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Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, Cosmopolitan Magazine listed the Ohio Supreme Court race as one of the top five most important races in the nation when it comes to protecting abortion rights. Ohio is the only state in the country with the opportunity to flip its Supreme Court from Republican control to Democratic. And Republicans in the legislature have made it clear they plan to pass a comprehensive ban on abortion, with no exceptions for rape or incest, and come after birth control after that. A Democratic-controlled Supreme Court would serve as an important check on the Republican attacks on women’s freedoms and their abortion rights.

“Over the past decade, we’ve seen efforts to pass approximately a bajillion abortion bans in Ohio, including ‘heartbeat bills,’ but it wasn’t until the Supreme Court overturned Roe in June that the bill Governor Mike DeWine had signed in 2019 officially went into effect. Overnight, he effectively banned all abortions in the state. Thankfully, Ohio does have one ~saving grace~ to keep a check on all this madness: its judiciary. Its courts have repeatedly challenged 6-week bans, including putting a temporary halt on DeWine’s latest attempt just a few weeks ago,” writes Cosmopolitan. 

“Abortion rights are on the ballot this November. While Republicans have made clear that they’re ready to rip away Ohioans’ reproductive freedoms, Ohio Democrats are committed to protecting reproductive rights and keeping politicians and judges out of Ohioans’ personal medical decisions,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes. 

Read more from Cosmo HERE and below.

• Ohio has always been a purple state, with the big cities (hiii, Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, ILY) consistently showing up to vote for progressive candidates while rural areas remain staunchly conservative. 
• Over the past decade, we’ve seen efforts to pass approximately a bajillion abortion bans in Ohio, including “heartbeat bills,” but it wasn’t until the Supreme Court overturned Roe in June that the bill Governor Mike DeWine had signed in 2019 officially went into effect. Overnight, he effectively banned all abortions in the state.
• Thankfully, Ohio does have one ~saving grace~ to keep a check on all this madness: its judiciary. Its courts have repeatedly challenged 6-week bans, including putting a temporary halt on DeWine’s latest attempt just a few weeks ago. 
• We know, we know, the Supreme Court is part of the reason we’re even in this mess, but the state’s Supreme Court is a bit different: Ohio has seven justices (not nine), with term limits of six years and an age limit of 70 (!!). As of 2021, justices can have party affiliations listed on the ballot and even make public political statements—more on that in just a bit!
• Perhaps most importantly, Ohio citizens can actually vote for every single one of these justices. They’re elected “by large,” meaning voters don’t just choose one person representing their circuit or region—everybody gets to choose them all. 
• “In recent weeks, we’ve been fortunate enough to have Ohio’s statewide ban on abortion temporarily blocked,” notes Iris E. Harvey, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio. “However, a long-term solution is needed, and that begins with electing leaders that our patients and supporters can count on. It is imperative that we elect justices to the court who will protect a person’s individual right to choose what is best for them.”
• Judge Jennifer Brunner, who was elected to the court just last year but is now running for chief justice, and Judge Marilyn Zayas and Judge Terri Jamison, who are running as first-time justices. If they win, Zayas would be the first Latina to ever serve on the high court, and Jamison would be the third Black woman in Ohio state Supreme Court history. 
• The Democrats will gain control of the court if either Zayas or Jamison wins, which will come in handy if (or really, when) Governor DeWine and the Republican-controlled state legislature try to push more abortion restrictions through.

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Columbus, OH — Dave Yost is so intent on ripping away labor protections from members of Ohio’s National Guard that he’s headed all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s a despicable act of playing politics with the well-being of our servicemembers after members of Ohio’s Army and Air National Guards lodged complaints that the Ohio National Guard was committing unfair labor practices. Rather than push the Ohio National Guard to abide by federal law and heed the ruling of a judge who ruled in favor of the servicemembers, Yost has decided that he’ll head to the highest court in the land to rip away their rights instead. 

“Dave Yost’s entire campaign seems to be focused on ripping away fundamental rights from Ohioans. He’s now turned his ire to members of Ohio’s National Guard, deciding to go after their livelihood to score some political points. It’s a disgusting use of taxpayer dollars and our servicemembers deserve better,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

Yost has spent the last four years playing politics with the office of attorney general, pursuing taxpayer-funded lawsuits to further his own political career. And instead of fighting to protect the rights of hard-working Ohioans, he’s been laser-focused on ripping them away – from abortion rights to the rights of Ohio’s servicemembers. 

