1). “Abortion fight this fall drives early voter surge for Ohio special election next week”, Aug 4, 2023, CBS Mornings Investigation (video), (Text originally from AP), at <https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fall-abortion-vote-early-voter-turnout-surge-ohio-special-election-aug-8/?intcid=CNI-00-10aaa3a >
2). “Illinois billionaire attacking Ohio voters also funded Jan. 6 and election deniers”, May 2, 2023, Mary Lou Johanek, Ohio Capital Journal, at <https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/05/02/illinois-billionaire-attacking-ohio-voters-also-funded-jan-6-and-election-denier-groups/ >
3). “Ohio government is already captured by radical special interests. State Issue 1 would make it worse”, Jun 29, 2023, David Dewitt, Ohio Capital Journal, at <https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/06/29/ohio-government-is-already-captured-by-radical-special-interests-state-issue-1-would-make-it-worse/>.
4). “The Battle Over How to Amend Ohio’s Constitution: Issue 1 on the Ballot in August”, 07.12.2023, Jessica Dickinson, Ohio Fair Courts Alliance, Common Cause Ohio, at <https://www.commoncause.org/ohio/democracy-wire/the-battle-over-how-to-amend-ohios-constitution-issue-1-on-the-ballot-in-august/>
Introduction: Today is the long-anticipated election in Ohio in which the far-right is attempting to sneak through a change that would make nearly impossible for successful citizen initiatives to change the state constitution to take place. The BS line that the Forced-Birth and authoritarian forces in Ohio are using is that they want to prevent deep pocketed “Out of State Special Interests" from pushing through “radical changes” to the state constitution, liberal changes of course. In reality the attempted change to the state constitution, scheduled for an August special election (for which turnout is traditionally low). In fact just a few months ago the Republican controlled state legislature voted to prohibit August Special Elections, except for jurisdictions that are in the midst of financial emergencies. As for deep-pocketed “Out of State Special Interests”, this push to make citizen initiatives nearly impossible has its own set of right-wing foundations and billionaires.
First there is the ultra-reactionary Richard Uihlein has bankrolled, to the tune in this immediate issue of over $29 million, the Ohio Forced Birth and far-right operatives in their attempt to keep the citizens of Ohio from deciding on the Abortion and Reproductive Health policies of their state.
Another operative is this reactionary lobbyist for the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA), Travis N. Taylor Ph.D., who was the only witness to testify in front of the far-right Republican Controlled Ohio State Legislature. He expounded on how great it would be if the right could achieve the 60% level for passing constitutional initiatives. The FGA also advocates for a return of child labor among many other reactionary and horrific policies.
The Ohio Secretary of State, Frank La Rose, tried to claim that the change to the State Constitution, included in Proposal/Issue 1 had nothing to do with the right’s Forced Birth agenda. In speeches and talks with reactionary audiences he freely admitted that keeping the people of Ohio under the Right’s Forced Birth program was exactly what the objective of Proposal/Issue 1 is.
It appears, at this time, that Proposal/Issue 1 will be voted down. There has been record levels of early voting (750,000) and Democrats and Women voted in larger numbers than did Republicans and Men. Strong indications that the Proposal/Issue 1 will be nixed.
1). “Abortion fight this fall drives early voter surge for Ohio special election next week”, Aug 4, 2023, CBS Mornings Investigation (video), (Text originally from AP), at <https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fall-abortion-vote-early-voter-turnout-surge-ohio-special-election-aug-8/?intcid=CNI-00-10aaa3a >1). “Abortion fight this fall drives early voter surge for Ohio special election next
(This is a Graphical Image of the Youtube Link to this CBS Mornings Investigation video. To watch the actual video go to <https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fall-abortion-vote-early-voter-turnout-surge-ohio-special-election-aug-8/?intcid=CNI-00-10aaa3a>)
Early voter turnout is surging in Ohio in the summer special election next week over a measure introduced by Republicans that would make it more difficult for Ohio voters to pass state constitutional amendments — including one on the November ballot to guarantee abortion rights. The measure has driven massive early turnout before Tuesday's final day of voting.
Early turnout has been so heavy that some election offices are straining to keep up and trying to recruit additional poll workers.
Voters have been waiting in long lines and sometimes for over an hour at many early polling places, even as heat waves have swept the Midwest and the rest of the country this summer. Tom Simmons of Clintonville, just north of the capital, Columbus, stood in line on a sunny Thursday morning and said he planned on voting in favor of Issue 1.
"I don't think purely partisan politics should change amendments," Simmons said.
