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Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) Chair Elizabeth Walters released the following statement ahead of President Joe Biden’s visit to the Brent Spence Bridge tomorrow after he, Sherrod Brown and Ohio Democrats secured $1.6 billion in federal funding for the bridge project. 

“Thanks to Sherrod Brown, President Biden and Ohio Democrats, the Brent Spence Bridge project will finally get the investments it needs to keep our state and country’s economy moving. And because of Sherrod’s work, the Brent Spence Bridge will be rebuilt with American workers and American-made materials. Once again, Democrats are delivering for working Ohioans.” 

A majority of the funding comes from Brown’s Bridge Investment Act, which was included in Democrats’ Infrastructure Bill that made funding for this project possible. 

Rebuilding the Brent Spence Bridge has long been a priority for Ohio Democrats from Sherrod Brown to Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval who understand how important the bridge is to southwest Ohio and the nation’s economy.

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Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) Chair Elizabeth Walters announced that Mikayla Lee will serve as ODP’s next Executive Director and Kyle Tromley will serve as ODP’s Deputy Executive Director. Lee and Tromley helped lead ODP’s Workers First Coordinated Campaign last cycle, the largest coordinated campaign in the country. 

“Mikayla and Kyle bring a wealth of experience to the Ohio Democratic Party, and we’re excited to hit the ground running. Heading into 2024, the stakes couldn’t be higher and we’re confident that we have the right team in place to re-elect Sherrod Brown, keep the White House and win races up and down the ballot in Ohio,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters. 

“Chair Walters and her team have made important strides to move our state forward since taking over in 2021. With the addition of Mikayla and Kyle at the helm, I’m confident we’ll continue to build on that progress. I look forward to working with Chair Walters and her team as we continue to show voters we’re on their side by fighting for the Dignity of Work,” said U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown. 

Walters, the first woman elected to lead the Ohio Democratic Party, was recently unanimously re-elected to a four-year term. Lee will be the first Black woman to serve as Executive Director of the Party. 

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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