August 8, 2023 - Your Daily Digest

Major ballot amendment fails in Ohio, Georgia indictments coming next week, and more in today's digest

Today is August 8, 2023, and here are three stories you need to know about. If you enjoy my newsletter, please consider a monthly subscription to support my work, and to get access to Q&As, exclusive content, and more.

1) Ohio Voters Issue a Mandate

Ohio voters have issued a major mandate, rejecting a ballot amendment that would have made it harder to pass future ballot initiatives. Amendment 1 was pushed by Ohio Republicans in an attempt to raise the percentage for which future initiatives to pass. Currently, ballot initiatives in Ohio require at least 50% of voters to pass. Tonight’s amendment, if passed, would have raised that threshold to 60%. This amendment failed by a wide margin, with reports suggesting that young people at Ohio State University rejecting this amendment by over 90%. This is a significant win for abortion rights activists as a ballot initiative to codify abortion rights into Ohio’s constitution will be up for a vote soon. Overall, a great night for the right to vote, the right to choose, and Americans nationwide.

2) Georgia Indictments Coming Next Week

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to present her case concerning Donald Trump and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia to a grand jury next week. This means we could see indictments, and potentially a fourth indictment against Trump, as soon as Tuesday.

This news comes as barriers have been erected outside of the Georgia courthouse where a grand jury is expected to issue “high profile indictments.” The Fulton County Sheriff’s office, in a written statement, asserted that they are “proactively coordinating with local, state and federal agencies to enhance security during high profile legal proceedings at the Fulton County Courthouse. Some of the measures we are deploying, such as barriers that will limit parking near the courthouse, will be obvious to the public. For security reasons, other measures being deployed will not be as obvious.”

The Guardian has reported that DA Fani Willis has enough evidence to charge racketeering in her investigation into election interference in Georgia. Racketeering charges were made famous by prosecutors who brought cases against organized crime. Unlike in many of these cases, however, the racketeering charge in Georgia is much more expansive.

To pursue a racketeering charge, DA Willis needs to demonstrate the existence of an enterprise and multiple qualifying crimes. These qualifying crimes must be predicated on a pattern of racketeering activity. In this instance, DA Willis is focusing her efforts on statutes concerning computer trespass and influencing witnesses. Specifically, she is probing the likely breach of voting machines in Coffee County, Georgia by individuals who were paid by Trump’s former attorney, Sidney Powell. Stay tuned for more.

3) Wagner Fighters Build More Camps

Ukraine’s military is alleging that a new Wagner camp is being constructed in the Zyabrovka airfield in Belarus. This comes as news of increased Wagner presence in Belarus has been reported, and hundreds of mercenaries, including multiple convoys, have arrived in the country. According to Ukraine's National Resistance Center, there is a plan to deploy mercenaries to imitate "subversive activities" on the border with Ukraine.  Stay tuned for more as Wagner increases its presence in Belarus, and further strains the country’s relationships with Poland, Ukraine, and other Eastern Europe democracies.