In a press release, Former Congressman Renacci references his Op Ed published in the Akron Beacon Journal and calls for an end to Ohio’s vote raiding open primary system.
The press release states: “[It’s] called primary ‘raiding’ and it’s no way to run elections. It’s far past time for the Ohio Legislature and the secretary of state to protect Ohio’s primary process and close the party primaries to only voters affiliated with that party. Allowing this to happen doesn’t just undermine the integrity of our country’s nominating process. It also denies America’s great political parties the ability to vet and vote for their standard-bearers, for president on down to local offices, free from disruptive outside influencers with their own ideological agendas” said Renacci.
“Both existing law and past precedent make it clear that Ohio was never intended to be an ‘open primary’ state. The law can be difficult to enforce, but the path to fix it is clear: update Ohio’s voters to make it possible for voters to register with or change parties year-round, then put a registration deadline in place in order for a voter to participate in a party’s primary.
“Swing states such as Florida and Pennsylvania require a voter to register with a party at least a month before the primary in order to vote for that party’s primary candidates. There’s no reason Ohio can’t operate under a similar system. The decision to be a Republican or Democrat should be a conscious decision determined in advance not a political decision made on election day to manipulate results.”
Renacci is calling for an end to this major flaw in voter integrity in Ohio and is asking the Ohio Legislature and Secretary of State to act to protect the vote of millions in Ohio.
Op Ed cites examples
In the Op Ed, Renacci points out that Ohio’s open primaries have been used to unduly influence both Democrat and Republican primaries. In 2008, hundreds of thousands of conservative Republicans flocked to the polls to vote in the Democratic presidential primary after Rush Limbaugh urged them to intentionally sow chaos. Last year, liberal Democrats voted in Republican primaries to try to stop President Trump’s endorsed candidates.
What you can do to clean up Primary Elections
Renacci asks voters to read his Op Ed then join the cause by calling your state representative and state senator and urge them to support legislation to close primaries in Ohio. He notes that groups are starting to rally around the cause including Ohioans for Responsible Government. Groups who would like to join the fight can email tomweyand@jimrenacci.com.
How to contact state rep and senator
Find your House District and House representative here. Follow link for contact information to call the office directly. Email your House Rep starting with the letters REP (short for Representative) followed by the number of the House district that member represents and then @ohiohouse.gov. Example: Rep92@ohiohouse.gov
Find your Ohio Senate district and State Senator here. Follow the link for contact information to call the office directly. To email your Ohio Senator, use the senator’s last name followed by @ohiosenate.gov. Example: Smith@ohiosenate.gov
