June Cocktail & Conversation guests gather in the beautiful spaces at Zora’s House.
Senior Campaign Manager Ana Martinez facilitates a panel with the Women’s Caucus of Columbus City Council.
Cocktails & Conversation
June - A Time to Gather
When the Dobbs decision was leaked in May 2022, we knew our community needed a space to process, grieve, and connect with one another for the inevitable fight ahead. In June, we gathered nearly 40 people at Zora’s House to discuss the impact that Dobbs would have here in Ohio, and how we could start preparing to take action. This became the first of many gatherings we would host related to protecting abortion access in 2022, from the leak in May all the way through Lame Duck season at the State House.
A special thank you to Zora’s House for hosting our very first Cocktails & Conversation event in their beautiful community space where women and femmes of color connect professionally and interpersonally!
July - A Time To Act
When the Dobbs decision was official in July, the Women’s Caucus of Columbus City Council joined Senior Campaign Manager Anastasia Martinez and over 75 guests for a panel discussion at Strongwater Events. Councilmembers Liz Brown, Shayla Favor, and Lourdes Barroso de Padilla spoke to how municipal leaders can support crucial Reproductive Justice initiatives across Columbus. A few weeks later, OWA was granted $500,000 from the City of Columbus to provide wrap-around services for people seeking abortion health care through the Member Assistance Program.
Ohio Supreme Court Voter Education Campaign
We began our Ohio Supreme Court Voter Education campaign in early August, with the goal of making at least 125,000 phone calls to educate Ohio voters about the power the court has over abortion access. State courts make decisions on 95% of cases in the United States, many of which inform policy on high-stakes issues like reproductive health care. With the threat of a total abortion ban and the reality that 68% of voters do not vote for judges because they don’t have enough information, we knew we had to get to work.
Our 8 virtual canvassers exceeded their goal by thousands of calls, and—with such incredibly high voter counts in the Ohio Supreme Court races—their hard work had a significant impact for years to come. Judicial seats will be up again in 2024, and now our electorate is primed and ready to take action once again when judicial power is on the ballot!
“With the power of our Virtual Canvassers and Voter Registration Ambassadors, Ohio Women’s Alliance contacted over 500,000 Ohioans to educate voters on the power the Ohio Supreme Court has over reproductive freedom in our state. In addition to phone calls and site-based canvassing, we partnered with Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio and URGE: Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity to send educational mail tying abortion access to the Ohio Supreme Court to voters across Ohio. The fact that 250,000 more Ohioans voted for pro-choice Supreme Court candidates than the pro-choice gubernatorial candidate tells us that our layered voter contact—which was the largest nonpartisan campaign tying abortion to the courts across the state—had a huge impact on voter turnout in 2022. We are grateful for the resources we received from Ohio Voice and other funders to make that possible!” says OWA Co-founder and Co-Executive Director Erin Scott.
Ohio voters turned out in record numbers for the General Election, surpassing 2018 midterm numbers by more than 80,000 votes! Ohio Women’s Alliance proudly supported this surge of voters by placing 126,226 calls, discussing the importance of casting a ballot for Ohio Supreme Court Justices, voting all the way down the ticket, and investing in Reproductive Justice. We also sent 383,138 pieces of mail tying abortion access to the courts in a campaign partnership with Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio and Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity—and it PAID OFF! Over 4 million voters cast a ballot for Ohio Supreme Court Justices, nearly matching the number of votes cast for gubernatorial candidates! This was a monumental accomplishment that signals to our movement that when we tie abortion access to government control, voters respond.