In his view, a 60% threshold would encourage more bipartisanship on hot-button topics.
"This is gubernatorial-level turnout," said Regine Johnson, deputy director of the board of elections in Stark County. On Thursday, the board was about 100 volunteers short of the number it aimed to have as the minimum to be fully staffed.
The early signs of a highly motivated electorate follows robust turnout in a handful of other states where voters have affirmed abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade a little over a year ago.
Issue 1, the question before Ohio voters on Tuesday, was put on the ballot this spring by the Republican-controlled Legislature. It doesn't specifically deal with abortion, but it would erect several barriers for voters to pass amendments to the state constitution, including raising the threshold to pass an amendment from a simple majority to 60%.
If Issue 1 passes, it could be fatal to an amendment to ensure the constitutional right to abortion that's already on the ballot this November. In the 2022 midterm elections, AP VoteCast found that 59% of Ohio voters said abortion should be legal in most or all cases, just shy of that 60% mark.
Calling a special election in the middle of summer vacation season was seen by some as a cynical move because Republicans had just eliminated August elections with legislation signed into law only recently — specifically because those elections have historically generated such low turnout.
Not this time.
As of Wednesday, more than 533,000 people had voted by mail or in-person since early voting began July 11, according to data collected by The Associated Press. That's nearly double the final early voting figures for Ohio's two previous midterm primary elections, which included races for governor and Congress. In the May 2022 primary, for example, 288,700 people voted early, according to AP data.
It's also more than three times the roughly 142,000 early ballots cast by mail or in-person during last year's August elections, although drawing a comparison is tricky. August special elections traditionally have been held in even-numbered years and are intended for local races and issues. The last statewide question on an August ballot in Ohio was in 1926.
The polarizing battle over abortion in the state, with the constitutional amendment seeking to protect reproductive rights before voters in the fall, has driven the narrative for the campaigns supporting and opposing Issue 1. Both sides have invested heavily in get-out-the-vote strategies.
Voters do not register by political party in Ohio, but data from L2, a political firm that tracks early in-person and mail voting, indicates that Democratic-leaning voters are turning out in higher numbers than Republican-leaning ones.
As of Tuesday, voters identified by L2 as Democrats had cast more than 52% of ballots, compared with 40% by voters identified as Republicans. Independents cast the remaining ballots, according to the firm, which models party affiliation using the partisan primary a voter most recently participated in.
So far, women are turning out in higher numbers than men, according to L2.
Sheila Harrell, from the Columbus suburb of Westerville, voted against Issue 1 on Thursday — a decision heavily influenced by the upcoming November vote on abortion rights.
"As a woman, you should have that right," Harrell said, adding that parents also should be able to seek abortion care for their children in Ohio instead needing to travel for it. She recalled a case that generated nationwide attention last year, when a 10-year-old girl had to travel to Indiana for an abortion after being raped.
Sammi Cain of nearby Worthington also was voting early Thursday and said she planned to cast a "no" ballot. She does not see a need to change the state constitution and sees the measure as a way for Ohio's political leaders to stifle voters' voices.
Cain, a transgender woman and a veteran, believes her "no" vote is a way to make sure everyone, including people in the LGBTQ+ community, have equal rights.
"From my perspective, it looks like Republicans are just trying to take away the essential voting rights from literally the American people and they're going to try to consolidate as much power as they can, so I'm basically just trying to stop that," Cain said. "They're not just going to stop at abortion rights."
The voter motivation seen so far in Ohio is similar to what Kansas experienced a year ago, when it was the first state where voters weighed in on abortion rights since the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe.
In that August election, voters in the Republican-leaning state affirmed abortion rights decisively. Voters rejected, by 59%, a proposed amendment to the state constitution to declare that it does not grant a right to abortion, which would have allowed lawmakers to greatly restrict or ban it.
More than 900,000 people voted in that primary election, nearly twice the number that turned out for a 2018 August primary. An aggressive grassroots campaign got Democratic and unaffiliated voters to the polls, quashing the usually Republican-heavy voting population but also gaining some support from GOP registered voters.
Elections officials across Ohio have been feeling the pressure of such a high-stakes election, especially after the Legislature abruptly reversed itself and called for the special election. In a tight 90-day time frame during what is usually a break period, county election boards have scrambled to train poll workers and find available polling locations.
Despite the heavy turnout and short window to prepare, several county officials said they feel ready for the election thanks to early planning.
In the first week of early voting, Franklin County's early polling place processed more than 1,500 voters a day. Since then, the number has more than doubled, said Antone White, director of the county's Board of Elections.
