High stakes votes with national implications in "off-year" election in Ohio | Opinion
While next Tuesday (Nov. 7) is considered an "off-year" election, there are high-stakes votes, some with national implications.
Ohio voters will decide ballot issues to guarantee abortion access in the state’s constitution and to legalize recreational marijuana, while Kentuckians have a closely contested race to decide who will be their governor the next four years.
And Cincinnati voters will make a choice in one of the hottest local issues in years − whether to sell the city-owned railway or hold on to the asset that’s produced annual revenue from leasing since the 19th century.
The abortion vote is the only statewide vote on the issue in the nation this fall, making Ohio the temporary epicenter of the emotional debate in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that ended nationwide abortion rights from the 1973 Roe v. Wade case.
Misleading claims increase as abortion vote nears
Rhetoric and claims from both sides have caused Ohioans to be "confused by Issue 1," Republican Gov. Mike DeWine says in a television ad with his wife Fran for the group Protect Women Ohio.
They then help add to the confusion.
More: Ohio Issue 1: What you need to know about November ballot issue on abortion
Ohio’s First Lady says the proposed constitutional amendment would "allow an abortion at any time during pregnancy" and "deny parents the right to be involved" in their daughter’s decision. They conclude with the governor’s vague claim that Issue 1 is "just not right for Ohio," and Fran’s that it "goes too far."
One reason Ohioans are confused is from the Aug. 8 Republican-backed Issue 1, in which supporters of abortion access had to vote "No" to prevent the requirement to pass this Issue 1 from becoming 60% of voters, instead of a simple majority, while also toughening signature-gathering requirements to get such proposals to the ballot.
Now they need to vote "Yes" on Issue 1 if they support abortion access.
Opponents claim that the proposal would take away parents’ rights, although parental rights aren’t mentioned in it, and there’s not any wording supporting the claims some make that it would allow secret gender-changing procedures for minors.
As the vote nears, opponents are also alleging passage would allow "partial-term" abortions, long banned by federal law, and would promote "late-term" abortions. The most recent federal and state statistics showed fewer than 1% of abortions occurred after 21 weeks. The vast majority were before 13 weeks.
The proposed Issue 1 law would permit abortions until fetus viability outside the womb, usually at 22-24 weeks, unless a doctor determines one is needed to protect the mother’s life or health. Opponents think the "health" exception is too vague and could lead to abortions "up to the moment of birth."
More: Ohio Issue 1: What would the amendment mean for abortions later in pregnancy?
Medical experts say abortions that late don’t happen.
"Abortion at the time of birth, it’s literally not a thing," Sarah Prager, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Washington, told The Associated Press.
The current Republican-passed law on hold in court bans abortions after embryonic cardiac activity can be detected, usually at 5-6 weeks of pregnancy, a period when about a third of women wouldn’t yet know they’re pregnant. It would allow abortions past the "heartbeat" cut-off in cases of medical emergency that threatens the woman’s life or "serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function."
DeWine a few days ago clouded his position by saying he would be agreeable to adding rape and incest exceptions if people vote down Issue 1. It’s unlikely the Republican-controlled legislature would go along with him.
The state Senate, The AP reported Oct. 27, is using its official government website for inflammatory anti-Issue 1 warnings of "abortion on demand" and "dismemberment of fully conscious children."
Better to rely on medical professionals, not professional politicians, to make reproductive care decisions.
Democrats try to hold red-state Kentucky governorship
Mississippi, where the Republican incumbent is in a tight race with a Democratic challenger, and Kentucky, where Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear seeks a second term, are the only gubernational races Nov. 7. Kentucky is the one getting national attention.
Beshear is a rare Democratic red-state governor, being challenged by a Donald Trump-endorsed candidate Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Abortion looms as a pivotal issue, adding to national interest in the outcome.
Beshear’s campaign has aired a commercial featuring a young woman who at age 12 was impregnated by her abusive stepfather. The woman named Hadley from Owensboro calls out Cameron for not supporting abortion exceptions in such cases.
The group "Bluegrass Values" has followed by running a commercial with Heather of Stanton saying under Cameron’s abortion policy, she would have been forced to give birth to a fetus she had who had the genetic defect anencephaly. Such fetuses would be born missing parts of their brains and skulls, and can’t survive.
Cameron has said that as a "person of faith, I have a responsibility to protect the unborn."
The Republican has in the final days tied Beshear to President Joe Biden. A TV commercial supporting Cameron has the governor praising Biden in a state where he managed only 36% of the 2020 vote as Trump handily carried Kentucky a second time.
The Kentucky outcome this November could inform strategies in Ohio’s 2024 U.S. Senate race, when pro-choice Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown will likely face a pro-life Republican in another state Trump carried twice.
Derail the sale or stay on track
Cincinnati’s Southern Railway to Chattanooga, Tennessee, would be sold for $1.6 billion to Norfolk Southern if city voters back Issue 22. The bipartisan railway board and Democratic Mayor Aftab Pureval say the money would be put into an investment trust that would produce greater funding for infrastructure needs than continuing to lease the railway.
The city has laid out a detailed, 10-year plan with specific targets for street and other infrastructure repair, renovations and upgrades.
More: Issue 22: Why Cincinnati's railroad sale creates such strange political bedfellows
While heavily outspent by Norfolk Southern’s campaign for passage, there’s been increasingly active and vocal opposition aiming to "derail the sale" and "save our rail." They argue it is Cincinnati’s unique asset that provides a reliable annual flow of revenue.
While I, and The Enquirer’s editorial board, are on record as supporting the sale and putting the proceeds to work to improve the city, opponents have raised questions such as whether the sale price is high enough and how much more than the current $26 million annually the city could get in a new lease.
While the city would be bound to use sale proceeds for infrastructure, not pet projects, critics say other city funds that would have been used for infrastructure could be shifted elsewhere.
It’s clear there is still cynicism about the Democratic-controlled city government three years after three council members were arrested in corruption cases. One can also pick up on a feeling that some people see the vote as a way to take the high-profile mayor down a peg or two.
It’s an issue that could impact anyone who works in Cincinnati or goes there for sports and other entertainment, but it’s in the hands of Cincinnati residents to allow the sale or pull the brakes.
EXTRA POINTS
"Protect Our Children," but not against guns
The same people calling for protection of fetuses against abortion tend to fall silent when it comes to action to prevent mass shootings of children and adults.
We saw that again after the shootings in Lewiston, Maine, that killed 18 people, ages 14 to 76.
Newly installed Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, a long-time opponent of abortion access, reacted by saying: "This is not the time to be talking about legislation."
Spoiler alert: There won’t be a time in the future when he will consider banning assault weapons or other gun restrictions.
After all, he explained, "The problem is the human heart. It’s not guns, it’s not the weapons."
Some anti-Issue 1 signs say "Protect Our Children." And the hottest debate in some school communities is around keeping out critical race theory and any discussion of gender identity.
How about protection from weapons of war that have blown children’s bodies apart inside schools?
Don’t forget down-ballot races
School boards, city and village councils, township trustees and judges can impact your life more directly than statewide and federal office holders. So take a look at web sites and campaign materials for your local candidates to make informed choices.
And then, vote early and often!
Oh sorry, I forgot I’m not in Chicago anymore.
Dan Sewell is a regular Enquirer Opinion contributor. Contact him at his personal email: dsewellrojos@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Abortion, Kentucky governor, railroad sale enliven "off-year" election
