COLUMBUS – Today Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio (PPAO) and URGE: Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity (URGE), endorsed a ballot initiative to modernize Ohio’s elections. The proposed constitutional amendment would expand voter registration, solidify early voting, and ensure timely ballots for military and overseas citizens. The Ohio Attorney General approved the petition summary on February 20. The official campaign launch will occur in March.
The following statement can be attributed to Lauren Blauvelt-Copelin, Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Advocacy for PPAO:
"Equality, accessibility, justice, and fair treatment are core pieces of PPAO's mission. We work to protect access to reproductive health care and rights for all Ohioans; we treat the right to vote with the same respect. Voting is fundamental to a true democracy and it is time for Ohioans to secure this freedom for all of our futures.”
The following statement can be attributed to Kimberly Inez McGuire, Executive Director of URGE:
"This ballot initiative is critically needed. Recent reporting showed that 1 in 3 people between the ages of 25 and 34 were purged from the voter rolls in Ohio. Compound that with how young people are too often excluded from political decisions about the issues that affect their bodies, their lives, and their families, yet are then shamed for not being more excited to participate in civic engagement. Young people are resilient and powerful voices that have been ignored for too long and this ballot initiative will better ensure their voices are heard within the democratic system.”
The Ohio Chapter of the NAACP, Ohio’s A. Philip Randolph Institute, the Ohio Environmental Council, the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, the Ohio Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, the Ohio Student Association, Northeast Ohio Voter Advocates, and Freedom BLOC have also endorsed the campaign. Ohioans for Secure and Fair Elections continues to build a non-partisan, broadly representative buckeye coalition with Ohio veterans, faith-based groups, members of the disability rights community, advocacy and legal organizations.
