Manipulation of Ohio’s Abortion Rights Election by National Groups: Ohio voters will be asked to decide on a ballot question that could have far-reaching implications for abortion access in the state and has been framed as a “defence against out-of-state meddling.” According to proponents, if passed, “special interests would gain a competitive advantage.”
Despite their shared criticism of out-of-state interests, a review of campaign finance data reveals that both parties are overwhelmingly supported financially by such contributors. Much of the final-hour advertising and misinformation surrounding Issue 1 on Tuesday’s ballot is funded and fueled by money, notoriety, and influence from outside the official pro- and anti-coalitions.
According to campaign documents, Richard Uihlein, a multimillionaire Illinois business proprietor, contributed $4 million of the alliance’s total $4.8 million funding. Save Ohio Jobs, an organisation affiliated with the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, contributed $150,000 to the campaign, making it the largest single contribution from the state of Ohio.
Over 85 percent of the $14.8 million raised by the anti-Issue 1 campaign, dubbed One Person One Vote, came from outside of Ohio, according to reports.
The radical Sixteen Thirty Fund in Washington and the social justice organisation the Tides Foundation in California are two examples of “dark money” organisations that make substantial contributions but are not required to disclose their donors. Since 2016, Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss has contributed more than $200 million to The Sixteen Thirty Fund.
Manipulation of Ohio’s Abortion Rights Election by National Groups
According to Travis Ridout, co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, which tracks ad expenditures, it is becoming increasingly common for state-level campaigns to receive a substantial amount of money from out-of-state sources. In the Ohio election, divisive national issues, such as abortion, may provide strong motivation.
If item 1 passes and raises the threshold for adopting future amendments to the Ohio Constitution from a simple majority to 60%, it will be much more difficult for a November ballot measure to pass that would enshrine abortion rights in Ohio.
Certain external organisations have sent out misleading messages. Conspiracy theorists organised a vote-turnout event and disseminated a fake newspaper containing false information about the opposition throughout the state.
Northwest Ohio contains the tiny town of Ottawa. Last month, boutique proprietor Allison Schroeder received an eight-page newspaper titled “The Buckeye Reporter.”
On closer inspection, however, it became evident that the mailer’s reporting was not entirely objective. Numerous prominent elected Republicans were highlighted as supporters of Issue 1 in the publications, while the opponents were portrayed negatively as Marxists, Black Lives Matter supporters, and LGBTQ+ allies.
It also falsely claimed that the grassroots advocacy group Red Wine and Blue, which opposes Issue 1, wants to mandate the teaching of “critical race theory” and prevent students from learning “that there is such a thing as biological sex”
Katie Paris, the founder of Red Wine and Blue, refuted these claims to the Associated Press and stated that the organisation lacks a mission statement. The Buckeye Reporter is only one of over a thousand fake local news sites published by an Illinois-based network known as Metric Media or Pipeline Media that promote Republican politicians and ballot issues across the country.
According to state registration documents, both the headquarters of Pipeline Media and the return address of the mailing correspond to Chicago.
Priyanjana Bengani, a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Tow Centre for Digital Journalism, has investigated the network and asserts that Metric Media produced similar mailings prior to other recent high-stakes elections, such as last year’s abortion referendum in Kansas.
The Associated Press was unable to corroborate whether or not Issue 1’s official campaign coordinated with Metric Media to generate positive articles about it. Several Facebook advertisements purchased by Protect Our Constitution contain connections to online articles published by The Buckeye Reporter and another Metric Media brand, The Cleveland Reporter, indicating that the organisation is at least using the network’s content.
A number of controversial figures from outside Ohio have endorsed Issue 1. During a Sunday “rosary rally” in a Cincinnati suburb, the national religious organisation Catholics for Catholics assembled anti-abortion leaders and conspiracy theorists from across the United States to urge a “yes” vote.
Jim Caviezel and Michael Flynn, a former national security advisor, were listed as lecturers for the event. Both individuals have amassed substantial fan bases through the dissemination of unfounded conspiracy theories.
Jim Caviezel, who recently appeared in “Sound of Freedom,” has been accused of having ties to the conspiracy theory group QAnon. Caviezel has been heard reiterating QAnon talking points on conservative talk shows hosted by Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk, and he spoke at a QAnon-sponsored event in 2021.
Michael Flynn has shifted his focus to the Christian nationalist movement, which seeks to place Christianity at the centre of American society and government, after playing a critical role in Trump’s unsuccessful effort to change the results of the 2016 presidential election.
Caviezel and Flynn did not respond when approached for comment. Abby Johnson, an anti-abortion activist and former Planned Parenthood employee, told the Associated Press that the amendment’s ambiguous language allows minors to undergo abortions and gender-affirming surgery without parental consent.
Several legal scholars from outside the academy dispute this position. The attorneys who drafted the fall abortion amendment assert that it would have no effect on Ohio’s parental consent law and would protect access to a variety of reproductive health care options, but does not address gender surgery.
According to medical experts, the November abortion proposal would not prevent state legislators from prohibiting abortions once the foetus is viable outside the womb, at approximately 23 or 24 weeks, even though the slogan “up to birth” is misleading. Prior to Tuesday’s election, data indicate that organisations in Ohio continue to receive outside assistance.
In the final week preceding the election, AdImpact reports that the anti-abortion Protect Women Ohio campaign spent $5.5 million on advertisements supporting Issue 1. Throughout the summer campaign, the “no” side has outspent supporters of Issue 1 by nearly $3 million, according to AdImpact data. This sum brings the “yes” party’s total advertising expenditures closer to those of the “no” side.
A donation of approximately $1.5 million has been made to the Ohio-based organisation Protect Women Ohio. However, according to campaign reports, the organisation has received more than $6.5 million from donors outside of the state.
