Elections 2011: Boost for Unions, Blow to “Personhood” Movement

There are elections every Tuesday after the first Monday in November, but the ones in odd-numbered years are often overlooked because they do not elect a president or even members of Congress.

However, off-year elections do elect the mayors of cities and governors of states, and often contain ballot initiatives that can overturn laws or redirect the course of economic and social policy.

Ohio voters repeal law limiting collective bargaining

	The 61 percent to 39 percent outcome in Ohio was a major victory for labor unions and their Democratic allies.

In Ohio, a highly debated new law that restricted the bargaining rights of more than 350,000 public employees such as teachers, firefighters and police officers was repealed with more than 60 percent of the vote.  

Republican Governor John Kasich, who helped push the law through the state legislature, said it would have helped Ohio’s budget problems and attracted more businesses to the state.

After the results were announced, Kasich congratulated his opponents and pledged to consider his next steps carefully.

"I've heard their voices. I understand their decision, and frankly, I respect what people have to say in an effort like this," he said, adding that the vote requires him "to take a deep breath" and "spend some time reflecting on what happened here."

The disputed law permitted workers to negotiate wages but not pensions or health care benefits, banned public-worker strikes and eliminated annual raises for teachers.

Mississippi voters weigh in on “Personhood” amendment

	The vote against the controversial "Personhood" amendment was 58 percent to 42 percent.

Mississippi voters Tuesday rejected a controversial amendment that would have declared a fertilized human egg a legal person.  Almost all the polls leading up to election day suggested the measure would pass.

The Mississippi amendment was widely seen as an attempt to pave the way toward outlawing abortion in the state and make it difficult to get the morning-after pill or birth control pills that destroy fertilized eggs. Disposing of unused fertilized eggs could have also been restricted, making in vitro fertilization treatments -- used by doctors to help women who are having trouble getting pregnant -- more difficult. 

The group Personhood USA has tried to pass similar amendments in several states, and hoped that it had a chance in Mississippi, where many voters in both parties say they are pro-life.

However, the National Right to Life organization and the Roman Catholics bishops refused to support the amendment, arguing that it was too much too soon. 

“From the standpoint of protecting unborn lives it’s utterly futile,” a lawyer for the National Right to Life told the New York Times.  “And it has the grave risk that if it did get to the Supreme Court, the court would write an even more extreme abortion policy.”