Anti-democracy lawmakers in the Ohio statehouse are back at it with a vengeance.

SB 153 and HB 233 are an attack on volunteers who put boots on the ground, collecting signatures for our democracy. These are our grandmothers and grandfathers, our parents, our family and friends and our coworkers, all who spend their weekends and spare time collecting signatures and fighting for workers’ rights and voters’ rights.

Volunteers who collect signatures would be forced to sign away their 5th Amendment constitutional rights, potentially subjecting them to politically motivated investigations. “Compensated” circulators would be required to wear badges, but “compensated” is defined so broadly it even applies to volunteers who receive free pizza or a t-shirt.

The bills also invent new reasons for throwing out signatures and petition booklets, raising the already steep barrier to getting an initiative on the ballot.

Direct democracy – the power to go directly to the voter when lawmakers ignore the will of the people – is a right that has been held by Ohioans for over 100 years.

We currently have a coalition of over 130 organizations that have come together to fight back against SB 153 and HB 233 and we have sent a letter to the legislature telling them to stop this attack on Ohioans. You can read the letter and see all the organizations who have signed on here.

We need your help, too.

Take just one minute out of your day to sign our petition telling anti-Democracy lawmakers to back off and stop the attack on our rights.

Sign the petition to say no to SB 153 and HB 233 here.

We Are Ohio is a grassroots movement, built by like-minded Ohioans, and they are trying to mow us down. We won’t let them. We will stand together. We’ve fought back against attacks like this before and we won. We will fight back and win again.

In Solidarity,

We Are Ohio