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Columbus, OH — Today, just 28 days out from one of the most important elections in Ohio history, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters, Ohio Secretary of State candidate Chelsea Clark, Ohio Attorney General candidate Jeff Crossman and Ohio Auditor candidate Taylor Sappington hosted a virtual press conference to lay out the stakes of the 2022 election.

 “With only 28 days until Election Day, we’re seeing a groundswell of support for Ohio Democrats. And in the closing days, we’re excited to continue to draw the contrast between our candidates, who are laser-focused on fighting for working families, and Ohio Republicans who are laser-focused on fighting only for the wealthy and well-connected. From J.D. Vance to Mike DeWine on down, every Republican running statewide has a record that is out of touch with working Ohioans,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters. 

From now until November 8, Democrats are drawing the contrast between Ohio Democrats, who are laser-focused on fighting for working families, and Ohio Republicans, who are only focused on fighting for the wealthy and well-connected. 

 “Frank LaRose is only using his elected office to climb the political ladder. Through his sheer political partisanship, he’s disenfranchised Ohio voters, making it one of the hardest states to vote in, while also costing Ohioans tens of millions of dollars. As Secretary of State, I promise to put politics aside and do things differently. I’ll fight to empower Ohio voters and put our state back on the right track,” said Ohio Secretary of State candidate Chelsea Clark. 

“Working Ohioans have been getting screwed by bad actors, corrupt leaders and their own elected officials for years, and Dave Yost is doing absolutely nothing about it. It’s bad enough that Yost has stood on the sidelines amid the largest public corruption scandal in state history, but now he’s actively attacking Ohioans,” said Ohio Attorney General candidate Rep. Jeff Crossman. 

“For too long, Keith Faber’s been asleep at the wheel, letting historic corruption unfold under his nose while not lifting a single finger to get Ohioans’ money back. The job of the state auditor is pretty straightforward, catch misspending and then do something about it. That’s the part that Keith Faber always seems to forget,” said Ohio Auditor candidate Taylor Sappington. 

Ohioans can go to www.iwillvote.com to make sure they’re registered to vote, update their registration and find out where they should vote. Ohio Democrats are also offering a voter protection hotline that is staffed 24/7 to answer voter questions or address voter concerns. Ohioans can call the hotline anytime between now and Election Day at 1-844-OH-I-VOTE (1-844-644-8683).  

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“We would feel much better about this decision if the crisis in confidence to which Mr. LaRose is responding was not created without evidence”

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it earlier this week, Frank LaRose announced a taxpayer-funded solution to a problem that doesn’t exist in order to further his own political ambitions, including running for and losing a Senate race in two years. Now, the Toledo Blade Editorial Board is taking LaRose to task for his “election integrity investigators” saying LaRose is simply trying to tackle a problem that even he admits on the record is all but nonexistent in Ohio. LaRose previously cited exactly one person who may have voted illegally in Ohio, confirming this is little more than a political stunt that is rooted in the radical Republican agenda. 

“While it is politically advantageous for Mr. LaRose to configure his office as if the ‘crisis of confidence’ has some basis in fact, it is a terrible abuse of his office to provide even an ounce of credibility to an assertion that has already sparked a riot in Washington,” writes the Toledo Blade Editorial Board. 

Read more from the Blade Editorial Board here and below: 

• Citing a “crisis in confidence” that Americans have shown with the electoral process, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced the creation this week of a public integrity unit in his office.
• The Republican elections chief took pains to make it clear there is no systemic problem with Ohio elections. 
• We would feel much better about this decision if the crisis in confidence to which Mr. LaRose is responding was not created without evidence by former President Donald Trump.
• More than 60 court cases ruled against the Trump campaign claim of voting irregularities.
• Mr. LaRose is absolutely right that consent of the governed depends on confidence in our elections.
• But while it is politically advantageous for Mr. LaRose to configure his office as if the “crisis of confidence” has some basis in fact, it is a terrible abuse of his office to provide even an ounce of credibility to an assertion that has already sparked a riot in Washington.
• We do not oppose a public integrity unit at the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, as long as Mr. LaRose is transparent that the motive behind this is Republican politics and not voting irregularities in Ohio or the United States.

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