Happy Election Day, John! Whether you voted early, or are voting today, thank you for taking the time to do your part to sustain our democracy.
At Courier, our talented team of journalists knows the most effective way to protect our democracy and mobilize voters is by delivering factual, impactful local journalism to those living in “news deserts” across the country.
As Ohio voters get ready to go to the polls, one of the major questions being presented to them is a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would codify access to abortion and reproductive care in the state — one that could decide the future of abortion rights in the Buckeye state in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision.
Before we go on, will you make a $5 contribution to power Courier's work and help us continue educating voters this year and beyond?
Here's the problem: Voters are being fed a steady diet of misinformation and outright lies. And it’s coming from Ohio Republicans who are using taxpayer dollars to push a disinformation crusade that’s determined to see this referendum fail.
Why are they doing this? Republicans know how unpopular abortion restrictions are, their strategy has been to lie and deceive voters by making the ballot language deliberately confusing and vague. The endgame is to muddy the waters just enough to criminalize abortion. It’s become a routine GOP tactic to undermine reproductive rights.
While Courier doesn’t have an Ohio newsroom, we know that our reporting on abortion-related news has made a difference before.
Here's what we mean:
In the run-up to last year’s midterm elections in Michigan, we surveyed a few thousand Michiganders about abortion. We then exposed some of these same folks to three weeks of coverage around a piece from The Gander — our Michigan newsroom on the state’s former 1931 controversial abortion ban. After seeing our reporting, we re-sent our survey to see if people’s views had changed.
The results were striking:
In the end, the folks who saw The Gander piece were more likely to oppose criminalizing abortion by five points. In turn, Michiganders voted overwhelmingly to protect reproductive rights. And in April, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation that repealed the 1931 abortion ban.
John, that's the power of our journalism. Our newsrooms like The Gander are moving the needle on the issues that matter most to communities across the country. And we'd like to expand our reach to other parts of the country but we can't do that without your support.
So, if you can, will you pitch in $5 or anything you can right now to support Democracy's Newsroom?
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In solidarity,
— Courier HQ