A Battle for Democracy and Fundamental Rights in Ohio Continues

Last week, the Republican-controlled Ohio Ballot Board approved new summary language for an abortion rights amendment that will be decided by voters this fall. 

The summary language, which is now longer than the full amendment, was rewritten by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) in a complete overhaul of the previously certified “fair and accurate” wording. The board approved the language in a 3-2 along party-line vote.

After failing to thwart direct democracy via Issue 1 earlier this month, Ohio Republicans are now changing the language to get their way. Lauren Blauvelt, co-chair of Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, which pushed the original measure, described the new language as “propaganda.” Elliot Forhan, a Democrat on the board, called out the summary for being “rife with misleading and defective language.”

This Monday, in response, Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit, challenging the new misleading language. The reproductive rights group pushing the original measure claims that the ballot language’s word choice “serves to sway voters against the Amendment” and violates both Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution.

The group alleges that the language adopted by the ballot board:

1. Incorrectly states that the amendment would restrict private rather than state action;

2. Mischaracterizes the right the Amendment would give Ohioans and 

3. Falsely claims the amendment would prevent a pregnant person from making their own reproductive decisions. 

Time is of the essence in this lawsuit. While the summary language does not change the full amendment text itself, it is what voters will see in the booth when voting on the proposal. Early voting begins in Ohio on Oct. 11. 

Juggling the Updates in the Election Subversion Indictments

Trying to keep track of all of the defendants, co-conspirators, trial dates, motions to sever and requests for speedy trial is a full-time job. We’ve got you covered with what you need to know.  

Trial has officially been set for March 4, 2024, in Trump's Jan 6. case in Washington, D.C. — one day before Super Tuesday. Now, three out of four indictment trials have officially been set. 

At the start of the week, a hearing was held in Fulton County, Georgia to determine whether or not former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows’ case will be moved to federal court. We are waiting for the judge’s decision.

• Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro each filed motions to separate their trials from all other defendants in the Fulton County election subversion case. Trump in turn asked to separate his case from Powell and Chesebro.

On Friday, Aug. 25, a judge rejected John Eastman's bid to delay his disbarment proceedings in California. Eastman’s legal team pointed to his criminal charges in Georgia and potentially being indicted as a co-conspirator in Trump's Washington, D.C. case as reasons for delay.

And, though not directly related to the indictments, it is important to celebrate the beginning of justice served. A federal judge ruled that Rudy Giuliani is liable for defaming two Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, after the 2020 election by falsely accusing them of tampering with ballots.

• In Arizona, some of those inspired by the anti-democratic, bad behavior of Trump and his cronies are also seeing consequences. The Arizona Supreme Court sanctioned the petitioners — including election denier Abe Hamadeh and the Republican National Committee —  for their conduct in an election contest challenging the results of the 2022 election for Arizona attorney general.

60 Years Later: The Fight for an Inclusive, Multiracial Democracy Pushes Forward

On Monday, which marked the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Ga.) announced a historic package of legislation that would greatly expand voting rights and improve election administration. Williams represents Georgia’s 5th Congressional District, which was previously held by civil rights leader U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D). 

When introducing the legislation, Williams called to mind that legacy, “We face the same struggle for voting rights as the freedom fighters who convened on the national mall in 1963 fighting for jobs and freedom. All of our rights and basic freedoms come from free and fair access to the ballot.”

The package of eight bills includes the Youth Voting Rights Act, which enforces the 26th Amendment and ensures young eligible voters have adequate access to the ballot box and the Unhoused Voter Opportunity Through Elections Act, which provides minimum standards, protections and resources to expand voting access for unhoused individuals.

Redistricting Pushes Ever Onward!

This week in Michigan, a judge sent a redistricting lawsuit alleging that Michigan's State House and Senate districts discriminate against Black voters to trial. The plaintiffs argue that the maps violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the 14th Amendment. A trial date has yet to be set.

Meanwhile, a federal judge rejected Louisiana Republicans' request to cancel a hearing on Oct. 5 on new congressional districts. Louisiana was previously ordered to redraw its congressional map to contain two majority-Black districts. Litigation will continue.

