Ohio
Ohio GOP chairman says 'confusing voters' was the party's 'strategy' on ballot measure
President-elect Donald Trump’s success despite constantly saying the quiet part out loud seems to have spread among other Republicans.
The most recent example is Ohio GOP Chair Alex Triantafilou, who made an appalling admission last week when he claimed the GOP’s “strategy” of “confusing Ohioans” had succeeded in thwarting an anti-gerrymandering ballot initiative that would have created an independent, citizen-led commission to draw the state’s electoral maps.
Triantafilou’s statement during a meeting with Republicans in Fremont was the kind of thing you’re not supposed to admit, at least in public. But it was hardly surprising to supporters of the ballot measure, who complained after Republican officials wrote a summary to be placed on ballots that indicated a “yes” vote would enable — not stop — gerrymandering. A number of voters said the confusing language tricked them into voting against a measure they supported.
That didn’t bother Triantafilou.
“A lot of people were saying, ‘We’re confused! We’re confused by Issue 1.’ Did you all hear that? Confusion means we don’t know, so we did our job,” Triantafilou said, according to the Fremont News Messenger. “Confusing Ohioans was not such a bad strategy.”
Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters responded in a statement, saying she’d never heard such a brag and that it’s “the oldest trick in the book to not tell voters the truth to get what you want.”
Triantafilou did not respond to a request for comment.
The failure of Issue One left Republicans in control of the redistricting process, which they have used to gerrymander the state’s districts in ways that benefit Republicans and disadvantage Black voters. It’s reminiscent of the old tricks used during the Jim Crow era to maintain power, as elections officials would do things like ask impossible questions as part of a “literacy test” of Black voters.
Triantafilou and other Republicans didn’t go that far, but their dubious “strategy” of confusing voters will nonetheless fortify a system that serves the GOP and white conservatives in particular.
This is the kind of trickery we can expect from Republicans in the months and years ahead as they look to shore up their power. In recent years, the convictions of far-right activists Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman for attempting to confuse voters about their voting rights, and of activist Douglass Mackey for his plot to misinform voters about how they could cast their votes, have revealed a certain desperation among some conservatives to gain a political advantage through any means at their disposal.
It’s almost like some of these Republicans don’t believe they could win a fair fight.
TEMPE, AZ – JANUARY 02: Head coach Jim Tressel of the Ohio State Buckeyes holds the football from the trophy after the Buckeyes defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Tostito’s Fiesta Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium on January 2, 2006 in Tempe, Arizona. The Buckeyes defeated the Fighting Irish 34-20. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
The Ohio Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at June 22, 2026, results for each game:
Powerball
Powerball drawings are held Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m.
17-19-21-45-48, Powerball: 13, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 3
Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at 12:29 p.m. and 7:29 p.m., except Saturday evening.
Midday: 3-0-7
Evening: 1-5-2
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at 12:29 p.m. and 7:29 p.m., except Saturday evening.
Midday: 8-8-0-9
Evening: 8-4-4-7
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 5
Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at 12:29 p.m. and 7:29 p.m., except Saturday evening.
Midday: 9-0-3-1-2
Evening: 7-9-6-0-7
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Rolling Cash 5
Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at approximately 7:05 p.m.
10-16-19-23-35
Check Rolling Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Classic Lotto
Drawings are held Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, at approximately 7:05 p.m.
13-16-28-35-41-44, Kicker: 7-6-2-8-1-3
Check Classic Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.
Millionaire for Life
Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at approximately 11:15 p.m.
07-08-20-24-42, Bonus: 05
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Enquirer digital news director. You can send feedback using this form.
Meta data centers in New Albany to be among world’s largest
Meta data centers in New Albany to be among world’s largest
Ohioans won’t be voting on whether to ban data centers on the November ballot.
Conserve Ohio, the group working to block most data centers, announced that it would not submit the more than 413,000 signatures needed to make the fall ballot by the July 1 deadline.
But the data center opponents aren’t giving up on a constitutional amendment. They are now targeting the 2027 ballot.
“We want to make it clear: we will not be stopping. Construction won’t be stopping, so signature gathering and community action will not be stopping,” according to a Conserve Ohio statement.
The group’s decision comes after Ohio lawmakers failed to pass legislation to rein in data centers before a months-long break. Lawmakers disagreed on whether to reduce tax breaks for data centers or eliminate them entirely.
The debate over data centers in Ohio has created strange political bedfellows. Environmentalists and rural voters often oppose them, while business groups and labor unions are backing them.
State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@gannett.com or @jbalmert on X.
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