(You Gotta) Fight for Your Rights (and PARTY!)

An appeals court recently upheld a ruling that granted Ohio residents an extra week of early voting. Just like he did six other times, Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted appealed the ruling, and a last-minute decision by the U.S. Supreme Court delayed the start of early voting a day before it was supposed to begin. Because Republicans again fought to limit early voting opportunities in Ohio, there will be NO in-person-early-vote option beginning Tuesday, September 30th.

Voting early in person will now begin on Tuesday, October 7th.

“The same divided court that struck down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act has now made it immeasurably more difficult for working Ohioans, African Americans, and low income and homeless voters to cast their ballot,” said Democratic Senator Nina Turner, Husted’s opponent during the fall election. “Thanks to Secretary Husted’s persistence, his efforts to restrict ballot access have finally been successful.”

The American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP, and the League of Women Voters have worked hard to protect voting rights in Ohio. The Ohio Democratic Party helped in the fight for early voting rights, so voters should join in that fight with their own parties. (You gotta) Fight for your rights (and PARTY!)

Directions
Choose a date and host a GOTV (Get-Out-the-Vote) EARLY social event. Pick up your friends to vote early before heading to the mall for a day of shopping. Meet like-minded colleagues for a relaxing meal at a nearby restaurant, and then ride over to the early voting location together. Invite your family to a festive celebration after they’ve all cast their early voting ballots. Be creative and get progressive thinking people to the polls early!

Requirements
You have the right to vote a regular ballot if your name is in the poll book and you provide an ID. PASSPORTS AND OUT OF STATE LICENSES ARE NOT VALID FORMS OF ID.
Acceptable forms of ID to vote early in person are:
*Last 4 digits of your SSN -or-
*Current and valid Ohio driver’s license -or-
*Ohio ID card -or-
*Military ID -or-
*Copy of current (within one year) utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check or gov. document (except BOE notifications) showing your name and current address

Hours, Locations, & Sample Ballots
http://ohiodems.org/electioncenter/

Top 5 Benefits of the In-Person-Early-Vote Option in Ohio
*To make up for the Democrats who didn’t vote in 2010
*To take part in a movement to return sanity to state government
*To be confident that our ballots will not get “lost in the mail”
*To free up time to hand out sample ballots at the polls
*To prove that the GOP’s voter suppression tactics have FAILED

PARTY ON and Get-Out-the-Vote (GOTV) early beginning Tuesday, 10/07/14.

Remember:  (You gotta) Fight for your rights (and PARTY!)

#WinOH2014

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Kick ’em in the Shins

Governor John Kasich once gave a speech with an innovative solution to a problem with lawmakers who refused to vote for his budget bill.

“These legislators are of good will,” Kasich said. “Kick ‘em in the shins, though, if they’re not going to vote for this thing, as they go out the door, but have a smile on your face.”  

Yes, he really did say that.

Many GOP politicians do need a good kick in the shins for refusing, as well, to support initiatives their constituents want. Since violence is never a good solution to any problem, Ohioans might want to symbolically follow the governor’s advice by voting against every troublesome Republican up for re-election this year:

Problem: Ohio Governor John Kasich made privatization a priority, which caused disturbing issues, such as maggots in prison food, unregulated charter school abuses,and the secretive use of billions of dollars in state liquor profits by JobsOhio.
Solution:  Kick ‘im in the shins as he goes out the door, but have a smile on your face. 

Problem: Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted helped advance voter suppression with unfair election directives to restrict voting options.
Solution: Kick ‘im in the shins as he goes out the door, but have a smile on your face.

Problem: Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel was connected to several scandals for accepting shady campaign donations.
Solution:  Kick ‘im in the shins as he goes out the door, but have a smile on your face.

Problem: Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine was suspected of soliciting large campaign donations from law firms competing for special-counsel jobs.
Solution: Kick ‘im in the shins as he goes out the door, but have a smile on your face.     

Problem: Ohio Auditor David Yost failed to hold charter schools accountable for their chronic misuse of Ohio tax dollars.
Solution:  Kick ‘im in the shins as he goes out the door, but have a smile on your face.

Problem: Ohio Congressional districts were gerrymandered to favor Republicans, so GOP congressmen have behaved as if they can no longer be held accountable by their constituents.
Solution:  Kick ‘em in the shins as they go out the door, but have a smile on your face.

Thanks to Johnny for the solution to every single problem that’s happened on his watch.

VOTE OUT John Kasich and the GOP on or before November 4^th.

Kick ‘em in the shins as they go out the door... but have a BIG smile on your face.

#RememberInNovember

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Don’t Trust Kasich to Hold the Football

You’ve been dumb before, Charlie Brown;

But this time, you really did it.

~Lucy Van Pelt from the Peanuts Gang

The Peanuts cartoons have a popular football routine where Lucy tells Charlie Brown that she’ll hold a football while he kicks it. From previous encounters, Charlie doesn’t trust Lucy, until Lucy says something enticing to persuade Charlie Brown, and he forgets all about the past. He runs up to kick the ball, she removes it, and Charlie Brown falls down and hurts himself. The prank usually ends with Lucy telling Charlie that he should have known not to trust her.

Fall football season has begun, and Americans will spend many hours watching their favorite teams execute specific plays to weaken and prevent their opponents from gaining possession of the football.

Specific plays have also been put into place by the Ohio GOP to block and tackle Ed FitzGerald’s gubernatorial run through offensive attacks carried out by a huddle of right wing media. The GOP game plan is to blindside Ohioans and trick them not to vote on November 4th. According to Republican pundits, the election has already been pushed over the goal line by their quarterback John Kasich.

The Columbus Dispatch and the Cleveland Plain Dealer executed a plan to run interference for Johnny by ignoring his extensive fouls while claiming that the governor is a compassionate leader. An extreme bully is more like it- Ohioans watching from the sidelines have seen John Kasich’s unsportsmanlike conduct in action. He needs to be penalized for moving the goalposts on voter’s rights, women’s rights, public education, clean air and water, income inequality, and many other issues.

The November election must not be driven by a false playbook that entices citizens into trusting Gov. Kasich to carry the proverbial football again. That dumb mistake was made before, and Ohio has been on a losing streak ever since. From previous encounters, voters should know not to trust him.

Giving John Kasich possession of the ball for four more years will result in the intentional grounding of the middle class by ALEC and the GOP. His multiple offenses should make him ineligible to play during the next season and for many seasons to come.

ALL Ohioans, not just the wealthy and well-connected, will score with Fitz on their team. VOTE for Ed FitzGerald for Ohio governor!

#RememberInNovember

Think.