Republican's Power Grab a Continued Assault on People's Right to Hold Government Accountable

COLUMBUS - State Rep. Ismail Mohamed (D-Columbus) today released the following statement following the passage of the undemocratic House Bill (HB) 1 through the Ohio House of Representatives: 

“The passage of HB 1 with the included amendment barring green card holders, also known as lawful permanent residents, from contributing to elections is a xenophobic attempt to exclude contributing legal residents from any sort of democratic process,” said Rep. Mohamed. “I have serious concerns about the effect of HB 1 on all future citizen-led ballot initiative efforts. Its rushed process and hasty passage is yet another example of state officials in gerrymandered districts ignoring the will of their constituents.”

HB 1 is a preemptive strike against this year’s citizen-led ballot initiative to reform the redistricting process in Ohio. GOP politicians know that the Citizens, Not Politicians reform, which is on-track to come before voters in November, will begin dismantling their gerrymandered, supermajority grip on power.