The Rundown: 6 days left – have you voted?

What's Happening

Ohio

• A Christian responsibility: Based on the widely differing policies of the two major parties, it is safe to say that the political trajectory of our state and nation depends on Tuesday's election and the mercy of God. According to new research from George Barna, an estimated 41 million Christians may not vote in this presidential election. The data also shows, however, that millions of them would vote if their pastors, friends, or family encouraged them to vote. With the 2020 presidential election ultimately decided by about 587,000 votes across nine battleground states, the Christian vote–if activated–would determine the election. Check out Center for Christian Virtue's nonpartisan election resource, BuckeyeBallot.com/WhyVote.
  
  

• The baby with the bathwater: Our Ohio judges and justices matter. Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Christian Jenkins ruled last week to permanently block Ohio's Heartbeat Law, which protected unborn children from abortion once a heartbeat was detected. Judge Jenkins also struck down several other informed-consent and safety regulations, repeating the precedent set in August by Franklin County Judge David Young, who struck down another informed-consent provision and the 24-hour waiting period before an abortion. 

US

• You could call it common sense: A recent Gallup poll shows that a supermajority of Americans support requiring photo ID to cast a ballot (84 percent), and proof of citizenship to register to vote for the first time (83 percent).
  
  

• Ohio leading the way: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has denied Florida's request for the citizenship status of select registered voters. Led by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, 16 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the DHS for failing to verify immigration records for voter-roll integrity. Our Attorney General didn't stop there, but joined 24 other state attorneys general yesterday to urge the US Supreme Court to permit Virginia’s removal of approximately 1,600 self-identified noncitizens from their voter rolls. Earlier today, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked the District Court's ruling that would have required Virginia reinstate the noncitizen voters.
  
  

• The border's greatest victims: Border policy impacts real people. More than 300,000 migrant children have gone missing, largely due to our nation's open border. In addition, the number of known child trafficking victims has increased more than 300 percent since 2020. In fact, DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari reported in August, "ICE has no assurance UCs (unaccompanied migrant children) are safe from trafficking, exploitation, or forced labor." At the same time, the DHS has identified hundreds of migrants with potential ties to a bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang, and reported an increasing number of encounters with individuals on their terror watchlist.
  
  

• Political advocates hide study on puberty blockers: The US government funded a two-year, $10 million taxpayer-funded study–the largest grant ever awarded–on the use of puberty blockers on children for the purpose of "gender transitioning." Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, a leading advocate of "gender-affirming" medical interventions for adolescents, withheld publication when the study's findings did not support her hypothesis that the puberty blockers would be beneficial to the children, who had an average age of 11 years. Nine years later, Dr. Olson-Kennedy admits that she feared the study's findings would be used in court to ban puberty blockers for adolescent "gender transition."

World

• Poster child parent: Maia Poet, a 25-year-old detransitioner, wrote a thread report on X (formerly Twitter) on Avery Jackson, a boy who was transitioned by his parents before the age of seven. Appearing in HBO's "Transhood" documentary, the footage tragically shows Avery's mom pushing him into a trans identity and activism, including being featured by National Geographic and doing a book tour. As of last year, Avery was not doing any more interviews–but his mom was–and went from identifying as a "trans girl" to "nonbinary" instead. With data suggesting that four out of five (or more) "gender questioning" children eventually accept their biology if no medical interventions are carried out and that early social gender transition may lead children to eventual medicalization, Avery's story may have turned out differently if his parents and medical team had waited.
  
  

• Not a good standard: Canadian doctors are struggling with their country's use of legalized euthanasia, especially for patients with treatable ailments or preventable deaths. Supposed to be used solely in rare cases, assisted suicide is now tied as the fifth most common cause of death in Canada. Some assisted suicide requests are being considered and administered on the same day, while only about 3.5 percent of requests are denied.
  
  

• Right priorities: In a move that protects marriage and human dignity, Italy recently made surrogacy illegal for citizens of their country. While domestic surrogacy has been illegal since 2004, their latest “surrogacy tourism” law prohibits citizens from contracting with international surrogates, or face a fine or jail. 

Voting At a Glance

Final Voting Hours

You can cast your vote early at your local county Board of Elections.

