LaRose Puts His Political Ambitions Ahead Of Ohioans As He Pushes For Total Abortion Ban
Columbus, OH – There is more proof Frank LaRose’s “twist[ed]” State Issue 1 ballot language is misleading and silencing Ohioans as they vote to overturn the state’s dangerous abortion ban. Ohioans have been calling out LaRose for weeks for his misleading language and now a new poll from Ohio Northern University finds that LaRose’s language has a measurable impact on support for State Issue 1 when compared to the original ballot language – which over 700,000 Ohioans supported – and could be “critical” to the outcome despite a majority of Ohioans supporting abortion rights.
Before rewriting the ballot language, LaRose put himself at the center of August’s State Issue 1, which flopped and would have silenced Ohioans while benefiting special interests. LaRose has also said that even if State Issue 1 passes, he would overrule the majority of Ohioans who oppose banning abortion by voting for a national abortion ban in the Senate.
“Frank LaRose has proved he will do whatever it takes to ban abortion in Ohio, no matter how much it hurts Ohioans,” said ODP Spokesperson Reeves Oyster.
Read what Ohioans are saying about Frank LaRose’s efforts to mislead Ohioans and pass a total abortion ban in Ohio:
- Cleveland.com Editorial Board: “The issue’s supporters say the Ballot Board summary is intentionally misleading and fails to meet the standards required by Ohio law. At the least, it’s an attempt by LaRose to have his thumb on the scale of fairness – again.”
- Howard Wilkinson, WVXU: “Now, the Republican majority of his five-member Ohio Ballot Board — chaired by LaRose and tasked with the job of approving ballot language — stands accused of trying to stack the deck against the abortion rights amendment by inserting what abortion rights groups call misleading, inaccurate and inflammatory language into what should be a simple statement of fact.”
- Huffington Post: “But the five-member Ohio Ballot Board, led by anti-choice advocate and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, on Thursday approved anti-choice language to be used in the initiative, which may confuse voters.”
- Marilou Johanek, Ohio Capital Journal: “Instead, LaRose recast the amendment to purposely mislead and deceive. His draft is slanted with such routinely deployed anti-abortion propaganda it could have been dictated, word for word, by Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis. LaRose’s specious interpretation of the proposed amendment to enshrine reproductive freedom in the state constitution is deliberately deceptive with provocative wording to unfairly prejudice outcome.”
- Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner: “[Republicans on the Ohio Ballot Board] obfuscated the actual language of the proposed state constitutional amendment by substituting their own language and creating out of whole cloth a veil of deceit and bias in their desire to impose their views on Ohio voters about what they think is the substance of the proposed amendment.”
- Mia Lewis, Common Cause Ohio: “You have over 700,000 people who signed petitions and three people on the ballot board get to decide what appears on the ballot. There’s something really wrong with that picture… Clearly, Frank LaRose and his allies are trying to put their thumbs on the scales.”
- Veronica Strevel, Ohioan: “But then − in a slap in the face to all Ohioans, let alone the hundreds of thousands of Ohioans who signed on to that language − LaRose abused his elected office by recently rewriting the language voters will see when they enter the voting booth this November.”
- Janet Ladrach, Ohioan: “Issue 1 is about more than abortion. It’s about government overreach into women’s health, with regard to contraception, miscarriage care, fertility treatment and the right to maintain a pregnancy. You won’t find contraception, miscarriage care or fertility treatment listed on the ballot language when you vote in the November election because Secretary of State Frank LaRose has the authority to rewrite proposed amendments for clarity. In this case, the “clarity” has clouded the issue.”
- Joy Bennett, Ohioan: “LaRose’s attempt to deceive us by changing the abortion amendment’s ballot language is disgraceful. He’s abusing his position as secretary of state to overrule us. What will stop him from doing the same as senator?”
- Bethany Double, Ohioan: “LaRose is using his role as Ohio Secretary of State to push his own agenda, and he will do the same if he is elected to the U.S. Senate. We cannot forget he has openly voiced his support for a national abortion ban. He does not care what Ohioans want and would override us if he goes to the Senate.”
- Angie Charles, Ohioan: “They’re going to reach even deeper into that soiled bag to defeat Issue 1, the reproductive rights amendment, in November. In fact, they’ve already started. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who chairs the Ohio Ballot Board, created deceitful language for the amendment on the ballot.”
- Eric Haidet, Ohioan: “I feel like I can’t read the news anymore without seeing another new Secretary of State Frank LaRose scandal. How many times are we going to let this elected official manipulate us for his own personal gain?”
See also: What Ohioans are Saying: LaRose “Abusing His Position as Secretary of State to Overrule Us”; Frank LaRose “Dove Deep Into [His] Bag of Tricks” to Mislead and Overrule Ohioans… Again; Frank LaRose “Intentionally Misleading” Ohioans, Trying to Overrule Voters; “A Slap in the Face:” Frank LaRose Not Working for Ohioans; What Ohioans Are Saying: “Shame On LaRose for Silencing Ohioans”; One Year After National Abortion Ban Introduced, Here’s A Reminder That #OHSEN Field Supports Abortion Bans; Frank LaRose Called Out for Putting “Thumb on the Scale of Fairness – Again” After Rewriting November Ballot Language; Shot, Chaser, Lime: Frank LaRose Tries to Silence, Overrule Ohioans *Again*; Frank LaRose Slammed for “Trying to Stack the Deck” Against Ohioans; Frank LaRose “Twists” Ballot Language to “Confuse,” “Deceive” Ohioans
Have you voted yet?
We’ve never been happier to see Ohioans flocking to the polls to cast their vote to protect reproductive rights.
We wanted to thank you, the voters, for being the driving force in this fight that will inevitably shape the future of our state.
As you know, this election will decide whether we can protect reproductive rights in our state constitution. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe. v. Wade, anti-abortion extremists like Frank LaRose are throwing everything at the wall to tear down Issue 1 next month and it’s clear they’re not going down without a fight. But neither are we.
Bodily autonomy shouldn’t be determined by corrupt right-wing politicians, it should be determined by women, their doctors, and their families only.