Indivisibles,

The rushed special election taking place next month in Ohio (early voting
has already begun) has been called a “sucker punch” to majority rule and a
“brazen, cynical, power grab” by Republicans.” ^[ [link removed] ][ [link removed] ] We’ll say this:
It’s one of the most important elections of 2023, and Republicans are
counting on voters not hearing a single word about it. 

Too bad -- because we’re about to spill the beans about MAGA plans to
subvert Ohio’s democracy -- first to you, then to as many Ohio voters as
possible. And with your help, we’re going to win this thing. 

In short, here’s the deal: 

> Pro-choice groups in Ohio have gathered enough signatures to put a
referendum on the ballot this November that would enshrine abortion rights
in the state constitution. Early polling suggests 59% of Ohioans support
the ballot measure.^[ [link removed] ] Great right? Well, the state’s MAGA legislature
doesn't think so.

> Republicans in Ohio are literally trying to change the rules of
democracy in the state to stop voters from codifying reproductive rights.
59% of voters support a constitutional right to abortion -- so the Ohio
GOP scheduled a special election to make the threshold for amending the
constitution 60%. And as a bonus for Republicans, raising the threshold
will also make it harder for voters to pass other democratic reforms that
could make a big difference in national elections. 

> Earlier this year, Ohio Republicans passed a bill effectively banning
August elections because turnout has historically been staggeringly low.
So when did they schedule this momentous special election to undercut
direct democracy in the state? August, of course. 

We were hoping that lawsuits might stop this charade from happening, but
Ohio’s conservative Supreme Court recently ruled that it can go forward.
So now, we’ve gotta fight like hell to turn out as many votes as possible
to defend democracy, codify abortion rights, and perhaps even get a fair
map to undo some of the worst gerrymandering in the country. (We told you
this election is important!)

[1]Every dollar we raise from this email will go toward mobilizing to win
this critical August election -- a crucial step toward codifying abortion
rights in November and building power for 2024.  If you’re able to help
land a critical victory for reproductive freedom and democracy nationwide,
please chip in here >> 

Because Indivisible focuses primarily on federal races, we aren’t
currently budgeted to activate our volunteer network to block this MAGA
power grab. So this is a situation where you and other Indivisible
supporters will determine what programs we can greenlight and how big a
role Indivisible will play (more on that below). Please give if you can. 

If you've saved your information with ActBlue Express Lane, your donation
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A little more about the election

Ohio voters will go to the polls on August 8 for a special election with
only one question on the ballot: Issue 1. A yes vote changes the threshold
for changing the state constitution by referendum from a simple majority
(as it has been for over 100 years) to 60%. It will also make it far more
difficult to get referenda on the ballot in the first place. Put bluntly,
it’s an attempt by MAGA Republicans to consolidate power at the expense of
the people. Very much the MAGA playbook. 

As mentioned, August elections have historically low turnout -- last
year’s (for legislative primaries) was a measly 8%, the lowest levels in a
half-century. Such low turnout led the state GOP to conclude that August
elections were a waste of time and money, and ultimately ban them earlier
this year. Then the abortion referendum came along, and the MAGA
legislature decided low turnout might not be a bad thing. They’re hoping
they can turn out far-right, anti-choice voters while others stay home.
But Indivisibles aren’t about to let that happen.

A little more about the stakes

Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State has admitted this ballot initiative
is “100%” about thwarting the November referendum protecting the right of
every individual to make their own reproductive decisions when it comes to
contraception, fertility treatment, miscarriage care, and abortion. That
amendment already has the signatures needed to get on the ballot -- but a
60% threshold will make its passage an uphill battle. Thus repro rights
groups are making it clear that winning in August is vital for winning in
November. 

Ohio has a draconian six-week abortion ban on the books right now, though
it’s currently blocked pending further litigation. In the wake of the
Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe, that law led to the horrific
incident of a ten-year-old rape victim being forced to travel to Indiana
to access abortion care. 

This power grab may be targeted at abortion rights, but the fallout will
impact our democracy even more broadly -- and not just in Ohio. 

Ohio is one of the most gerrymandered states in the nation. Despite
efforts by voters to demand fair maps again and again, the ultimate
responsibility has been left in Republican hands. And Republicans have
ignored the protests of voters and demands of the Supreme Court to draw
non-partisan boundaries. In fact, the 2022 midterms were held under maps
that had been ruled illegal. 

How gerrymandered are these maps? With just 54% of the vote, Republicans
could potentially win almost 3/4 of the state’s legislative seats, and 4/5
of the state’s congressional seats.  

On the other hand, fair, non-partisan maps could cut Dems’ deficit in the
House of Representatives nearly in half. And voting rights groups are
planning to get a fair maps referendum on the ballot next year. 

If we lose this August election and Issue 1 passes, it’ll become much
harder to even get a fair maps question on the ballot. But if we win, we
could be looking at a new political landscape in Ohio in just a few years'
time. 

How your support can make a difference

A few months ago, we reached out to ask for your help winning a vital
judicial race in Wisconsin. Our ask then was a little more straightforward
-- help us elect one judge, and we can flip the Wisconsin Supreme Court. 

But nobody donated simply to flip a Court. You all stepped up because
flipping the Court meant protecting abortion rights and securing fair maps
in a state where MAGA legislators had rigged the boundaries to virtually
eliminate competitive elections. 

We’re asking you to step up to help us do the same thing in Ohio. 

How? Largely the same way we did it in Wisconsin. We’re going to
painstakingly identify voters who care about democracy in their state, and
we’re going to get them to the polls. That will entail:  

📲 Activating our peer-to-peer texting program to allow Indivisibles
nationwide to contact Buckeye voters using proven and tested messaging
aimed at turning out the vote. We were the largest national texting effort
in Wisconsin, and we can repeat our success, with your help. 

📫 Funding a massive postcard operation so that Indivisible groups can
directly reach targeted voters in both the August and November elections. 

💸 Providing grants directly to activists in Ohio to fund advertising,
canvassing, and other GOTV operations. An added benefit of this work is
we’ll be able to build on-the-ground power ahead of vital House and Senate
elections in 2024. 

Our texting program is scalable, meaning the more we raise today, the more
texts we can send. $3,500 gets us about 100,000 texts. If there’s an
outpouring of support and we raise more, we can expand that universe
further. The turnout in last August’s election was only 638,000 so think
about what a difference we can make sending hundreds of thousands of
texts! 

[ [link removed] ]If you have the capacity to do so, please chip in now to help us get
these programs off the ground as soon as possible and deliver a critical
win for democracy in Ohio >> 

If you've saved your information with ActBlue Express Lane, your donation
to Indivisible Project will go through immediately:



[ [link removed] ]Donate $7 >>

[ [link removed] ]Donate $25 >>

[ [link removed] ]Donate $50 >>

[ [link removed] ]Donate $75 >>

[ [link removed] ]Contribute Monthly >>



Whether or not you’re able to give today, we’ll have more ways you can get
involved, from textbanking to postcarding with your Indivisible group, and
more.  

We’ve got 28 days until Election Day and early voting is already open.
Let’s get to work and win this thing! 

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team

 

[1] [ [link removed] ]Ohio State Issue 1 is a sucker punch to the face of majority voter
rule and democracy. Marilou Johanek, Ohio Capital Journal  

[2] [ [link removed] ]Ohio banned August elections. Then the GOP planned one that could
help preserve an abortion ban. Adam Edelman, NBC News.

[3] [ [link removed] ]Majority of Ohioans would support enshrining abortion rights in
the Ohio Constitution, new poll says. Laura Hancock, Cleveland.com. 



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