Ohio Democrats Lay Out the Stakes of August Election, Urge Ohioans to Vote No
July 19, 2023
Columbus, OH – Over the last week, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters has conducted a number of interviews across Ohio, urging voters to vote NO on Issue One while laying out the stakes for voters should this political-power grab pass. While Republicans have said the quiet part out loud – with Frank LaRose telling a group of GOP donors that the issue is ‘100 percent’ about abortion – Chair Walters is making sure voters know if Issue One passes, out-of-touch, corrupt politicians at the statehouse will come for bargaining rights, civil rights and voting rights next.
See more of what Ohioans are reading about the stakes of Issue One below:
Jo Ingles
July 17, 2023
- Though there are no candidates on the ballot, the state’s two major political parties are heavily engaged for this special election. The Ohio Democratic Party is working with unions and advocacy groups throughout the state to get Ohioans to reject the proposed change.
- Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters said the party is seeing unprecedented levels of engagement from voters opposing Issue 1.
- “I think Ohio voters know exactly what’s at stake. I think they’re paying attention. I think that they are outraged that Republicans in the Ohio Statehouse are trying to take away our voice and our freedoms,” Walters said.
- Walters said opponents of Issue 1 are in every county in Ohio, trying to inform voters and urge them to vote early because August is not a time when voters are used to voting. Last August, about 8% of registered voters turned out for an August primary for state lawmakers, after the Ohio Redistricting Commission failed to produce constitutional legislative maps on time for a May primary.
- This year, majority Republican lawmakers voted to put the statewide constitutional change on the August ballot ahead of a planned November constitutional amendment on reproductive rights and abortion access. Walters said voters who support that are getting the message that they have to vote no in August before they can vote yes in November.
- “Republicans have said the quiet part out loud, which is that this special election is 100% about trying to stop abortion rights from having a fair vote in the fall of this year. And we think that Ohio voters are not going to stand for it. So we’re out having those conversations with voters again in all of Ohio’s 88 counties right now,” Walters said.
NBC 4’s The Spectrum: Both parties push Aug. 8 election; LaRose on absentee confusion
Colleen Marshall
July 16, 2023
- “This is about protecting their freedoms, protecting their ability to hold corrupt politicians accountable, and making sure they get to keep their voice in state government,” Ohio Democratic Party Chairperson Elizabeth Walters said.
Toledo Blade: Lucas County sees strong turnout in first week of early voting
Mike Brice
July 14, 2023
- Liz Walters, chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, said party representatives knocked on more than 18,000 doors across 50 counties last weekend.
- “We are seeing activity at a scale we have not seen in an odd year in a very, very long time,” she said.
- While more ads are starting to air, she believes people know about the election and what’s at stake.
- “We saw that this week on the first day of early voting in counties across Ohio, there were lines out the door and around the corner of people lining up to vote no on Issue 1,” Ms. Walters said. “I think you are going to see this as a huge mobilizer both for the August special and the November and frankly for the years to come as Republicans continue to try to take rights away from voters and take rights away from women across the county.”
WTVG-TV: Ohio Democrats and Republicans say their bases are energized over August special election
Josh Croup
July 16, 2023
- Democrats say the timing has energized their base to defeat Issue 1.
- “Listen this election is 100% about abortion,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters. “Rather than having a fair election about abortion rights in Ohio, Republicans are once again trying to rig the game.”
- Ohioans gained the ability to lead citizens ballot initiatives to create laws in the constitution in 1913. Since then, 71 amendments have made it to the ballot. 19 have passed.
- “It is a long-held tradition in this state, citizen-led ballot initiatives,” Walters said. “(Ohioans) won’t want to see changes made to that.”
- Outside money played a role in setting up this election when a GOP megadonor from Illinois funding a pressure campaign to urge skeptical statehouse Republicans to back the idea.
- But Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters says Democrats are unified around defeating Issue 1 and turning out to vote in August.
- “What this is really doing is uniting Ohioans who want a better future for our state, to get involved and to make their voices heard,” Walters said. “You’re just going to see that continue to grow throughout the year.”
WFMJ-TV: Ohio Democratic Party Chair on Issue One
July 18, 2023
- “The citizen-led ballot initiative empowers us to keep our elected officials in check when they do things we don’t agree with. So if you believe power belongs to the people, not politicians, vote no on Issue One.
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