Opinion: Congrats, Ohio. You chose racism over neighbors. Hope the prize isn't heartache.

Congratulations, Ohio

Congratulations, Ohio! You chose The Gang over your neighborhood.

We elected the Man Who Would Never Lie, unless it has to do with pet-eating immigrants, his business acumen, military loyalties or public health, and replaced a proven asset in the Senate with a leech.

I have deep concern for the erosion of the American ideals of freedom, patriotism and governance.

Persecution of minorities and LGBTQ+ citizens is a real threat, as is the possibility of a rewritten Constitution. The perfect puppet has been set in place to “fix” all our problems — the first being our definition of freedom.

In the “land of the free and the home of the brave,” the highest executive office will be occupied by a person who ran the most racist campaign in the past 200 years. Witnessing the “America First” president sell Swiss watches, Chinese-printed bibles and Pakistani-made clothing, all while he leads America back to our "former greatness" (which we never lost) will make me laugh.

We may not accomplish much as a nation, but we will have more than enough tchotchkes to fill our homes, all with the Trump U.S.A. brand.

The greatest lie the devil ever told is that he doesn’t exist.

Four more years of style over substance and a president more focused on his own celebrity than the country. Four more years of the corporate marketing of America over the foundations built over nearly 250 years. We will survive the times. Life does persevere.

We will need to lift each other up, because our elected officials will not.

Michael Williamson, Fulton

The left will double down on lunacy

We can now begin emerging from the Joe Biden/Kalama Harris dark age. It will take more than four years to repair the damage inflicted on our country.

Winning the electoral and popular vote, along with flipping the Senate is a repudiation of the Democrats' far-left ideology. We know that the left's resistance will be enormous.

However, I doubt they will learn from their mistakes and will continue to double down on their lunacy.

Alan Bumgardner, Columbus

I hope democracy survives

I ’m 77 years old and occasionally offer my adult children advice.

My purpose is to try and impart some wisdom I may have gained during my life, to fulfill my parental obligation to help them avoid doing wrong and to avoid their suffering by having to learn from their mistakes.

I’m also aware that they don’t have to agree with me and are under no obligation to take my advice. But, should things go wrong, I have earned the right to tell them, “I told you so.”

The results of the 2024 election have made it perfectly clear that the majority of U.S. voters do not agree with me, and that is their right.

I also believe that any election irregularities were few and far between and did not alter the results in any significant way. I thank the dedicated poll workers throughout our nation who endure all sorts of hindrances to provide us with reliable election results.

In a way, I’m glad our Republican friends control the presidency, Congress and the Supreme Court, so that they must take full responsibility for the actions of our federal government for the next four years.

I am especially interested in how the middle and working class that supported Donald Trump will react to the changes he, JD Vance, Project 2025 and the vast majority of Trump supporters have planned for our country and its support of freedom throughout the world.

I hope and pray that our democracy survives. If it does not, “I told you so.” 

Joe Barmess, Pataskala

Americans decided enough was enough

It's now time to really take an objective look at the results of the 2024 election.

The majority of the American people told Donald Trump and Kamala Harris that they are tired of an unsecured border, they are tired of all of the inflation issues, they are tired of men in women's sports and they are tired of unchecked crime in this country.

The American people also have told Donald Trump and Kamala Harris that regardless of your race or gender, the majority of all voters have said that enough was enough.

Stan Fulk, Dublin

Ballot language should make sense

“Issue 1: Yes or no? Language is confusing.” I woke to this text on Election Day morning. The texting friend is an Ohio homeowner, business owner and taxpayer who cares about fairness and decency.When you’re busy working and running a family, you might not remember whether it’s yes or no on Issue 1 this time, because you expect ballot language to make basic sense.Do we want to “ban” or “stop” gerrymandering? Which one ends the hideous practice?The sneaky language for Issue 1 was approved by Republicans only and rejected by Democrats on our Ballot Board and Supreme Court.Deliberately confusing voters is beneath the dignity of this state my whole family called, “the great state of Ohio.” 

This state will not be great again until we bring back fairness in the voting booth. We aim for one-person, one-vote, not a gerrymandered mess.Lying is wrong.

Shame on our Secretary of State Frank LaRose and all who confused voters over Issue 1.

Rev. Laura Young, Westerville

Give Frank LaRose credit

Issue 1 failed, mostly because of the strongly biased and misleading wording on the ballot. Secretary of State Frank LaRose works more for the Republican Party than for the citizens of the state of Ohio.

The first line said passage would repeal twice-voted-on constitutional protections against gerrymandering and the ability to hold the representative accountable (paraphrased; there was more). If these protections had any teeth, explain how when the last time districts were drawn up, the Supreme Court deemed the Republican-drawn maps gerrymandered, over three maps. 

Then the court ended up accepting one of the gerrymandered maps because the Republicans ran out the clock set by the Constitution. Obviously, their strategy to keep power worked.

So, what happened to the twice-passed constitutional law banning gerrymandering? 

A stronger change is needed. The fairest solution, shy of computerized selection ignoring the party, is to have the maps drawn up by people with "no skin in the game." Instead of leading with that part, which is what the petition said, it was not mentioned until paragraph six.

It was so deeply buried that unfamiliar voters never got there. LaRose counted on that. They saw "required to gerrymander the boundaries of state legislative and congressional districts" in paragraph two and stopped reading. 

Hold Frank LaRose accountable or give him credit if you are a Republican congressman whose seat is the result of gerrymandering.

John Lorenz, Columbus