There is an election in the dog days of summer in Ohio. The radical regressive Republicans are hoping for low turnout so that they can get their way. The government is firmly in their control, but the people of the state of Ohio still can pass progressive measures via amendment referendums. That may change on August 8th, which is about a month away.
Our goal is to vote NO to the change to the Ohio Constitution (Issue 1) which increases the threshold for passing to 60% instead of 50%+1. This task won’t be easy by any means of the imagination, but we have got to stop this amendment in its tracks.
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What’s the Big Idea?
The funny thing about this election is that by a law that passed — the severely gerrymandered GOP supermajority — it should be illegal to have it held. Elections in August were eliminated to save money — except for this one. However, the partisan Ohio Supreme Court decided to let it happen anyways.
The referendum process is the last chance for progressive legislation to be passed, so it must be strangled so that Ohio can go full fascist. 50%+1 in a conservative state is feasible for progressive legislation. 60% is daunting, especially with the tougher signature requirements being paired with the amendment.
The GOP has already said the quiet part out loud in terms of Issue 1. They are pushing for it to make sure that an abortion rights measure has a near impossible hurdle to climb. The Secretary of State, Frank LaRose, has come out and said as much. There are other potential progressive measures that could be blocked by the ratification of this amendment:
- fair redistricting with an independent commission. The state legislature is about to re-redistrict the lines to eliminate up to three Democratic members of Congress. A ballot measure is the only way to put an end to this.
- marijuana legislation could come up for a vote soon in Ohio. Again, the state GOP is adamant in blocking such measures from being voted on and passed.
- more possible ballot measures to be blocked include a hike in the minimum wage, new sentencing guidelines, and much more.
Who is Behind Issue 1?
The Ohio GOP (other than some former governors) is fully behind this measure. They are the ones that specifically put it on an August ballot and they are also the ones who are funding the Yes on Issue 1 side. Of course, there is also a fascist billionaire sugar daddy pushing for this amendment. This has Richard Uihlein’s fingerprints all over it, and he is indeed funding the Yes on Issue 1 campaign.
The argument the people who are for Issue 1 are making is that 50%+1 allows for special interests to capture the state constitution and easily pass measures that are not in the best interests of Ohio. That’s hogwash, because the special interests have already captured Ohio through the brutally gerrymandered supermajority in the state legislature, the supine “moderate” governor DeWine, and a State Supreme Court filled with 4 partisan hacks.
This is all about stopping any chance of progressive thought in Ohio. It is about stopping the planned abortion rights amendment. It was even seen as partially misleading voters and had to be rewritten, but nothing will stop the GOP from passing it. If it does not overwhelmingly fail, they will try again in the future.
Who is Opposing Issue 1?
So far, these are the different people and groups opposing Issue 1, the constitutional amendment that makes passing other constitutional amendments nary impossible.
Former Statewide Officials
State Senators
State House Members
Local Officials
Organizations
Labor Unions
Newspapers
Noteworthy amongst the detractors are former Republican Govs. John Kasich and Bob Taft. That’s right, there is a bipartisan coalition against this amendment. Most of the people and groups against the brazen power grab are aligned with the Democratic Party as expected. Sadly, the Democratic Party is struggling in Ohio right now so they could use the assistance from out of state.
Luckily, the NO side is already up with their first ad. Watch it below.
How Can You Help?
Right now, very few people are aware of this election outside of the state of Ohio, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are many inside the state who aren’t aware of it either. Under the cover of darkness — that’s the strategy behind this insidious amendment power grab. The GOP want to sneak it through when no one is paying attention. Well, we need to blow that strategy out of the water!
In terms of donating, there doesn’t seem to be a fund or PAC specifically for defeating this measure as of yet. Please correct me in the comments if there are places you should donate to.
These are some organizations doing GOTV efforts against Issue 1:
There’s the Protect Choice Ohio Coalition https://protectchoiceohio.com/coalition
& longtime politics org for good candidates Pro-Choice Ohio https://prochoiceohio.org/about-pro-choice-ohio/
Also, this group is on the task — Ohio Citizen — Vote NO on in August.
Ohio Democrats are also canvassing in neighborhoods blue, purple and red. Their leaflets bear the same NO on Amendment 1 message, while also obtaining signatures for the amendment to enshrine abortion rights in the Ohio Constitution at the regular November election.
Finally, Progressive Muse on Good News Roundup is promoting Postcards to Voters, and other similar efforts which has shifted focus almost exclusively to this very important race.
