Tue 1/10 @ 1-3PM
Wed 1/11 @ 6:30-8:30PM
Sun 1/15 @ 6:30-8:30PM
There is no more important issue facing Ohio right now than making our elections fair again and restoring democracy to a state in which the voters effectively have no voice anymore.
Led by oily, two-faced Ohio secretary of state Frank LaRose, who tells us what a great job he’s done running our elections while cooking up ways to disenfranchise thousands of voters, citing voter fraud he himself has said is nonexistent, Ohio Republicans have mocked the state’s citizens and given the middle finger to the state constitution, gleefully violating it to hang onto their illicit power and pass laws the vast majority of Ohioans oppose. This has a lot to do with why Ohio is failing in so many ways, with a flagging economy, worsening education and poor healthcare outcomes such as high minority infant mortality rates.
We can look north to Michigan to see a different, better way. After years of unrepresentative government, Michiganders banded together to fight for fair districts — and won. In the recent elections, votes beat back extremists and elected legislators and congresspersons who more accurately represent the full range of the state’s voters.
A new full-length documentary called Slay the Dragon follows how Michiganders won back their democracy. The “dragon” is what they describe as a “secret, high-tech gerrymandering initiative,” which has become so advanced it can identify voters down to the household and place homes in districts which will give the gerrymanderers the edge they want. Ohio’s dragon is even worse: it’s Republican politicians who violate the rules, trash the state constitution and then gloat, “Try and stop us.”
With talk of placing an issue on Ohio’s ballot to remove politicians from the redistricting process entirely — why LaRose is pushing a plan to make it harder to pass a ballot initiative — Slay the Dragon can serve as an inspiration and blueprint for Ohioans. There’ll undoubtedly be a number of free screenings; starting the year off, Indivisible Strongsville is hosting three.
The first takes place Tuesday January 10 @ 1-3pm at the Strongsville Library. RSVP to Beverly Masek @ bevmasek@att.net. There’ll also be a couple og home screenings on Wednesday January 11 and Sunday January 15, both from 6:30-8:30pm. Email Linda @ lindakohar@cox.net for the Wednesday screening info and RSVP and Laura at jlaurush@aol.com for the Sunday screenings.
Then join the fight to make Ohio a democracy again.