He said that number is likely to remain steady until Tuesday because the mail-in ballot deadline passed earlier this week. He thinks the final overall turnout may even surpass that of last November's midterm election.
"The scale has far exceeded our expectations," he said.
week”, Aug 4, 2023, CBS Mornings Investigation (video), (Text originally from AP), at <https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fall-abortion-vote-early-voter-turnout-surge-ohio-special-election-aug-8/?intcid=CNI-00-10aaa3a >
2). “Illinois billionaire attacking Ohio voters also funded Jan. 6 and election deniers”, May 2, 2023, Mary Lou Johanek, Ohio Capital Journal, at <https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/05/02/illinois-billionaire-attacking-ohio-voters-also-funded-jan-6-and-election-denier-groups/ >
Why is a fat cat in Illinois trying to influence lawmaking in Ohio that attempts to destroy the ability of citizens to amend their constitution? Good question. Kind of goes right to the heart of the phony Republican argument for making it near-impossible to pass citizen initiatives in the state: To protect the Ohio Constitution from meddling outside influences.
Yet here we are. On the cusp of Ohio House Republicans possibly approving their legislative initiative — to change the century-old standard for passing state constitutional amendments from a majority vote to a 60% threshold — a super-rich guy two states away is putting big money on passage of that anti-voter measure in the Statehouse.
You’ve probably never heard of this guy, Dick Uihlein. But the Chicago-area shipping supplies magnate and scion of the beer company “that made Milwaukee famous” is a right-wing sugar daddy. The German-American billionaire and his wife Liz are the Midwest version of the Koch brothers.
A ProPublica report details the family’s generational history of pouring millions into far right causes and candidates. Uihlein’s father gravitated to ultraconservative political groups in the 1960s, including the John Birch Society, and supported politicians who embraced segregation. His son leaned into MAGA extremism.
Uihlein, who prefers to fly under the radar when he bankrolls campaigns, was exposed by the Daily Beast as one of the anonymous billionaires “in MAGA gear writing large checks” to groups trying to overturn the 2020 election. He was reportedly one of the biggest financial supporters of the Jan 6 rally.
Dick and Liz were the biggest Republican donors in the 2022 midterms. Period. The bulk of their largesse went to election deniers in the country or political action committees, including super PACs, that either directly backed their candidates or funded enterprises pushing false election claims.
The heir to the Schlitz brewing fortune doled out a ton of cash to underwrite groups that promoted the Big Lie and supported some of the most notorious allies of the disgraced ex-president. It is this GOP megadonor — who has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on state and federal politics in the past decade fighting taxes, unions, abortion rights, “transgender ideology” and critical race theory — who now wants to use his wealth against Ohio voters.
The Illinois plutocrat is bankrolling a brand new super PAC in Ohio (that can spend unlimited amounts of his dough) to shut down our voice in the state. Uihlein funneled over $1 million to his political action committee and is its primary benefactor, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
Helping the billionaire create his spending vehicle in our state — to undermine our only recourse around an undemocratic legislature — is a Cincinnati attorney “with a history of running dark money organizations for anti-abortion organizations and activists on the Christian right,” reports Cleveland.com. Well, there you go. Those conspiring to shut down the people’s views on abortion rights, fair legislative districts, higher minimum wage, commonsense gun reform, etc., are marshaling forces with an out-of-state, hard-right Daddy Warbucks.
Uihlein’s deceptively named “Save Our Constitution” PAC started launching bizarre ads in southern Ohio. The targeted blasts aimed to pressure reticent Ohio House Republicans to approve an August ballot initiative that stifles the capacity of Ohioans to amend their constitution with a supermajority vote and punishing new requirements for ballot signatures.
In 30-second videos, dark shadowy images of Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden and AOC flash as a narrator urges lawmakers to “save Ohio’s Constitution from a radical liberal takeover” before it’s too late. (Wait, what??) The speaker warns that “the clock is ticking” and “conservatives across Ohio are demanding action” of key lawmakers (insert Speaker Jason Stephens name here).
Republican holdouts have the “power to stop them,” the ads intone, (Pelosi & Co.?) and “vote with conservatives.” Or else. Uihlein’s super PAC threatens to keep score of GOP legislators tempted to stand up for Ohio voters. Its sparse website, which screams that “Ohio’s Constitution is under attack,” promises the PAC “will be scoring this vote” (coming up in the Ohio House on the proposed constitutional change.)
