead of the 2024 election, when it is expected to be voted on in more states and will be a major factor are in races up and down the world. mood.

Election officials across the state are generally predicting higher-than-normal turnout for off-year elections because of the high-profile campaigns over Issue 1, a constitutional amendment that seeks to enshrine abortion rights.

Mary Weiss was among the voters who entered a voting center in Toledo on Wednesday, weeks earlier

.during the first day of early in-person advance voting

election day on November 7.

“Still moving.” The uncertain future of abortion a year after Roe was overturned

Women should have complete control over their own bodies,” said Weiss, who lives in the suburb of Sylvania. “No one should have to make these decisions for us.

Initial voting numbers won’t be available from the Secretary of State’s Office until next week, but absentee ballot requests in Ohio’s three most populous counties, home to about a third of the state’s population, are far higher this year than in the last election outside the year in Ohio. November 2021.

This week’s vote follows a high-turnout special election last summer, when voters thwarted an effort by Republican lawmakers to make it much harder to pass constitutional amendments. Republicans and anti-abortion groups had hoped to pass that measure before the election

case

current vote on abortion rights.

AP VoteCast polling last year found that 59% of Ohio voters believe abortion should generally be legal.

Anti-abortion groups disagree on pre-vote strategies in Ohio. It could be a preview for 2024

Several voting centers visited Wednesday had no lines, just a steady stream of voters. Among them was Jonathan Griffiths of the Dayton suburb of Beavercreek. The Republican said he voted yes on the constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights.

“I’m fairly conservative, but I’m also married and have daughters and granddaughters,” he said. “Women’s bodies, women’s choices.”

The constitutional amendment would give every person the right to make and implement their own reproductive decisions. The effort follows a series of victories for abortion rights advocates across the country, who have been winning in both Democratic and heavily Republican states since the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision, which banned abortion for half a century. had been legalized nationwide.

Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine, who voted against No. 1 in rural Xenia on Wednesday, urged Ohioans to oppose the measure. The governor said it went too far for Ohio.

If we can beat this, I think we can come together as a state and find a place where a majority of Ohioans can actually agree, he said.

Ohio voters are rejecting the Republican Party-backed proposal that would have made it harder to protect abortion rights

Shari Moore, a retired banker from suburban Toledo who voted against the amendment with her husband, said it was a decision rooted in her Christian beliefs.

Abortion is murder, she said. It’s dangerous for Ohio and for the entire country.

Linda Debard, 73, a retired French teacher from Columbus, said she would vote “yes” on the amendment because I firmly believe it is no one’s business but the family what decisions you make regarding health care for women. No. Keep the government and politicians out of it.

Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, the campaign promoting the amendment, insists the measure would prevent Ohio’s ban on most abortions after fetal heart activity is detected from taking effect. A judge’s order suspended that 2019 law, but the Ohio Supreme Court, which has a Republican majority, is considering whether to lift that stay.

Advertisements from advocates say abortion-related decisions should be reserved for a woman and her family, doctors and faith leaders, and not regulated by the government.

A victory for abortion rights in Ohio, a red state

The opposition campaign, Protect Women Ohio, has focused on the questions raised by the broad wording of Issue 1, citing legal theories as yet untested that argue that passage of the amendment would would jeopardize Ohio’s parental consent requirements for minors receiving abortions and other forms of medical care.

Opponents have also campaigned heavily on the idea that the amendment would allow abortions in the final stages of pregnancy, despite the fact that such procedures are rare and typically involve life-threatening situations. Misinformation also circulated around the campaign.

Sam Zern, a regional field organizer for Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights and a graduate student at Kent State University, said the organization has seen an inspiring amount of energy on college campuses across the state.

Protect Women Ohio spokesperson Amy Natoce said the group has seen strong turnout at its events, including a March for Life on Friday in the state capital. She said great emphasis is being placed on people casting their ballots and collecting their votes before November 7.

A second question on Ohio’s November ballot is whether Ohioans want to legalize recreational marijuana. If passed, Ohio would become the 24th state to legalize cannabis for adult use.

Associated Press writer John Seewer in Toledo contributed to this report.