Dear John,
Next Tuesday, voters in several states will head to the polls to vote in a number of off-year elections. While they may be lower-profile, some of these races are still deeply consequential. In Virginia, state house and senate elections will determine whether Republicans take control of the state’s legislature, allowing them further leeway to push Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s agenda—which includes an abortion ban and reversing the state’s 2020 vote to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.
And in Ohio, voters will decide whether or not to add an amendment to the state’s constitution that enshrines the right for individuals to make their own reproductive health decisions—including about abortion. Reproductive rights advocates are urging Ohio voters to vote YES on Issue 1 to protect reproductive freedom.
But in typical fashion, Republicans are using every dirty trick in the book to sabotage the measure—despite the fact that recent polls show a majority of Ohioans support Issue 1. In August, a Republican-controlled elections board approved ballot language that differs significantly from the language of the actual amendment, including substituting the phrase “unborn child” for “fetus.” Polls show majority support for the amendment—though the number in favor drops to 52 percent from an initial 68 percent, when voters were shown the newly Republican-altered version of the ballot text. The amendment only needs a simple majority to pass.
The good news is, Democratic-leaning urban and suburban counties have already seen significant turnout in terms of early voting. But abortion advocates are taking nothing for granted.
Finally, we learned last weekend that Iranian human rights attorney and friend of Ms. Nasrin Sotoudeh was arrested and beaten Sunday, while attending a funeral service for 17-year-old Armita Geravand, who died after being assaulted by morality police for not wearing a hijab or headscarf. Per a local news agency, Sotoudeh was detained for “not wearing a headscarf” and “disturbing the society’s mental security.” She is now being held in Qarchak women’s prison.
“Nasrin is in a dangerous situation due to heart problems and the conditions of Qarchak prison and hunger strike,” said Reza Khandan, Sotoudeh’s husband. “We are worried about her health. Nasrin’s arrest and beating during detention caused her glasses to break. This shows how hard they hit her. But we don’t know how much damage was done to her.”
The news comes just over a month after the Iranian government passed a new, restrictive hijab law which subjects women who do not cover their hair properly in public to fines and up to 10 years in prison.
Stay tuned to MsMagazine.com next week—we’ll be reporting the results of the crucial Ohio and Virginia elections, as well as other important elections around the country, as they come in.
Onward,