“We will ensure that Ohio voters in 2024 are informed about legislators who say yes to this…and those who oppose it or prevent it from being brought to a vote” (a rebuke to Stephens). Ironically, the webpage — funded by deep pockets pushing special interests — declares that “Our Constitution has been hijacked by special interests.” Talk about projecting.
What the GOP moneybags in Chicago is trying to do with his Ohio campaign to save our constitution from us is nothing short of a radical conservative takeover of power from every Ohioan, Republican and Democrat. In that world the majority no longer rules. White nationalism does. The extremist minority seizes power. Opposing views are silenced.
A Big Lie promoter buying his way into Ohio politics to subvert our right of self-governance is no champion of democracy. The corrupt Statehouse Republicans, on the verge of passing a sinister assault on Ohio voters via a sneaky summertime election, are not on your side. Neither is the right-wing rubberstamp in the governor’s office.
The clock is indeed ticking. Pay attention. Or let a fat cat in Illinois call the shots on your life in Ohio.
3). “Ohio government is already captured by radical special interests. State Issue 1 would make it worse”, Jun 29, 2023, David Dewitt, Ohio Capital Journal, at <https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/06/29/ohio-government-is-already-captured-by-radical-special-interests-state-issue-1-would-make-it-worse/>.
{Caption: COLUMBUS, May 10, 2023 – Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis watches the Ohio House floor as House Republicans prepared to pass a resolution for an August election proposal to make it harder for voters to amend the Ohio Constitution. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original story.) }
The central issue for Ohio voters to consider over State Issue 1 on the ballot Aug. 8 is whether we want to give up our own power to hold our politicians accountable.
Right now, due to unconstitutional gerrymandering, we have very little power to do so anyway. But Ohio Republicans are underfunding a low-turnout August election to try to take what’s left: majority rule itself.
By asking voters to pass State Issue 1, Ohio Republicans are asking a majority of voters to shred our own authority over our constitution, and to make citizen-ballot requirements so restrictive that only the most wealthy special interests will have the resources to participate in the process.
State Issue 1 would do these things by raising the threshold for Ohio voters to pass amendments from 50% to 60% — giving a minority of 41% of voters veto power over anything a majority of Ohioans wants — and increasing signature requirements from 44 counties to all 88 counties — giving any small county in Ohio veto power on citizen initiatives over all of Ohio’s other counties.
This effort is being bankrolled by an extremist Illinois billionaire named Dick Uihlein, who has also funded both Jan. 6, and Trump-sycophant 2020 election deniers around the country. Uihlein’s group has launched similar attacks on direct democracy in Missouri, South Dakota, and Arkansas, all of which failed.
Ohio has one of the most corrupt state governments in the country, where politicians have regularly given away billions of dollars in public money to sweetheart donor special interests in scandal after scandal over the years.
At the end of this column, I’ve collated a collection of headlines, but these scandals include: massive utility company special interests robbing ratepayers of hundreds of millions of dollars; charter school scam artists ripping off taxpayers by hundreds of millions of dollars; drug companies that admitted defrauding Ohioans by tens of millions of dollars; predatory payday lenders skirting accountability to fleece vulnerable Ohioans; a nursing home industry peddling campaign donations and influence for sweetheart lawmaking, special interest groups writing legislation; lobbyists writing lawmakers’ testimony, and lawmakers creating standards that benefit their privately-owned businesses.
In 2011, Republicans met in a secret hotel room bunker to gerrymander themselves into Statehouse supermajorities, which they’ve used to carry out this staggering amount of unabated public corruption.
In 2021 and 2022, they defied voters, the Ohio Constitution, and a bipartisan Ohio Supreme Court five times to rig Ohio’s Statehouse maps with gerrymandering again, forcing voters to cast ballots in unconstitutional districts.
Since winning their new gerrymandered supermajorities last November, Ohio Republicans have pursued the most anti-democracy, anti-education, anti-liberty, reactionary, extremist agenda I have ever witnessed in Ohio.
In lame-duck session, they gave Ohio one of the most restrictive voter laws in the nation. With State Issue 1, they became the first legislature in Ohio history to try to roll back the constitutional power of voters.
They have admitted in private and in public that their effort is aimed to stop an abortion rights amendment slated for the November ballot, and to stop voters from any effort toward further anti-gerrymandering reform.
One of the biggest advocates in favor of this attack on Ohio voter power has been Ohio Right to Life, which lobbied lawmakers to pass the resolution, paid $5 million for false and deceptive ads to manipulate Ohioans against the abortion rights proposal, and is holding events with Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose on Issue 1 celebrating the overturning of Roe v. Wade to try to stoke energy to dismantle voter powers that Ohioans have had for more than a century.
