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Divided Ohio Was United On 2017 Statewide Ballot Issues
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio voters threw fractious politics aside Tuesday and aligned in staggering percentages to defeat a drug pricing measure and to approve protections for crime victims’ rights.
Issue 2, dubbed the Ohio Drug Price Relief Act, failed in every one of Ohio’s 88 counties with anywhere from about 70 percent to almost 90 percent of voters opposed. The defeat came after the pharmaceutical industry spent an estimated $70 million to fight the effort, compared to about $20 million spent in support.
The proposal required the state to hold prescription drug purchases under the lowest prices paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Issue 1 prevailed in every county by similarly robust percentages. Dubbed Marsy’s Law for Ohio, it will embed certain rights for crime victims into the state constitution.