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.” ^[1][2] 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.^[3] 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!)

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 to Indivisible Project will go through immediately:

Contribute Monthly >>

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!

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:

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

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

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

Indivisible Project is a locally-led, people-powered movement of thousands of local groups in red, blue, and purple states, and in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Our mission is to power and lift up a grassroots movement of local groups to defeat the Trump agenda, elect progressive leaders, and realize bold progressive policies.

Click here to view this email in your browser or here to forward this email to a friend. This email was sent to [email protected] at zip code xxxxxx. Update your contact information here. You may unsubscribe at any time.

Indivisible Project is a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. Donations are not tax-deductible. To give by mail, send a check to Indivisible Project, PO Box 43884, Washington, DC 20010.