‘No’ on Issue 1
abortion access should be enshrined in Ohio’s constitution this November.
“Some people say this is all about abortion,” Larose said during a Lincoln Day dinner in northwest Ohio. “Well, you know what, I’m pro-life. I think many of you are as well. This is 100% about keeping a radical pro-abortion amendment out of our constitution. The left wants to jam it in there this coming November.”
More than 700,000 signatures were filed Wednesday to put an abortion amendment on the November ballot.
State Rep. Brian Stewart — one of the issue’s chief architects with Larose — and others have made it abundantly clear that another goal is blocking efforts to create fairer statehouse and congressional voting districts.
Silencing Ohioans
Despite what Larose says, Issue 1 is not 100% about abortion or redistricting for that matter.
It would most likely mean certain defeat for a list of potential citizen-led constitutional amendments not limited to gun control, workers’ rights, increased minimum wage and term limits.
Citizen-led constitutional amendments may be the only way for those issues to come before voters here. Ohio’s gerrymandered General Assembly has proven it can’t be trusted to execute the will of the people no matter how hard the people petition lawmakers.
One of the most egregious examples of ignoring voters’ will came when the Republican-dominated Ohio Redistricting Commission chose dominance over delivering the fair voting districts 71% of Ohioans said they wanted during a 2015 anti-gerrymandering initiative.
Without citizen-led constitutional amendments there will be few things voters can do to enact change when lawmakers refuse to listen.
In fact, voter-initiated constitutional amendments were added at the 1912 Ohio Constitutional Convention because lawmakers did not listen to the demands of the people.
This election is special in ways that go beyond the date ballots will be counted.
It speaks to Ohio’s heart and whether or not undemocratic forces will be successful in corrupting it with very big lies.
Ohioans deserve “a government of the people, by the people, for the people.” ● Voters should have a real shot at deciding whether or not abortion and other issues are enshrined in the state’s constitution.
● Voters should not be asked to surrender their ballot right because elected officials are afraid of not getting their own way.
● Voters surely should not be asked such an important question during the dog days of summer.
We should not be here as a state, but the August 8 special election will happen, nevertheless.
Lawmakers do not think you are paying attention, that your vote should count or that you will exercise your long-fought right to vote.
Prove them wrong by voting “no” on Issue 1.
This piece was written by the Dispatch Opinion Editor Amelia Robinson on behalf of The Dispatch Editorial Board. Editorials are our board’s factbased assessment of issues of importance to the communities we serve. These are not the opinions of our reporting staff members, who strive for neutrality in their reporting.