People in Ohio have a right to the initiative to directly “check and balance” the government. Nonetheless, governing officials are repeatedly telling residents that they do not have the authority to vote on these measures. “It’s voter suppression,” says Wilkins, “because they’re not allowing you to vote on things you believe in. We the people should have the right to vote on these things.”

Ohio, like many states, has a system that allows people who experience unforeseen hospitalization or other medical emergencies to request, receive, and cast absentee ballots, even if their emergency took place after the normal absentee ballot request deadline. However, despite the constitutional presumption of innocence, the same provision is not available to voters arrested after the deadline. These voters, have not been convicted of any crime, are similarly unable to reach the polls on Election Day, yet they are denied access to the emergency voting procedure.

Sin embargo, a pesar de la enorme importancia del maíz nativo, en el año 2009 el gobierno mexicano comenzó a conceder permisos a las empresas multinacionales para cultivar un maíz modificado genéticamente. Los defensores del medio ambiente, de la salud y de la justicia social denunciaron dicha maniobra. En 2013, una surtida coalición compuesta por 53 personas y organizaciones no gubernamentales en representación de científicos, pequeños agricultores, apicultores, consumidores y activistas de derechos humanos se unieron para presentar una demanda judicial colectiva e innovadora para frenar el cultivo del maíz modificado genéticamente (transgénico). Su caso, La Demanda Colectiva para la Protección del Maíz Nativo de México contra la Modificación Genética, va a generar leyes fundamentales para la justicia ambiental y social en México.