On this morning’s Postcards To Voters menu:
1 - Addresses for Ohio Constitutional Amendment
Here is the information about the new Ohio campaign that dropped yesterday. This will be another lengthy effort that will probably run through the end of July.
Campaign #324 - Campaign to Keep Majority Rule for Citizen Ballot Initiatives in Ohio
We can see how the Republican Party is scheming in various state legislatures to tighten their grip on the reins of power. There are now a flurry of new laws to enable GOP-controlled legislatures to fire county elections officials if they don't like the outcomes of elections. They've hurried to ban or practically ban abortions with a ridiculous bounty in Texas for any citizen to collect by reporting anyone who assists in an abortion. We successfully defended access to abortion services in Kentucky and Kansas when the Republicans tried to confuse voters with poorly-worded ballot initiatives. Now, the Ohio GOP is trying to quickly sneak something past the voters in August to undermine a Pro-Choice ballot initiative that is planned for a November election.
Ohio Republicans are trying to cheat to prevent Ohioans from getting their rights. Several ballot measures are moving ahead, including a reproductive rights measure for November 2023 and a measure to raise the minimum wage in 2024. Republicans in power want to stop this. They have added an extra election in the middle of summer (hoping that hardly anyone turns out) that will make it nearly impossible to pass statewide ballot measures.
If Issue 1 passes on August 8th, it will change the threshold required to pass a constitutional amendment from a simple majority of 50% + 1 vote to 60%. It will also require future initiatives to collect signatures in each of Ohio's 88 counties instead of the current requirement of only 44. Lastly, it will eliminate the period after some signatures are deemed invalid in which new valid signatures may be collected and re-submitted.
We have one chance to stop this anti-Democratic move. If we get enough folks out to vote who might not otherwise have heard about it, Issue 1 can be defeated. It is a large, populous state so the list of addresses of friendly voters will be virtually endless. But since early voting starts July 11th for the August 8th election, there's plenty of time to write a statistically-significant number of postcards to reasonably expect we can move the needle towards a win.
This is not the first time we've written for ballot initiatives. In fact, the campaigns we assisted which involved ballot initiatives in Florida, Kentucky, and Kansas were all big wins for us. Even the California Gubernatorial recall election in which we wrote had a winning outcome for us. Just last month, we had a statewide contest for Wisconsin Supreme Court flip a seat on the bench. In these five and many other statewide elections, we've been part of winning GOTV efforts.
Yes, we will be writing these messages to Ohio voters for a good portion of the summer. But the blow to democracy in Ohio if Issue 1 were to pass would be devastating. We need to be prepared to write consistently and heavily so that we reach enough voters for the effort to make a winning difference.
Write on!
This is the required message:
Ohio voters can make laws through ballot initiatives with a simple majority.
Keep this freedom by voting NO on Issue 1.
Please vote early starting July 11 or on election day August 8.
These are optional message items:
● If passed, just 40% of voters could veto any popular measure.
● Don't change the Constitution to undermine "One Person, One Vote."
● Protect your right to majority rule.
● Keep the Ohio Constitution and voters' rights strong.
● If it isn't broke, don't fix it.
● Find your polling place at VoteOhio.gov
Website: VoteOhio.gov
#VoteNoInAugust
If you would like to write to Democrats in Ohio about the amendment about Vote By Mail, this is all the information you need.
Returning Postcards To Voters writers can use these methods to request addresses:
•Text HELLO to (484) 275-2229.
•
Email (if you have trouble with the linked address, you can use Postcards@TonyTheDemocrat.org instead, which will be answered by a human)
•
Slack.com
If you are new to Postcards To Voters, you can get set up by texting or emailing:
•Text JOIN to (484) 275-2229
•
Email
Postcards To Voters, Blue Wave Postcards and Vote Forward are all involved in encouraging people to get their absentee ballots in before the July 10 deadline, but people have to act right away!
Conclusion
I hope that this diary garners some attention, because this election is every bit as critical as the election of Janet Protasiewicz a few months ago in Wisconsin. It may be the only way to restore abortion rights in the fascist state of Ohio.
With the Donald Trump clown show revving up daily at this time, I am afraid this election will get lost in the shuffle. That is exactly what the proponents of Issue 1 want to have happen. They scheduled it not only when most people aren’t paying attention, but also when people are most likely on vacation and the critical college student vote isn’t there either.
Referendums tend to have lower stakes, and this one seems innocuous enough. Hopefully I have ripped off the mask and exposed this amendment for what it truly is — the last dagger in the heart of any possible progressive thought in the state of Ohio.