Remember who filed the federal lawsuit to bypass the bipartisan Ohio Supreme Court’s rulings against gerrymandering? Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis.
Also in support of Issue 1 are gun-ownership absolutists, whom Ohio Republicans in recent years have showered with sweetheart lawmaking such as a “stand your ground” law that increases gun violence, a permitless concealed carry law that also increases gun violence — from a lawmaker whose testimony was written by a gun lobbyist — and another law, on hold right now in the courts, that bans Ohio towns and cities from enacting their own ordinances to try to prevent gun violence.
The Ohio Chamber of Commerce jumped in on the attack on Ohio voter power, but refuses to discuss the proposal’s clear and admitted ties to restricting abortion rights. This, from a group that represents businesses that have promised to pay for their employees’ abortion travel due to Ohio’s draconian ban.
The Chamber says they support the assault on voters because they oppose a proposal to increase the minimum wage.
Notably, poll after poll shows these groups are out of step with majorities of Ohioans on abortion rights, on gun violence protections, and on the minimum wage.
But we have an Ohio government not only captured by wealthy special interests to whom they corruptly funnel billions of dollars in public money, but also captured by culture war radicals intent on imposing their fanatical, authoritarian ideology on all Ohioans, and for whom Ohio Republicans are ruthlessly attacking democracy itself.
In a somewhat poetic twist of fate, as Ohioans gear up to vote on State Issue 1, former Ohio House Speaker and convicted felon Larry Householder is being sentenced to prison Thursday for carrying out a $60 million political bribery racketeering scheme funded by corrupt utility special interests to obtain a $1.3 billion bailout at Ohio ratepayer expense.
Former Ohio Republican Party Chair Matt Borges will be sentenced to prison for felony racketeering on Friday.
“The Ohio Constitution is not for sale,” the campaign in favor of Issue 1 states on their website. Ohio Republican politicians clearly are for sale, and majority rule over the Ohio Constitution is really the only tool of accountability voters have left to do much of anything about it.
As Ohio voters make this decision on whether to keep — or whether to give away — our own power, perhaps it would be useful to take a look at a collection of headlines about Ohio government in recent years, and to ask ourselves if this is the kind of state government that deserves less accountability, or more.
*All articles from the Ohio Capital Journal unless otherwise noted.
Gerrymandering, voter restrictions, and attacking the Ohio Constitution
State Issue 1
Illinois billionaire attacking Ohio voters also funded Jan. 6 and election deniers
Billionaire-funded group driving effort to erode democracy in key US states (The Guardian)
Ohio Sec. of State LaRose admits making constitution harder to amend is ‘100% about… abortion’
Ohio Rep. Stewart gives amendment game away on extremist abortion bans and illegal gerrymandering
DeWine explains why he’ll vote for Ohio’s Issue 1 in August election
GOP lawmakers, Right to Life meet with Ohio Chamber, Business Roundtable on amendment change
Local boards of election stressed by lack of funding in state budget for August special election
Ohio Secretary of State sent wrong Issue 1 ballot language to election offices (Dayton Daily News)
Gerrymandering
Bipartisan Ohio Supreme Court majority rejects partisan Statehouse redistricting maps for fifth time
House GOP leader on Supreme Court impeachment: ‘All options are on the table’
LaRose would ‘be fine with’ chief justice’s impeachment over redistricting rulings
With deadline looming, lawsuit filed to move Ohio redistricting case to federal court
Federal court implements Statehouse maps twice declared unconstitutional by Ohio Supreme Court
Analysis: Only 1 in 4 Statehouse races will be competitive under new redistricting plan
Ohio Republicans look to have picked up one Ohio Senate seat, and perhaps 2 to 4 in the Ohio House
Voter restrictions
Trump ‘White House in waiting’ helped develop Ohio voting bill touted as model for states
Ohio Republicans up and down the ballot claimed fraud in 2020 election
LaRose bends to election denying extremists again by pulling Ohio out of database integrity program
Bipartisan elections official agree: Ohio doesn’t need photo ID for voting (ABC 6 Columbus)
A behind-the-scenes look at how Ohio enacted the most restrictive voter photo ID law in America
New voter ID requirements put out-of-state college students “between a rock and a hard place”
New Ohio voter ID law also excludes state veterans’ IDs
In a state with 1M license suspensions, Ohio voter ID law could depress turnout
