Bipartisan Majority of Ohio Voters Support Harm Reduction and Bail Reform Measures
By Anika Dandekar
Every year, over 5,000 Ohioans die from drug overdose. Some bills currently moving through the Ohio state legislature may help in addressing this crisis. New polling from Data for Progress suggests that harm reduction policies and criminal justice reform, which have been proven to save lives, are supported by large majorities of the Ohio electorate.
Ohio Voters Agree Drug Use Is a Public Health Issue
We first tested Ohio voters’ preferred approach to drug use and addiction — public health policy or criminal justice policy. Overwhelmingly, and with bipartisan agreement, Ohio voters believe drug use is a public health issue, not a criminal justice one. On net, likely Ohio voters prefer the public health approach over the criminal justice one by a margin of +66 points. Democrats, Independents, and Republicans also prefer public health approaches, with net margins of +74, +69, and +58 points, respectively.
Ohio Voters Support Harm Reduction Measures
We tested Ohioans’ attitudes toward ensuring access to medication-assisted treatment and overdose reversal medications for all, including incarcerated individuals. Over three-quarters of all likely voters in Ohio support ensuring access to these medications. This strong support holds across parties, with Democrats, Independents, and Republicans supporting the policy with respective net margins of +83, +64, and +62 points.
Then, we asked Ohio voters about distributing opioid overdose medication, Narcan, to those who are at highest risk of overdose. Nearly two-thirds of all likely voters in Ohio support distribution of opioid overdose reversal medication, naloxone (or Narcan). This support holds across parties, with Democrats, Independents, and Republicans supporting the policy, by respective net margins of +61, +38, and +25 points.
Ohio Voters Support Criminal Justice Reform
We also polled Ohio voters’ attitudes around some related criminal justice reforms, including expanding the Good Samaritan law, making bail proportionate to income, and funding kinship care for children who are removed from their parents’ custody. We find that over three-quarters of voters across partisan lines support expanding Ohio’s Good Samaritan law to better protect people from prosecution when they seek emergency medical care for someone experiencing an overdose. Likely voters in Ohio back it with a margin of +77 points. Democrats, Independents, and Republicans support the policy with respective net margins of +75, +80, and +76 points.
All likely Ohio voters back making bail proportionate to income, with a net margin of +30 points. Large majorities of Democrats and Independents support the policy, with respective net margins of +56 and +32 points. A plurality of Republicans also support the reform.
Finally, we find a majority of Ohio voters across parties strongly support funding kinship care, which allows children to remain with extended family members if their parents have lost legal custody of them. All Ohio voters support the policy with a +86-point margin. Democrats, Independents, and Republicans support the policy with respective net margins of +82, +87, and +93 points.
Conclusion
Increasing access to naloxone, reforming bail, and expanding the Good Samaritan policy are all under consideration by the Ohio state legislature. This polling shows Ohio voters, across parties, strongly support harm reduction measures and criminal justice reforms for those targeted by the war on drugs. Ohio state legislators have a clear mandate from their constituents: Stop criminalizing Ohioans and invest in public health instead.
Anika Dandekar (@AnikaDandekar) is a polling analyst at Data for Progress.