• Wednesday, October 30–Early in-person voting until 7:30 pm

• Thursday, October 31–Early in-person voting 7:30 am to 7:30 pm

• Friday, November 1–Early in-person voting 7:30 am to 7:30 pm

• Saturday, November 2–Early in-person voting 8:00 am to 4:00 pm

• Sunday, November 3–Early in-person voting 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm

• **No in-person voting on Monday, November 4**

• Election Day, November 5–Polls open 6:30 am to 7:30 pm

Early Voting Statistics from the Secretary of State

Data last updated 12:00 pm, 10/30/2024

• Overall Statistics for Early In-Person and Absentee by Mail Ballots

  • Total Early Ballots Requested: 2,276,440

    Total Early Ballots Returned: 1,952,112

• Requests and Returns by Voter-Affiliated Party

  • Unaffiliated: 1,226,529 Ballots Requested; 973,360 Ballots Returned

  • Republican: 625,787 Ballots Requested; 586,458 Ballots Returned

  • Democratic: 415,762 Ballots Requested; 384,924 Ballots Returned

The data could change rapidly over the next few days as more ballots are returned and voters head to the polls. For more information, visit the SOS Statewide Summary For 2024 Nov General Election page. The data dashboard is best viewed on a computer.

Listen Up: What is Issue 1?

What is the gerrymandering Issue 1? Should you vote for it? 

With Election Day coming up next week, we're bringing back this episode of The Narrative podcast with Sen. Rob McColley breaking down 2024's Issue 1 redistricting amendment, including its background and campaign funders, why "citizens not politicians" is anti-democracy, and the disastrous consequences to come if it's passed.

Listen anywhere you get your podcasts!

Worldview Development

As a Christian, knowing how to engage in social-political conversations can be hard. Here is our top recommendation this week for developing your worldview to be equipped to tackle today's top issues:

• Yes, Gender Confusion Is Socially Contagious by John Stonestreet and Shane Morris
  A 2020 study in the U.K. found that transgender-identified persons are over five times more likely to have autism, over six times more likely to have ADHD, almost four times more likely to have depression, five times more likely to have bipolar disorder and OCD, and over 28 times more likely to have schizophrenia. The politically correct explanation for these data points is that transgender identity is innate and immutable, and just happens to occur more readily among young people with smartphones, especially women and those with disabilities. The far more likely explanation is that these groups are, in different ways, more susceptible to social contagion than the general population. 

• No Substitute for Marriage by Emma Waters
  Unlike children "playing house," who are imagining themselves as age-appropriate mothers and fathers, the [stay-at-home girlfriends (SAHG)] is the antithesis of the traditional "housewife." Unless you count the occasional pet, most SAHG are childless by choice, pursuing instead a self-absorbed life of leisure rather than a productive partnership of domestic, economic, or social pursuits.

• Big Families Have More Fun by Paul Batura
  But it’s a huge miss if we don’t also stress and highlight the sheer fun and joy of big families. All too often we hear about the high financial costs of raising children. We’re browbeaten with the supposed mental and emotional strains kids put on moms and dads. Instead, as Christians, we should be focusing on images like the McKee’s living room on Christmas Eve. We should be talking about a house bursting with family on Thanksgiving, siblings arguing over who’s going to sit at the children’s table.

Legislative Update

The legislature won't resume session until after the November election, so legislation will not move at the Statehouse until then. 

Click here to learn how a bill becomes a law in Ohio.

Don't Miss

• Prayer at the Statehouse
  Join us for our final prayer and praise opportunity of the year on Wednesday, November 13. In light of next week's election, the theme will be "Where does the Church go from here?" Pastor Bill Herzog of Vineyard Toledo will give an exhortation, and we will reflect on Matthew 16:18-19. Join us for fellowship, light refreshments, and the first opportunity to pray over our outgoing and incoming legislators. Register at CCV.org/Pray.

Prayer

Scripture calls us to pray for those in authority and to have confidence that God hears our prayers. Join the CCV team this week in praying for the below intentions.

• All of our elected officials, our incoming elected officials, and our poll workers.
  

• Continue to pray for the Lord's favor upon CCV's nonpartisan election work to equip Christians to be educated voters over this last week through Election Day.
  

• We have a large number of churches seeking to start schools over the next year. Pray for funding, staff, and the Lord's guidance as we assist them in their efforts to spread the Gospel through their school plants.

As Ohio’s largest Christian public policy organization, Center for Christian Virtue seeks the good of our neighbors by advocating for public policy that reflects the truth of the Gospel.  

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