Ohio’s new voting restrictions from GOP raise alarm (The Washington Post)
100-year-old Ohio woman couldn’t cast ballot under new photo ID requirement (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Radical agenda against science and expertise
Extremist abortion ban
Ohio bill would ban abortion without rape exemption
Ohio doctors unite to oppose abortion ban
Arrest confirms Indiana abortion for Ohio 10-year-old: Republicans questioned her existence
Affidavits: More pregnant minors who were raped denied Ohio abortions
Ohio lawmakers reintroduce medically unproven ‘abortion reversal’ bill
IVF patients, doctors share concerns about new Ohio bill recognizing ‘personhood’ at conception
Fact check: No mention of transgender, parental rights in abortion amendment
Gun-ownership absolutism
Gun lobbyist wrote GOP lawmakers’ ‘permitless carry’ speech, document data shows
‘Stand Your Ground’ laws tied to racial inequities, increase in violent crime, researchers say
‘Our voices are not heard’ — Ohio’s largest police union slams new GOP gun bills
Ohio’s response to Uvalde? Armed teachers and $117 million
Ohio lawmaker who wrote bill requiring gun training for teachers owns gun training business
Anti-vaxxers
DeWine, top lawmakers met with national anti-vax leader in 2019
DeWine re-ups anti-abortion lobbyist, COVID skeptic on Ohio Medical Board
Anti-mask, anti-vax Ohioans support bill targeting health dept. authority
Ohio legislature overrides DeWine veto of pandemic authority bill
New pandemic law takes effect; experts say it undermines public health
Ohio lawmaker to retiring anti-vaccine leader: ‘You are wonderful, don’t leave!’
Report calls on medical boards to go after COVID “disinformation doctors;” Ohio’s has not
She says vaccines make you magnetized. This lawmaker invited her testimony, chair says.
Cleveland doctor, who said COVID-19 vax makes people magnetic, under state investigation
GOP lawmaker says he won’t let Jewish health director turn Ohio into Nazi Germany
Ohio politicians condemned for pandemic comparisons to Nazi Germany
An estimated 37,000 American kids lost a parent to COVID-19, study finds
Anti-education
Comments about the Holocaust from representative sponsoring ‘divisive concepts’ bill raise concerns
Students, educators fight against bill that would prohibit teaching ‘controversial’ topics
Ohio House committee talks ‘American Birthright,’ social studies standards
Some college students worry Ohio bill would require slavery to be taught from ‘both sides’
‘It’s an atrocious bill.’ Students and professors rally against massive Ohio higher education bill
More than 100 people spoke out against a massive Ohio higher education bill during marathon meeting
Anti-LGBTQ+ health care
Doctors discredit Ohio transgender bill as extreme overreach
Ohio pediatric doctors decry government control of gender-affirming care
More than 200 people submit opponent testimony against bill to limit health care for LGBTQ youth
Ohio bill limiting health care for LGBTQ+ youth would create registry of trans kids, activist says
Ohio Rep. behind bill limiting transgender care had never spoken to community
Ohio lawmakers and religious lobbyists coordinate on anti-trans legislation
Ohio House passes bill blocking gender-affirming care and trans athletes
New bill would ban transgender students from using bathroom that matches gender identity
Anti-minimum wage increase
Poll: Ohio Voters Support Higher Minimum Wage (Public News Service)
Ohio minimum wage not enough to rent two-bed apartment, report says (WCMH)
Cleveland, Akron, among highest rents in Ohio, but average wages cannot cover costs (Cleveland.com)
Sweetheart lawmaking and public corruption
Utility bailout and bribery
Ohio House speaker, four others arrested amid massive dark-money, pay-to-play allegations
Former Ohio speaker, GOP chair both found guilty of racketeering
Before bribery scandal, JobsOhio forgave a $12m loan to FirstEnergy to clean up a coal plant
Texts, calendars, emails link DeWine to FirstEnergy’s bribery scandal
AEP doesn’t have much to say about its support for corrupt utility bailout
Analysis: Bribery scandal shows how Ohio politics is polluted with dark money
FirstEnergy fired its CEO amid bribery scandal but let him keep millions, documents show
FirstEnergy collected $460 million from customers; auditor unsure if it was spent on bribes
Utility regulators block watchdog’s requests for info about a buried audit of a $460 million fund
After scandal broke, FirstEnergy lobbyist pushed DeWine on “covid response”
Ohio governor won’t say he regrets picking regulator now at the center of historic utility scandal
Sweetheart lawmaking and appointments
Ohio utility regulator front and center in massive bailout scandal
Former DeWine aide warned governor about utility regulator before the FBI raided his home
FirstEnergy said it bribed a regulator for $4.3 million. Here’s how it worked.