In Ohio, Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) reminded his fellow members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission that legislative maps for 2024 need to be approved by Sept. 22. The commission has yet to meet once this year, despite the fact that the maps used last year were ruled to be unconstitutional, racial gerrymanders.

In September, we are waiting for decisions in three redistricting lawsuits across the country: 

• A lawsuit that will determine whether Alabama’s new congressional map that lacks a second majority-Black district — drawn by Republican legislators after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Allen v. Milligan — complies with the Voting Rights Act (VRA). 

• A lawsuit that will determine whether or not New York’s Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) will have to immediately reconvene and redraw the state’s congressional map or if the decision ordering the IRC to reconvene is paused. 

A lawsuit challenging Arkansas’ legislative maps that will dictate whether private plaintiffs — and not just the U.S. Department of Justice — have the right to bring lawsuits under Section 2 of the VRA.

Top Election Official Targeted and Scapegoated by Wisconsin Republicans

This week, the Wisconsin Senate Elections Committee held a hearing on whether or not to reappoint the state’s top election official, Meagan Wolfe, a nonpartisan appointee who has led the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) since 2019.

The hearing marked the beginning of an allegedly unlawful reappointment process that may ultimately lead to Wolfe’s removal from the position to the detriment of voters. As WEC’s chief administrator, she was responsible for enforcing guidance from the commission during the 2020 election amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Since 2020, Wolfe and Republican legislators have sparred over the conservative lawmakers’ dedication to unfounded and debunked election conspiracies related to the results of the 2020 presidential election. 

• The Senate has gone ahead with Wolfe’s reappointment process — with the intent of ultimately removing Wolfe — despite the fact that there is no reappointment at hand after a stalemate at WEC in June. And, perhaps more critically, despite what Wisconsin law dictates.

The hearing turned into a pulpit for Wisconsin’s election deniers, including the infamous former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, conservative activist Harry Wait and former state Rep. Tim Ramthun (R). There were assertions that God called the testifiers to act in defense of Trump and demands for Wolfe’s arrest and the dissolution of WEC, echoing state Republicans like failed Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels.     

This rhetoric is not unique to Wisconsin. As Democracy Docket contributor Jessica Pishko wrote this week, MAGA Republicans across the country have “called the battle against non-existent voter fraud a ‘a holy cause.’”

More News

• North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls (D) sued a state judicial oversight board. Earls says the board is investigating her for making First Amendment-protected comments on the lack of diversity in North Carolina state courts.

• Five Republican state senators filed a petition for judicial review in the Oregon Court of Appeals challenging an administrative rule, passed by 68% of voters, that bars legislators, the plaintiffs included, with more than ten unexcused absences from running for reelection.

• Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R) and Secretary of State Michael Watson (R) appealed a decision by a federal judge that temporarily blocks a Mississippi law that limited who can help voters with disabilities return mail-in ballots. Voting rights groups argue that the statute violates Section 208 of the VRA.

• In Iowa, Secretary of State Paul Pate (R) and other officials appealed a pro-voting decision — which allowed counties to provide election materials in languages other than English — to the Iowa Supreme Court. 

OPINION: Let’s Start Bringing 80 Million Americans Back Into the Political Process

By Charlotte Hill, the interim director of the Democracy Policy Initiative at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. As a contributor to Democracy Docket, Hill writes about how structural reforms impact American democracy. Read more ➡️

We are reading the newly released, long-awaited and required financial disclosures of U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. Thomas’ report includes  information, like a 2014 real estate deal between Thomas and Harlan Crow, that had been previously “inadvertently omitted.”

While some Supreme Court justices fly in private jets, Americans have returned to embracing unions. Labor rights and democracy have long gone hand-in-hand, fighting for a voice and respect in the workplace and the polling place. A recent poll found that an impressive two-thirds of Americans support labor unions and that union support is even higher among young people at 88%. 

But it’s not just Gen-Z that’s pro-union. President Joe Biden has proven to be a supporter of the labor movement. In 2021, Biden exclaimed, “In a simple word, a union means there is democracy. Organizing, joining a union — that’s democracy in action.”

It’s summer break for our podcast, Defending Democracy! So, there won’t be a new episode until after Labor Day. But, it’s the perfect time to catch up on everything that has been covered so far this year. Listen on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.