The Chairman's Gavel: Points of Interest and Concern

Link issue 1: click

Vote YES on Issue 1 Coalition Launches Campaign to Protect Our Constitution

August 8^th Election Set to Prevent Out of State Interests from Buying Their Way Into Ohio’s Constitution

May 23, 2023 (COLUMBUS) – Today, the Protect Our Constitution campaign is launching across Ohio, co-chaired by Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) and Ohio House Majority Whip Jim Hoops (R-Napoleon). The campaign will urge voters throughout the state to vote YES on Issue 1 on August 8th. By supporting Issue 1, Ohio voters will have the option to make it harder for out-of-state special interests to buy their way into our state’s founding document. Additionally, a broad coalition of business groups supporting a YES vote on Issue 1 announced their support ahead of the August election.

The Protect Our Constitution ballot issue committee will have a presence in all 88 counties in the coming weeks and will be releasing endorsements, volunteer opportunities, and other materials on the campaign website, Facebook page, and Twitter accounts to keep Ohioans up to date on the statewide effort.

"The Ohio Constitution is our state's historic foundational document,” said Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman. “It should never be treated as a permission slip for bad ideas brought by greedy special interest groups.”

"Constitutions are meant to be stable and enduring documents, providing a solid foundation for governance,” said Rep. Jim Hoops. “They must be safeguarded against hasty or impulsive changes that can lead to political turbulence. A Yes vote on Issue 1 will not make it impossible to amend the Ohio Constitution but rather would require a higher level of consensus and support, guaranteeing thoughtful changes reflect the broader will of the people."

Business groups from around Ohio, who collectively represent more than a million Ohio business owners and employees, have endorsed the issue.

The following quote can be attributed to Ohio Chamber of Commerce CEO Steve Stivers:

"Issue 1 presents a pivotal opportunity to create stronger safeguards for Ohio’s legislative process. A YES Vote on Issue 1 will protect Ohioans from those seeking to enact anti-business policies like the current effort to massively increase Ohio’s minimum wage and eliminate the tipped wage. This August 8th, The Ohio Chamber of Commerce urges a YES Vote on Issue 1."

The following quote can be attributed to Ohio Restaurant Association CEO John Barker:

“A Yes vote on Issue 1 will support Ohio's hospitality industry, which is still recovering from the pandemic and trying to manage soaring food, labor and supply inflation over the past 2 years.

Issue 1 will make it harder to enshrine policies that would be harmful to our favorite restaurant and foodservice locations across the Buckeye state by elevating the standards to qualify for and to pass amendments to Ohio’s Constitution.

Our industry is solely focused on countering anti-business movements like a fast-tracked and massive change to the state’s starting entry level wage rate, which is already indexed to inflation, and elimination of a tipped wage that enables restaurant servers to earn excellent compensation. A policy change on these two topics would drive up overall inflation, limit employment opportunities for 500,000+ Ohioans who work in our industry and increase costs for small business owners in every county in Ohio."

The following quote can be attributed to NFIB Ohio State Director Chris Ferruso:

“The Ohio Constitution should not be an easy target for groups seeking policy changes harmful to Ohio's proud network of small and independent businesses. A Yes vote on Issue 1 will subject highly impactful Constitutional changes to a higher standard of vetting and show the residents of our state that Ohio is open for business.”

The following quote can be attributed to Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association Joe Savarise:

“For far too long, the Ohio Constitution has been an easy target for those seeking to enact harmful policies or further narrow special interest initiatives outside of the traditional legislative process. This is equally bad for Ohioans of all perspectives and affiliations. A YES vote on August 8th will ensure that policies based on changing attitudes that would negatively impact our employees and those who rely on our services are not permanently enshrined in our state’s foundational document.”

More endorsements are expected and will be publicized in the days ahead. Yard signs, printed materials, and other campaign items will be available in each county. The first day to Vote YES on Issue 1 is Tuesday, July 11^th in person at each of Ohio’s 88 county boards of election or by requesting an absentee ballot.

