WHAT’S INSIDE
- Find a Petition Near You, Sign Up to Gather Signatures
- What’s New From Clermont to Columbus and Beyond
Word From The Chair – Raymond Lembke
- Important Dates and Reminders
Find a Petition Near You, Take a Turn on March 19
Our headquarters in Batavia now has dedicated hours for petition signing. You can vote early at the Board of Elections and then walk over to headquarters to sign the Citizens Not Politicians Amendment petition. See below for additional signing opportunities.
Want to take it a step further? Become a petition circulator and sign up for a shift (or more) to gather signatures outside at a polling location on March 19. We will train you. It’s a great opportunity, as everyone going to vote is already a registered voter.
Sign up here for Clermont County polling locations.
To arrange to sign and/or to become a petition circulator:
Loveland – Patty Lawrence
Loveland – Jane Gonzales
Milford – Jocelyn Watson
Union Township – Terry Conway
Click here to see the summary and full text of the Citizens Not Politicians Amendment.
Poll Workers Still Needed for March 19
The Clermont County Board of Election still needs Democratic poll workers for the primary. This opportunity consists of a short training session ahead of time in Batavia, as well as working the poll on March 19. It’s a rewarding way to contribute to our local Democratic process, and you will also paid. Email Leann Helton at the BOE to sign up.
What’s New From Clermont To Columbus And Beyond
Click on the headline to access the full article
Bottom line: The callous disregard of accountability is not exclusive to the state legislature; the Ohio Supreme Court has a GOP majority, and the repeated appearances of impropriety (justices not recusing themselves from cases presenting conflict) call for change. We need to elect Justices Donnelly, Stewart and Forbes to flip the court.
Bottom line: HB 6 was enacted five years ago. Why hasn’t it been repealed yet?
Bottom line: President Biden presented the world with the diametrically opposed choices we will have in November. To say he took members of Congress by surprise is an understatement.
WORD FROM THE CHAIR- Raymond Lembke & Chair, Clermont County Board of Elections
The Primary Election.
Ohio’s Primary Election Day, March 19, is a week away. To those of you who have already cast their ballots, thank you. For those of you who still have not voted, there are several things to remember:
1. Vote by Mail. If you intend to mail your voted primary ballot back to the Board of Elections, it will not count unless it is (a) postmarked no later than March 18 and (b) delivered to the BOE no later than March 23. Obviously, it is out of your control when the Postal Service delivers your ballot to the BOE. We are close enough to the deadlines that I urge you not to mail back your voted ballot if you have not already mailed it. Instead, take your voted ballot, in the identification envelope, to the drop box outside the Board of Elections office at 76 S. Riverside Drive, Batavia. The drop box is available 24/7. It is secure. It is emptied multiple times per day. Ballots put in the drop box any time before 7:30 p.m. on March 19 will be counted.
2. Vote Early In Person. You may vote in person at the Board of Elections office. The hours the office is open for voting are:
Tuesday, March 12 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 13 through Friday, March 15 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 16 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 17 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Remember that the General Assembly did away with early voting the day before Election Day. If you have not voted by Sunday, March 17, you need to go to your polling place on Tuesday, March 19. Polling places are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
3. Write-in Elizabeth Jones. Somewhere in the middle column of your Democratic ballot, you will see a space titled “For Clerk of Court of Common Pleas.” Below that title is a blank oval and a line with the words “Write-n” below the line. Darken that oval. On the blank line, write Elizabeth Jones.
4. Don’t Do the Heimlich Maneuver. Many of you have received mailers and/or e-mail urging you to vote in the Republican primary to vote for Phil Heimlich as the Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio’s Second District. I talked about this in this column a few weeks ago. I want to remind people why this is a bad idea. First, you cannot vote in both parties’ primaries. It is one or the other. Voting in the Republican primary means you cannot write-in Elizabeth Jones, and you cannot vote in the contested Democratic races for Ohio State Senator and Ohio Supreme Court Justice. Second, voting in the Republican primary changes your voting registration to Republican for the next two years. Third, a vote for Heimlich is a vote for someone who is extremely conservative who opposes many of our values. Fourth, a vote for Heimlich is a wasted vote. He has no realistic chance of winning the Republican primary for Congress. Fifth, the one argument in favor of voting for Heimlich is that he is anti-trump. That may be true today but, in the unlikely event Heimlich won that seat in Congress, there is no guarantee he would remain anti-trump. Every Republican member of Congress will be under tremendous pressure to toe the trump line backed up by the plausible threat of losing in the Republican primary in 2026 if they do not toe the line.
The November 5 General Election.
We know that the 2024 Presidential election will be a rematch of President Biden against trump. This is a critically important election for our democracy, and I am already hearing Democrats expressing the belief that trump will win. This is absurd, and risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. Yes, much of the media (and not just Fox) is portraying trump’s election as inevitable. Most of the media said the same thing about Hillary Clinton in 2016, right up until Election Night. CONTINUE READING.
Important Dates & Reminders

WHO’S RUNNING IN MARCH 19 PRIMARY
Samantha Meadows (U.S. House of Representatives, OH2)
Justice Melody Stewart (Ohio Supreme Court – incumbent)
Justice Michael Donnelly (Ohio Supreme Court – incumbent)
Judge Lisa Forbes (Ohio Supreme Court)
Mark Grauwelman (Senate 14)
Shane Marcum (Senate 14)
Katie Vockell (HD62)
Tracey McCullough (HD63)
Brad Combs (Commissioner)
Jennifer Mazzuckelli (Commissioner)
Diane Fisher (County Recorder)
Elizabeth Hammer Jones (write-in for Clerk of Courts, must darken oval AND write name)
Bolded names are those candidates endorsed by the Ohio Democratic Party.

STAY CONNECTED
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM – VISIT OUR WEBSITE
Like, share, comment and retweet our posts. Use the hashtags #OHDems #ClermontOHDems
This is your newsletter. We welcome you to submit news items, events, book reviews or anything else you feel is important to advance our Democratic values in Clermont County. If you have feedback about content or format please feel free to voice your opinion. Send your submissions for the next newsletter with “CCDP Newsletter” in the subject line to our newsletter editor Jennifer Ginder.
Share the newsletter with your friends and encourage them to sign up for our newsletter at clermontdems.org.
Clermont County Democratic Party
174 E. Main Street P.O. Box 475
Batavia, OH, 45103
513-732-2378
Paid for by the Clermont County Democratic Party, Christopher Barnett, Treasurer