BROWN COUNTY, Ohio – Ohio residents in Brown County and statewide voted on two key issues in this week’s general election, issue one and issue two.
Issue one was relating to reproductive health and issue two was relating to the legalization of adult use of cannabis in the state of Ohio.
State issue one according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s description was about reproductive health and had points of what the amendment would do if passed.
If passed issue one would “Establish in the Constitution of the State of Ohio and individual right to one’s own reproductive medical treatment, including but not limited to abortion” Ohio Secretary of State states.
It would also, “Create legal protections for any person or entity that assists a person with receiving reproductive medical treatment, including but not limited to abortion” and “Only allow the State to prohibit an abortion after an unborn child is determined by a pregnant woman’s treating physician to be viable and only if the physician does not consider the abortion necessary to protect the pregnant woman’s life or health” Ohio Secretary of State states.
In the full text of the amendment provided by the Ohio Secretary of State, the issue states that “Every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited decisions on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one’s own pregnancy; miscarriage care; and abortion.”
“The State shall not, directly or indirectly, burden, penalize, prohibit, interfere with, or discriminate against either: an individual’s voluntary exercise of this right or a person or entity that assists an individual exercising this right, unless the State demonstrates that it is using the least restrictive means to advance the individual’s health in accordance with widely accepted and evidence-based standards of care” Ohio Secretary of State states.
According to the Brown County Board of Elections, there was a total of 13,423 ballots cast countywide. On issue one there was a total of 13,271 votes cast and the no vote garnered 8,483 votes 63.92% while the yes vote on issue one garnered 4,788 votes 36.08%.
State issue two according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s description was about commercializing, regulating, legalizing and taxing the adult use of cannabis. “Legalize and regulate the cultivation, processing, sale, purchase, possession, home grow, and use of cannabis by adults at least twenty-one years of age” the Ohio Secretary of State’s official proposed law description states.
The proposed law description also states that issue two, if passed, would “Prohibit certain local government entities from limiting specific research, levying a tax, or charge on adult use operations, their owner, or their property not generally charged on other business, and prohibit certain local government entities from prohibiting or limiting adult-use cannabis home grow or prohibiting or restricting an activity authorized by the proposed law.”
“Provide for taxation of 10 percent on the sale of adult-use cannabis by dispensaries in addition to usual sales taxes and require that all monies collected from the 10 percent tax levied be deposited into the adult use tax fund and quarterly distributed as follows: 36 percent to the cannabis social equity and jobs fund; 36 percent to the host community cannabis facilities fund; 25 percent to the substance abuse and addiction fund; and three percent to the division of cannabis control and tax commission fund” the Ohio Secretary of State proposed law description states.
The results for both issues after Tuesday’s general election according to the New York Times state that statewide the yes vote for issue one passed with 2,186,965 votes defeating the no vote that had 1,675,730 votes.
Issue two according to the New York Times states that statewide the yes vote passed with 2,183,735 votes defeating the no vote which had 1,649,385 votes.
For additional information on both issues, you can visit the website link https://www.ohiosos.gov/globalassets/elections/2023/gen/issuesreport.pdf.
