Uncategorized

Columbus, OH — In the dead of night last night, while most Ohioans were sleeping, Ohio Republicans passed a dangerous anti-voter bill that would take our state backward in the fight for voting rights. The bill punishes working Ohioans by putting up unnecessary barriers to the voting booth and making it harder for working families who rely on absentee or early voting to have their voices heard. Today, Ohio Democrats called on Mike DeWine to veto this dangerous bill. 

“Mike DeWine doesn’t have any office left to run for. It’s now time for him to put politics aside and veto this bill that punishes working families in order to cater to extremists and conspiracy theorists. Gov. DeWine has the chance to do the right thing, he should take it,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters. 

The legislation passed by Republican lawmakers last night would:

• End Ohioans’ ability to use utility bills, government documents and alternative forms of identification in order to prove their identity and cast their vote. 
• Shorten the window for Ohioans to cast mail-in ballots.
• Allow only one dropbox per county, even after Ohio courts decided that the limitation was unnecessary. 
• Eliminate in-person voting on the Monday before Election Day
• Prohibit most curbside voting.

###

Columbus, OH — Today, the Ohio Democratic Party released the following statement after Ohio House Committee passage of two dangerous anti-voters bills, one that would fundamentally change how Ohioans vote and another that would make it harder for Ohioans to amend the Ohio Constitution. 
 
“Once again, Ohio Republicans are showing just how scared they are to be held accountable by Ohio voters. We’re urging Ohioans to call their legislators and vote no on these bills that are a direct assault on our democracy. When we stand together, we can send GOP legislators a powerful message: our democracy isn’t up for negotiation,” said Chair Elizabeth Walters. 

###

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, the Cleveland.com editorial board called on the state legislature to reject Republicans’ attempts to make it harder for Ohioans to pass a Constitutional amendment. The editorial board called on Republicans in the state legislature to reverse plans that would make it harder for Ohioans to have their voices heard, adding that killing the anti-voter measure is “what democracy requires.” 

“In fact, stripping away Stewart’s and LaRose’s claims about HJR 6, it’s obvious that the “special interests” that HJR 6 targets are Ohio’s voters. That’s why the legislature should reject this naked attack on democracy in a state whose constitution proclaims that “all political power is inherent in the people” — not in the Statehouse,” wrote the Cleveland.com editorial board. 

Read more from Cleveland.com here and below: 

• The General Assembly’s lame-duck session is rapidly advancing a joint resolution that will ask voters to make it harder to change the Ohio Constitution. But the legislature should be making it easier for voters to seek this remedy, not more difficult. That is what democracy requires.
• The current procedure, written 110 years ago, in 1912, is this: Either the legislature or voters by petition may propose placing a constitutional amendment on Ohio’s statewide ballot. 
• Petitioners must gather the signatures of Ohio voters equal to 10% of the total vote cast in the most recent election for governor. Moreover, those signatures must be obtained in at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties, and within each of the 44 counties, petitioners must gather signatures equal to at least 5% of the gubernatorial vote cast in that county. And strict signature-gathering rules apply. 
• So why make it tougher to amend the state constitution when special-interest amendments are already barred? Two possible answers are suggested by recent events:
• One, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, is that Ohioans who support women’s right to choose abortion are mobilizing to write a ballot issue to reinstate reproductive choice in Ohio. Raising a constitutional amendment’s winning margin to 60% would make it harder for an abortion-rights ballot issue to win Ohio voters’ approval.
• Likewise, voters may petition for a constitutional amendment seeking to amend prior constitutional reforms in how Ohio draws legislative and congressional districts to make partisan gerrymandering harder.
• In fact, stripping away Stewart’s and LaRose’s claims about HJR 6, it’s obvious that the “special interests” that HJR 6 targets are Ohio’s voters.
• That’s why the legislature should reject this naked attack on democracy in a state whose constitution proclaims that “all political power is inherent in the people” — not in the Statehouse.

###

Columbus, OH — Frank LaRose, knowing statehouse Republicans don’t trust him, has been on an apology tour for the last year and a half, trying to ingratiate himself to extremists in the legislature so he can run for the U.S. Senate. Part of those efforts include throwing his full weight behind HB 294, a disgusting anti-voter bill that would take Ohio backward and make it more difficult for Ohioans to have their voice heard.

LaRose gave this terrible bill his backing when it included initiatives he was pushing, including being able to update voter registration at the BMV. But now, because statehouse Republicans don’t respect LaRose, the bill has been stripped of his major priorities. So the question for LaRose is: will he continue to cave to statehouse Republicans and support the bill anyway?  

“Frank LaRose’s main role as Secretary of State is to protect Ohioans’ right to vote. But he’s shown he’s willing to sell voters down the river if it helps him politically. So the question for LaRose is simple: will he continue to cave to extremists in the Ohio legislature now that this bill includes none of the priorities he was using to give himself cover? Or will he finally grow a spine and push back against his own party to help kill this terrible bill,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

###

Columbus, OH — This weekend, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters penned an op-ed for Cleveland.com discussing the progress Ohio Democrats made last election, the work left to do and the party’s laser-focus on Sherrod Brown’s reelection in 2024. While many pundits and so-called experts are ready to count Ohio Democrats out, Chair Walters warn they do so at their own peril. 

“We elected Democrats in partisan, competitive congressional races for the first time since 2012. We flipped the State Board of Education. And we increased Democratic performance in every single county in the state. We saw that, when Ohio Democrats talk about the issues that matter most to working families and show voters we’re on their side, we can win in Ohio. We’re so proud of the progress we made, and it’s progress we are ready to build upon,” wrote Walters.

 Read more below and the full op-ed from Walters here: 

• On election night, Ohio was the dam that stopped the red wave from crashing into Congress.

• Ohio made the congressional red wave that so many predicted look more like a ripple.

• We elected Democrats in partisan, competitive congressional races for the first time since 2012. We flipped the State Board of Education. And we increased Democratic performance in every single county in the state.

• We saw that, when Ohio Democrats talk about the issues that matter most to working families and show voters we’re on their side, we can win in Ohio.

• There will be plenty of time over the coming days, weeks and months to dissect what happened and why. I know my team and I here at the Ohio Democratic Party will be having lots of conversations with outside partners, digging into the data and working to chart our path forward.

• The truth is, we were facing unprecedented obstacles here in Ohio. From illegal, GOP-gerrymandered maps; to millions of dollars in outside spending from national Republicans compared to very little spending from national Democrats; to a party of long-term incumbents who showed a willingness to embrace lies and extremism to get across the finish line, we had a lot to overcome.

• We’re not done fighting for fair maps. We’re not done fighting for a woman’s right to choose. We’re not done fighting for voting rights. We’re not done fighting for the dignity of work.

• And we’re all so ready to fight for Sen. Sherrod Brown and his critical re-election campaign in 2024.

• Sherrod has proven time and again that he knows how to win Ohio because voters know he’s on their side. Republicans who run against him do so at their own peril. Just ask Mike DeWine, Jim Renacci, and Josh Mandel – three Republicans who have never lost a general election race in Ohio, except to Sherrod.

• Our work is far from over. Count us out at your peril.

###