Ohio legislative Republicans threaten to circumvent voters’ support for abortion access, showcasing the need to elect Democratic state legislatures across the country
WASHINGTON – Ohio legislative Republicans are working overtime to undermine a constitutional amendment passed by voters last month that would guarantee abortion access and is set to take effect next week. Republican elected officials are working to delay the amendment by refusing to pass legislation implementing it and threatening to use their supermajorities to strip the state courts of power to enforce the new amendment.
This comes as Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose made a damning admission that he worked directly hand-in-hand with abortion opponents to craft the ballot language to trick voters and deliberately tank the measure. Republicans will go to any length to circumvent the will of Ohio voters and ultimately deny abortion access in Ohio.
All of this shows the need to elect Democratic state legislatures across the country. Building infrastructure in the states through ballot measures is always important, but the core of the work for the DLCC is ensuring that statehouses across the country are controlled by Democrats who want to protect fundamental freedoms.
DLCC Communications Director Abhi Rahman issued the following statement:
“Ohio Republicans’ strategy is delay and obfuscation. Last month, Ohio voters made clear they want their fundamental freedoms protected. But Republicans in the Ohio legislature are now threatening to wield their supermajority to block legislation implementing the measure – showing just how far they’ll go to ignore the will of voters. These Republican games make clear that our fight for fundamental freedoms is far from over. The strongest – and only true – path to ensure abortion access and to protect other freedoms we hold near and dear is to elect Democrats to state legislatures across the country.”
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) is the official Democratic Party committee dedicated to winning America’s state legislatures and building state infrastructure. Over the last decade, we have fought cycle-over-cycle to gain a dozen new legislative chamber majorities and we are leading the effort to bring national attention and investment to our ballot level. State legislatures are the building blocks of our democracy and have the closest connections to Americans’ day-to-day lives. From protecting fundamental freedoms and voting rights to growing the middle class, the DLCC and state legislators are moving the Democratic agenda forward and shaping the future of this country.
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