Western Reserve Annual Fundraiser on Behalf of The NRA Foundation 2023

Jun. 3rd, 2023 5:00 pm
Liberty Camp Fundraiser

Jun. 4th, 2023 4:00 pm
MICHAEL'S BIRTHDAY BASH

Jun. 8th, 2023 5:00 pm
Ashtabula County Republican Picnic,GUEST SPEAKER OHIO STATE SENATOR SANDY O'BRIEN

Jun. 10th, 2023 1:00 pm
BRUNCHAPALOOZA 2 , Keep Auditor GALLOWAY !!

Jun. 11th, 2023 12:00 pm
PATRIOTIC PICNIC, Celebrating America! Guest Speaker Dave Yost, Ohio Attorney General

Jun. 14th, 2023 6:00 pm

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Election Info

ISSUE 1 LINK: click

It is not too early to request your absentee ballot for the

August 8 Special Election and VOTE YES on Issue 1.

Visit: https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/how-to-request-your-absentee-ballot/ request your ballot TODAY!

3 Things You Need to Know:

Important dates for the August 8 election:

June 23: Military and Overseas Absentee Ballot voting begins
July 10: Deadline for voter registration for August 8 special election
July 11: Early in-person absentee voting begins
August 1: Applications for absentee ballots to be mailed for August 8 special election must be received by your local county board of elections, which will remain open until 8:30 p.m.
August 8: Special election. Polls will be open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Ohio's County Boards of Elections certified the election on May 23. Those results will soon be available here.

A number of county boards of elections have performed post-election audits. Audit results will soon be posted on our official election results page.

Find Your Precinct here:

Precinct Maps

Register to Vote

2023 Elections Calendar (PDF, 11" X 17")(opens in a new window)

Updated 25 APRIL 2023

Good Morning,

Please see the below talking points for your use. If you need specific messaging suggestions ahead of media appearances, please do not hesitate to reach out at any time

Respectfully,

Dan Lusheck

Communications Director

Ohio Republican Party

E: [email protected]

C: (513) 300-4323

Talking Points: End of Title 42

The Southern Border is bracing for a massive surge of migrants with Title 42 ending. Since the beginning of their administration, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have proven they have no solutions for the open border crisis, and the end of Title 42 is only going to make matters worse.

While Democrats fail, House Republican took action and passed the Secure the Border Act.

What you need to know:

Title 42 has expired, and Biden's border crisis is only going to get worse.
- Even Joe Biden has acknowledged that the border is going to be "chaotic for a while.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to concern Democrats like Sherrod Brown, who sees the open border only as a concern of the “far-right.” Thanks to Joe Biden’s open border and Sherrod Brown’s indifference, Ohio ranked third in country for highest total fentanyl deaths in 2021.
Within the last two days alone, Border Patrol has apprehended more than 10,000 migrants crossing the border illegally each day.
- These are the highest single day totals ever recorded.
Already, we have seen over 6.3 million illegal border crossings under Biden.
- This includes the 1.3 million gotaways that have escaped past Border Patrol into the U.S.
Border officials say that the official number of gotaways vastly undercounts the illegal immigrants who make it into the U.S.
Mexican cartels are smuggling fentanyl into the U.S. and “killing Americans with fentanyl at catastrophic and record rates like we have never seen before.”
- 2,848 pounds of deadly fentanyl and 13,639 pounds of methamphetamine were seized at the southern border in March alone, with much more getting through.
The amount of fentanyl seized in March is the equivalent of more than 645 million lethal doses.
This has turned into a humanitarian crisis.
- Shelters are at capacity.
- As one Border Patrol source put it: “The dam is about to break.”
Biden's idea of a solution is to send toops to the border to “primarily to do paperwork…and only for 90 days.”
Republicans are stepping up and leading where Biden and Democrats are failing.
If Biden wants to end this crisis, he needs to secure the border, enforce the law, and reverse the policies he put in place that started this crisis in the first place.

The bottom line:

An open border only leads to dangerous drugs and violent crime reaching Ohio. Joe Biden’s crisis is going to get a lot worse, and Sherrod Brown simply doesn’t care.

Talking Points: August Special Election

This week, the Ohio General Assembly passed Senate Joint Resolution 2, which gives Ohioans the opportunity to vote on a constitutional amendment that will raise the vote threshold for future ballot initiatives to 60%.

