Indivisibles,

We DID it, team. Ohio voters just passed Issue 1, enshrining reproductive rights in their constitution. The state’s draconian abortion ban is toast. Personal medical decisions will be left to individuals and their families -- not the state’s gerrymandered Republican legislature. 

This election proves, once again, two lessons: 

1. When abortion is on the ballot, we win. 
2. Republicans understand that. So they’ll do everything they can -- down to sabotaging the ballots themselves -- to stop us.

Reproductive rights are popular in Ohio -- as they are just about everywhere. This initiative should have passed easily, without much effort from any of us activists. Only thing is, (see lesson 2 above), Republicans tried to overturn majoritarian democracy itself to prevent voters from protecting their rights. They know their views on this aren’t popular -- so they attempted to rig this thing every which way they could.

First, MAGA Republicans scheduled a special election in the dead of summer to change the threshold for passing constitutional ballot initiatives. Polling showed 59% of Ohioans backed Issue 1, so they wanted to require a 60% majority. Indivisibles and allies rallied, and we stopped them. 

Then, they rewrote the language on the ballot to confuse voters, put millions into ads spreading misinformation about the initiative, and kicked a whole bunch of voters off the rolls. 

So ultimately, this victory was not guaranteed. It took a huge amount of work from Indivisible groups, activists, and partners. And today, we want to thank everyone who donated, volunteered, and voted(!) to make this victory happen. Together, our movement: 

✅ Sent 325,000 text messages to Ohio voters

📳 Ran a phone bank partnership with OPAL, the Ohio Progressive Action Leaders, where we made a total of 82,465 dials -- and 57% of people we reached pledged to vote YES

📜 Designed and printed 25,000 beautiful half-page flyers for groups to distribute to the public

🚪 Launched and expanded our Neighbor2Neighbor program where we knocked on countless doors to get the word out about Issue 1

📬 Sent out 75,000 postcards to voters 

All that work paid off. Votes are still being tallied, but it looks like turnout was very high -- rivaling the 2022 midterm election. 

The numbers we saw in this election reflect the power of collective action, the dedication of volunteers, and the determination of the community to make their voices heard. The enthusiasm also proves how important reproductive justice is to voting Americans.

Which brings us back to our first lesson: When abortion is on the ballot, we win. Or less succinctly -- but more accurately -- when reproductive rights, like abortion are on the ballot and activists organize around the clock to overcome anti-democratic Republican maneuvering, we win. 

Now, it’s up to our movement to take those lessons into next year, where we have reproductive measures on the ballot in many states, and where the national election -- Democratic v. Republican control -- could determine the fate of reproductive freedoms nationwide. The fight for reproductive rights is far from over, and it’s crucial that we continue to harness the energy, dedication, and unity that brought us success in this campaign. To confront these critical challenges, we need your support.

Let’s keep this momentum going. Donate today to fuel our work to codify reproductive rights for every single person who lives in our country. 

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Thanks again for all your hard work and support. As we look ahead, let’s remember the power of grassroots organizing, community engagement, and the impact of every individual who took a stand for reproductive freedoms. Big moments like this are key in pushing our movement forward, and we couldn’t have done it without you.

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team