Rank the Vote Townhall w Reps C. Thomas, R. Baker, K. Brownlee and D. Issacsohn

To quote my representative, Cecil Thomas, whose newsletter I am subscribed to:

"I’m reaching out to invite you to a community town hall hosted by Representative Cecil Thomas, alongside Representatives Baker, Brownlee, and Isaacsohn, on Thursday, August 28th at 5:30 PM.

The event will focus on key issues impacting our community, including:

The state budget and its local implications

The recent events in Cincinnati

Immigration and public safety

Other pressing concerns from constituents

This is an opportunity to hear directly from your elected officials and share your thoughts in an open forum."
Dani Isaacsohn, District 24 (House Minority Party Leader)

Cecil Thomas, District 25

Rachel Baker, District 27

Karen Brownlee, District 28

District 26, eastern Cincinnati, is vacant right now but if you live in that area you are more than welcome to attend! Furthermore, if you don't live in their districts you are also welcome to attend, because all delegates to the Ohio statehouse make decisions that affect all Ohioans, not just their constituents. Here is how to find your representative.

WHY:

Southwest Ohio has been in the national political discourse for several months now, since the outrageous lie about Haitians eating cats and dogs in Springfield last summer and more recently with the incidents on Roebling Bridge and the brawl in OTR. There are several urgent needs and issues in our community to address. What better time than now to emphasize the need for the kind of truly representative and accountable government that can only come from an election using ranked choice voting, or better yet, Cincinnati's own historic proportional representation?

Redistricting has recently become a national topic but it is relevant again in Ohio due to the constitutionally mandated procedure to revisit map-making whenever the legislature approves a map that the minority party disapproves of (throwback to 2022, which feels to me like several decades ago!). Ranked choice voting is one common sense approach that can reduce and combined with multiseat proportional districts, eliminate gerrymandering.

Redistricting, voting systems, elections are frankly boring topics to most people, but how we select the people meant to represent the public and take on the task of running the country is incredibly important. There have been hundreds of countries, over hundreds of years, trying out many different methods, and it has been found that some are better for fostering and maintaining democracy than others.

Clearly, the plurality system (what much of the USA has currently) has been tried and is tired--it is no longer effective at representing the people, if it ever was.

We need a better, fairer way to vote, one that can ensure majority rule with minority representation.

We need a voting system where voters choose their representatives, and representatives can't choose their voters.

We need a voting system that can give independents and alternative parties alike a chance to break through the two party system.

We need a voting system that ensures taxpayers won't have to pay for two elections if one comes down to a run-off.

We need a voting system that can uplift candidates that have been historically disadvantaged, like first-time runners, women, racial and ethnic minorities, and those among the LGBTQ+ communities.

We need Ranked Choice Voting!!!

Here's a little factoid: Something that the top 10 countries on the Economist Group's renowned Democracy Index all have in common is that they use a form of proportional voting to elect their governments. Ranked choice voting and proportional voting are two different things, but can be and have been combined before. The most noteworthy country that uses that combination is Ireland, and they are a member of that Top 10 Club! Further Reading.

Hope to see you at the town hall this Thursday,

Robert Agle

Chapter Lead, RTV Cincy

RtVO - South West Chapter
https://www.rankthevoteohio.org/