What you need to know:

Democrats are in full panic mode because they know the circus they put on at the Ohio Statehouse does not reflect the views of the majority of Ohioans.
In fact, the majority of Ohioans understand that the Ohio Constitution is a foundational document that, far too often, has been abused in order to bypass our duly elected representatives to enshrine permanent sweetheart deals into our constitution (think Casinos).
- Bypassing the legislative process largely eliminates important debate on the specifics of our laws. Once the language is set, ballot initiatives cannot be compromised on, amended, or debated in any more meaningful way than a simple "yes or no."
Democrats are saying SJR2 is an attack on Democracy. This is a complete lie, and absolutely absurd, considering all this does is give Ohioans the opportunity to vote on the issue in August.
The bipartisan Constitutional Modernization Committee recommended that the threshold be raised to "at least 55%." This recommendation was made years ago.
All 88 counties should have a voice in determining which amendments should make it on the statewide ballot.
- This is why SJR 2 requires signatures be collected from all 88 counties.
Apart from the Bill of Rights, which included the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution, our nation's founding document has only been amended 17 times.
- By contrast, Ohio's Constitution has been amended 172 times.
- This is because our founders understood that there should be a high bar to amend this sacred document, and it is past time we followed suit in how we amend the Ohio Constitution.
If approved by voters, this does not take away citizens' rights to propose constitutional amendments, or make citizen-led changes to the Ohio Revised Code.
- Groups and individuals are still able to get issues on the ballot that are important to them, but they must now get 60% of voters to agree.
- This in no way inhibits citizens ability to initiate changes in the Ohio Revised Code.
- This is common sense, but Democrats are desperate to repeat their lies.
  - "One person, one vote" as the Democrats say is still preserved is SJR 2, even when it is approved by voters in August.
- 32 states, including many Democrat states, do not permit ANY citizen led ballot initiatives.
  - Even when SJR 2 is adopted, Ohio will still give more power to the citizens than the vast majority of other states.
Among SJR 2's growing list of supporters is the Ohio Republican Party, Ohio Right to Life, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the Ohio Restaurant Association and the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association.

The bottom line:

Now that Ohioans will have the opportunity to vote on this critical issue, it is imperative that we hit the ground running to educate voters and 'Get Out the Vote' for the August Special Election.

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WEBMASTER:

"The talent pool is quite deep for the Republicans. Hope it can overcome the voters who cast their ballot based on hate and not talent. As we are living with a government elected by hate."

Kimberley Strassel’s column “Durham on Comey’s Culpability” (Potomac Watch, May 19) provides a high-level overview of the Durham report’s savaging of higher-ups at the Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters. They deliberately ignored policies and procedures to throw dirt on the Trump campaign.

To me, the most damning aspect of the report is its outing of the different treatment given by the FBI’s seventh floor to the multiple Clinton Foundation investigations opened in 2016. The Clinton Foundation investigations were squelched at the highest levels of the FBI, while the Trump investigation—although equally predicated on hearsay—was directed to go full steam ahead.

I worked for over 20 years in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. I wouldn’t last a week there now.

Jeff Ross

Lake County Ohio Republican Party Welcome!

Protect Our Constitution. Protect Our Freedoms. Protect Ohio.

Vote YES on August 8th!

The Chairman's Gavel: Points of Interest and Concern

Vote YES on Issue 1 Coalition Launches Campaign to Protect Our Constitution

Upcoming Events

Western Reserve Annual Fundraiser on Behalf of The NRA Foundation 2023

Liberty Camp Fundraiser

MICHAEL'S BIRTHDAY BASH

Ashtabula County Republican Picnic,GUEST SPEAKER OHIO STATE SENATOR SANDY O'BRIEN

BRUNCHAPALOOZA 2 , Keep Auditor GALLOWAY !!

PATRIOTIC PICNIC, Celebrating America! Guest Speaker Dave Yost, Ohio Attorney General

Election Info

3 Things You Need to Know:

WEBMASTER:

Lake County Republican Party 505 Liberty Street Painesville, Ohio 44077

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