Exit poll results from Ohio Issue 1 ballot measure on abortion rights

In Ohio, the Issue 1 ballot measure won approval and the right to abortion will be enshrined in the state’s constitution. See exit poll results on how different groups voted on the measure below. Election results are here.

A yes vote is in favor of establishing “an individual right to one’s own reproductive medical treatment, including but not limited to abortion.” The bill would also create legal protections for a person assisting another person accessing reproductive medical treatment. A no vote means someone does not support enshrining the right to abortion in Ohio’s constitution.

Most men and women voted yes on Issue 1, according to exit polls, with women doing so by a wider margin. The gender gap was a bit smaller than in the 2020 presidential election, when women were 12 percentage points more supportive of Joe Biden than men.

Exit polls found more than 8 in 10 Black voters supported establishing a right to abortion in the state’s constitution, as did more than 7 in 10 Hispanic voters. White voters made up a large majority of the electorate and narrowly supported the abortion rights measure.

Age was a major dividing line, with young voters overwhelmingly voting yes on Issue 1 while middle-aged and older voters were more divided. A 77 percent majority of voters under age 30 voted yes on Issue 1, along with 68 percent of voters ages 30 to 44. A slim 53 percent majority of voters ages 45 to 64 voted yes, while a similar share of those 65 and older voted against it.

College graduates were 10 percentage points more supportive of establishing abortion rights in the Ohio Constitution than those with some college education or less, though exit poll results suggest majorities of both groups backed the measure.

In Tuesday’s election, Ohio voters split somewhat evenly between Democratic, Republican and independent or other, according to network exit polls. Democrats overwhelmingly voted yes on enshrining the right to abortion while Republicans voted no by a slightly smaller margin. Independents voted yes over no by 30 percentage points.

Ohio voters split roughly evenly between those identifying as liberal and conservative with slightly fewer calling themselves moderate, according to exit polling, a break from 2020, when conservatives outnumbered liberals by about 2-to-1. Liberals widely voted yes on Issue 1 while conservatives widely voted no. Self-described moderates voted yes by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

By a 25-point margin, more Ohio voters said they think abortion should be legal in either “all” or “most” cases rather than illegal in all or most cases, according to exit polling. Unsurprisingly, those attitudes were closely tied to support for Issue 1.

A clear majority of Ohio voters said they felt “dissatisfied” or “angry” about the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade as opposed to feeling “satisfied” or “enthusiastic,” according to network exit polling. More than 8 in 10 of those who were negative toward the court’s decision voted to establish abortion rights in Ohio.

While Biden lost Ohio to Donald Trump by eight percentage points in 2020, exit polls suggested a similar share of the 2023 electorate supported each candidate in the last presidential election. About 9 in 10 Biden voters supported the abortion rights measure while about 8 in 10 Trump voters opposed it. Still, about 1 in 5 Trump voters backed the measure.

Unmarried men and women widely supported Issue 1 in their vote in Ohio, according to exit polls, while married men and women were both roughly split — with a slim majority of married women in support of the amendment. The divide in support among married men contrasts sharply with the 2020 presidential election in the state, when this group supported Trump by more than 2-to-1.

About 3 in 10 voters in Ohio were White evangelical or born-again Christians, according to network exit polls, and about three-quarters of them voted against the constitutional amendment. About 7 in 10 of the larger share of those who are not White evangelicals voted in favor of the amendment.

These findings are from interviews of 4,115 randomly selected voters as they exited voting places in Ohio on Nov. 7, as well as from voters exiting early voting locations. Early voters were also reached through a telephone survey. The poll was conducted by Edison Research for the National Election Pool consortium of ABC News, CBS News, CNN and NBC News. Results have been weighted to match vote tallies by region and to correct for differential participation by subgroup. Totals may not add up to 100 because of rounding.