Utility regulator accused of taking a bribe helped write bill targeting watchdog
Householder corruption trial: Regulator sent resume to utility he was regulating
Long-time DeWine friend lobbied for corporation accused of fraud
FirstEnergy admits it controlled dark money group started by DeWine aide
DeWine aide’s organization was link to now-guilty dark money group
DeWine refuses to explain aide’s role in bailout scandal
DeWine reaffirms support for aides, despite their roles in scandal-tainted legislation
Despite scandal, DeWine says he takes corruption seriously
DeWine re-ups anti-abortion lobbyist, COVID skeptic on Ohio Medical Board
How an Ohio representative’s business could profit off the ‘stand your ground’ bill he co-sponsors
Charter school corruption
Ohio’s Schools Lost Nearly $600 Million To ECOT Since 2012 (Statehouse News Bureau)
Was Ohio’s charter school award a $71M mistake? (Dayton Daily News)
19 charter schools to be investigated for years of misconduct (Columbus Dispatch)
Troubled Ohio charter schools have become a joke — literally (The Washington Post)
State’s top school choice official resigns after illegal e-school omission (Cleveland.com)
Official excluded failing charter school grades (Associated Press)
Medicaid corruption
Medicaid director owned stock in companies she awarded huge contracts
Long-time DeWine friend lobbied for corporation accused of fraud
In sworn statements, Ohio Medicaid director might have contradicted herself
Bias, conflict were present in $22 billion Ohio Medicaid contract, bidder says
As pandemic ebbs, fears grow that Ohioans will be improperly forced off of Medicaid
Citing Medicaid costs, DeWine and other governors call for an end to Public Health Emergency
Rural hospitals gird for unwinding of pandemic Medicaid coverage
Half a million people in less than a dozen states have lost Medicaid coverage since April
11th state settles with Medicaid contractor over conduct first uncovered in Ohio
Attorney General seeks financial info from Medicaid contractors
Ohio Medicaid won’t say if it considered federal oversight reports in massive procurement
Ohio Medicaid preaches transparency, withholds watchdog reports
Experts: DeWine’s son, Medicaid director both have clear conflicts
DeWine: Additional transparency not needed in massive Medicaid contracts
Payday lending and nursing homes
A crackdown didn’t stop this payday lender from cashing in on poor Ohioans
Dayton-based payday lender continues to bury customers in debt
Judge says lender created a ‘legal fiction’ to skirt payday loan reforms
Nursing homes spent at least $6 million on Ohio politics in five years
Nursing home assn. gave $135k to dark money group tied to Householder bribery case
‘Money without oversight;’ lawmaker proposes giving nursing homes $300 million
Lawmaker proposed $300m handout to nursing homes; then raised $52,000 from their liaisons
Senate votes for $300 million in COVID relief for nursing homes
Errors, deception preceded deadly nursing home covid outbreaks, inspections show
At least 35 nursing homes failed COVID-19 infection control audits
Their roommates had COVID-19. A nursing home kept them there anyway
Assaults on home rule
Inconsistencies in Ohio’s home rule authority highlighted by tobacco legislation
State legislature approves ban on local ‘bag bans’
House to consider blocking cities from banning natural gas
Senate passes bill blocking cities from limiting concealed knife carry
Columbus mulls new strategy to limit gun violence. Could it work?
Ohio Gov. DeWine ignores questions about gun safety amid state lawsuit against Columbus gun law
Ohio House passes bills to stiffen ‘riot’ penalties; stop police from limiting guns on scene
DeWine signs bill giving commissioners ‘kill switch’ on wind, solar projects
Why is Ohio pushing away millions of dollars in solar energy development?
