(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Competing Ohio abortion-rights campaigns to merge, focus on November 2023 Ohio ballot [1] ['Andrew J. Tobias', 'Atobias Cleveland.Com'] Date: 2023-02-16 16:33:43.581000+00:00 COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two previously competing campaign groups are teaming up, and now are focused on working together to get an abortion-rights measure on the statewide Ohio ballot in November 2023. Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights announced Thursday they are putting the final touches on a ballot issue that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. They have described it as similar to the abortions-rights measure that voters approved in Michigan last November, but aren’t sharing details. The two groups previously were divided over whether to aim for the ballot in 2023 or 2024, disagreeing over a combination of logistical, strategic and political factors. But now that they’re merging, they plan to submit initial ballot summary language to state Attorney General Dave Yost for approval as soon as next week, the first step in the complex process of qualifying a statewide issue for the ballot. “The language has been worked out with both groups for weeks and weeks at this point,” said Celina Coming, a spokesperson for Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom. “We’re just dotting our I’s and crossing our T’s and waiting for a final round of poling to be completed and reviewed. But we’re all set to go very, very soon.” “I just think it’s a big step and everyone is thrilled about coming together,” said Susan Shaw, a spokesperson for Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights. “And it just shows how powerful we are and that this is a nonpartisan effort. And it started as a grassroots movement with the physicians.” There are numerous subsequent legal steps before they can qualify for the ballot, including collecting hundreds of thousands of valid signatures from voters around the state before a July 5 state deadline. Even if the new campaign is able to raise the millions of dollars it would take to hire petition-gathering firms, it will be under a time crunch, due to the bureaucratic hurdles Ohio ballot issues first have to clear before they can even begin circulating petitions. And then if the abortion-rights issue makes the ballot, it likely would face a spirited opposition from anti-abortion activists and other socially conservative groups. Aaron Baer, president of the Center for Christian Virtue, a conservative evangelical advocacy group in Columbus, vowed as much in an interview on Thursday. “We’re preparing to mount a vigorous campaign to expose the true implications of what this initiative would mean,” Baer said. “We’re going to highlight the people who are funding this, their true motivations, their radical views on abortion and how their policies harm women and children.” “It’s going to be a true grassroots and TV campaign. This is going to be pulling out all the stops to beat this.” The legal status of abortion in Ohio has been in limbo since June, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending legal protections for abortion that had existed nationwide for decades. The development initially meant that abortion in Ohio was illegal as early as six weeks of pregnancy, under Ohio’s “heartbeat” law, signed in 2019 by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. But the law has been on hold since Sept. 14, after a Hamilton County judge paused it in response to a legal challenge from Planned Parenthood and other abortion-rights groups. The Hamilton County case is ongoing, although Republican Attorney General Dave Yost is trying to get it sent to the Ohio Supreme Court, where Republicans hold a majority. Meanwhile, abortion-rights activists have been trying to organize a campaign to put an abortion-rights measure on the statewide ballot. Two groups emerged, each competing competing for donors and political talent, and divided by leadership and over the strategy of when to pursue a ballot issue. The uncertainty had kept potential donors on the sidelines and clouded the group’s chances of raising the tens of millions of dollars it takes to qualify for the ballot and mount a viable advertising campaign. Political figures within state Democratic circles have been trying to broker an agreement between the two groups behind the scenes for weeks. Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, a grassroots group, in December announced their plans to target the November 2023 ballot. Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom, backed by the ACLU of Ohio, Planned Parenthood and other established abortion-rights groups, hadn’t announced a specific date. But a significant portion of progressive activists within Ohio had preferred to wait until the presidential election in November 2024, when turnout will be higher, and to give more time to organize and mobilize a campaign. Next year, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown also will be running for re-election, a development that likely will draw millions of dollars of national Democratic spending to the state. Lauren Blauvelt, a spokesperson for Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom, said the two campaign groups agreed that November 2023 is the best choice, hoping to capture enthusiasm from supporters of abortion rights. “I believe it was always our intention to join forces, and we just needed to work through our differences around timing,” said Blauvelt, who also is vice-president of governmental affairs and public advocacy for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio. “We have agreed to put our full forces behind trying to be on the 2023 ballot. And now are ready to work together with our considerable connections within the community to make that happen.” Another factor in the groups choosing November 2023 is a looming proposal from Statehouse Republicans that, if approved by voters, would make it harder to amend the state constitution in the future. On Wednesday, Republican Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens officially revived a proposal that would require proposed state constitutional amendments to get 60% approval from voters to pass, compared to the current simple majority standard of 50% plus one vote. The soonest it could appear on the ballot is in November, although if passed, it only would apply to constitutional amendments proposed in 2024 and onward. Stephens has assigned the measure, called House Joint Resolution 1, to a committee for review. Blauvelt said the 60% proposal was a factor in the group’s decision to aim for November 2023, but not the only factor. “We are against that and for our constitutional amendment,” Blauvelt said. “And if we have to fight both at the same time we will.” The 60% proposal dates back to December, when Republican lawmakers tried to fast-track it during the chaotic lame-duck legislative session when lawmakers wrap up their work before adjourning for the year. But the measure stalled due to opposition within the Republican House caucus. Republicans tried to fast-track the 60% proposal again in January, which would have allowed it to appear on the May ballot and pre-empted any abortion-rights measure. But Stephens, after winning a contentious House Republican leadership fight with help from House Democrats, didn’t take the measure up for a vote in time for a legal deadline on Feb. 1. Democratic lawmakers believe they got Stephens to delay the measure as a condition of their support, although Stephens and House Minority Leader Allison Russo deny they struck any such deal. Andrew Tobias covers state government and politics for Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. Read more of his work here. To read more abortion coverage from cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer, visit this link. 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