OEA thanks Ohioans who defeated Issue 1

[August 8, 2023] The Ohio Education Association (OEA) is joining with educators from across the state and Ohioans from every walk of life who are celebrating the results of Tuesday’s special election. Issue 1 would have shredded Ohio’s constitution and required a 60% supermajority to approve voter-initiated amendments, overturning the simple majority standard that has served Ohio for more than a hundred years. It also would have made it extraordinarily difficult for everyday Ohioans and grassroots groups to meet new, excessive signature collection requirements to get measures on the ballot when lawmakers refuse to listen to the will of the people on the issues that matter most. Instead, Ohioans came together to rebuff that attack on our voting rights and to preserve our right to decide what happens in our state, our communities, and our classrooms.

“This all started last November with a bad idea from some special interests and politicians in Columbus, but something great came out of it. More than 200 organizations brought together tens of thousands of volunteers and over a million voters to say NO WAY are we letting Issue 1 pass,” Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro said during a gathering with other member organizations in the One Person One Vote coalition Tuesday night. “You did it. We did it. Ohio did it. And now we will continue to stand together because we’re only getting started.”

The Ohio Education Association was proud to take an active and leading role in the One Person One Vote campaign to ensure that critical public education issues can continue to be addressed through the citizen-led constitutional amendment process when necessary to ensure every student can receive the great public education they deserve – no exceptions.

“As we experience continuing legislative attacks, ongoing battles to secure constitutional public-school funding, teacher recruitment and retention challenges, local school board takeovers, the expansion of unaccountable private school vouchers, and difficult learning and working conditions, OEA is fighting for the respect and dignity of its members, and for supports and resources for all public schools, because Public Education Matters,” DiMauro said. “With a united voice, we will continue to stand up to the attacks from extremist politicians and their well-funded out-of-state backers who are using fear to divide our communities based on race, place, and gender identities and are working to break the public’s trust in Ohio’s public schools. Issue 1 would have made our work much harder to do.”

“OEA applauds the tireless work of the educators across the state who did what they do best over the last few months: educating their friends and neighbors about Issue 1 so they could make an informed decision to defeat it at the ballot box,” DiMauro added.