Ten Ohio counties ban wind, solar projects under new state law
State government may soon kill a solar project in the governor’s backyard
Ohioans bear the costs
Is Ohio the best state? Not even close, per a U.S. News & World Report ranking
2021 saw record fatal ODs, gun deaths, car crashes in Ohio over 15 years, data shows
Student hunger is pervasive in Ohio
As costs continue to rise, the child hunger crisis in schools continues to grow (WOIO)
After the end of COVID-era benefits, 70k older Ohioans struggle to fight hunger
New report highlights ongoing problem with poverty in Ohio (WEWS)
Ohio’s Schools Lost Nearly $600 Million To ECOT Since 2012 (Statehouse News Bureau)
Economists pan Ohio coal subsidies
HB 6 coal plant charges mount up again in Ohio (Energy News Network)
Coal plant subsidies from pay-for-play legislation have cost Ohioans $173 million
4). “The Battle Over How to Amend Ohio’s Constitution: Issue 1 on the Ballot in August”, 07.12.2023, Jessica Dickinson, Ohio Fair Courts Alliance, Common Cause Ohio, at <https://www.commoncause.org/ohio/democracy-wire/the-battle-over-how-to-amend-ohios-constitution-issue-1-on-the-ballot-in-august/>
ALL ABOUT OHIO’S ISSUE 1 IN AUGUST
On May 10, 2023, the Ohio General Assembly approved a resolution to make it harder to amend the Ohio Constitution via citizen-led ballot initiatives. Ohioans will vote on this issue, State Issue 1, through a specially created August 8 election.
This is an unprecedented move. In 1851, the Ohio Constitution was approved by a simple majority and since 1912, amendments to the Ohio Constitution have required approval by a majority of Ohio voters (50% +1). Among other important changes, Issue 1 of the August Special Election would raise the approval for changes to the Ohio Constitution to 60% of the vote.
The change has enormous implications down the road for Ohio, ending 111 years of majority rule and allowing a minority of voters to determine the direction of the state.
Important provisions in the Ohio Constitution would be missing had the higher passage rate of 60% been in effect. The most jarring example is from 1912 when Ohio voters approved an amendment to end nepotism and cronyism by 59.9%. Article XV, Section 10 states:
Appointments and promotions in the civil service of the state, the several counties, and cities, shall be made according to merit and fitness, to be ascertained, as is practicable, by competitive examinations. Laws shall be passed providing for the enforcement of this provision.
While this proposal could have been placed on the November 2023 ballot, the state legislature deliberately chose to put this significant change on a specially created election.
Voter approval in August would mean that this higher passage rate would go into effect just in time for the November election, when enshrining the right to abortion is expected to be on the ballot. Other potentially forthcoming constitutional amendments also could be affected, including efforts to increase the minimum wage, legalize recreational marijuana, and reform Ohio’s redistricting system.
How We Got Here
During last year’s lame duck session, Ohio’s Legislature passed a new voting law, House Bill 458, which abolished August special elections unless local governments have a fiscal emergency. The Republican majority voted to abolish most of the special elections due to cost and low voter turnout of eight percent.
In 2021, Secretary of State Frank LaRose described his support for eliminating August Special Elections this way:
August special elections generate chronically low turnout because voters aren’t expecting an election to occur. This is bad news for the civic health of our state. Interest groups often manipulatively put issues on the ballot in August because they know fewer Ohioans are paying attention. As a result, the side that wins is typically the one that has a vested interest in the passage of the issue. Voters are just as capable of voting on these important issues during the standard primary and general elections.
Despite the passage of HB 458 and the fact that this remarkable change to the Ohio Constitution was never raised during the 2022 Election, the Ohio General Assembly changed course and initially adopted a two-pronged proposal to reinstate August special elections. First, it would allow for an August Special Election by way of Senate Bill 92; and second, it would approve Senate Joint Resolution 2 (SJR 2) that would – if approved by voters at the ballot box – require 60% of voter support to amend the Ohio Constitution as opposed to a simple majority. Ultimately, the Ohio House voted to fast-track its plans in May by folding SB 92’s election allocation into SJR2. Click here to see how your legislator voted on SJR 2.
Citizen-led Ballot Initiatives: What Issue 1 Says
The ballot measure would amend Sections 1b, 1e, and 1g of Article II and Sections 1 and 3 of Article XVI of the Ohio Constitution.
If a citizen feels that an issue is not addressed properly (or at all) in the Ohio Constitution, he or she can follow the procedures outlined in the Ohio Constitution and Revised Code to submit a proposed constitutional amendment to the people of Ohio for a statewide vote.
Currently to get a citizen-led initiative on the ballot to amend Ohio’s Constitution, the following is required:
The percentage of state voters who would have to vote “yes” to pass future proposed amendments is 50% +1, a simple majority.
Petition signatures must be obtained from at least 44 of the 88 counties in Ohio.
From each of the 44 counties, there must be signatures equal to at least 5 percent of the total vote cast for the office of governor in that county at the last gubernatorial election.
The Secretary of State must determine the sufficiency of the signatures not later than 105 days before the election. If any petitions or signatures are determined to be insufficient, the petitioners are permitted 10 additional days to collect and file additional signatures (“cure period”).
If State Issue 1 passes, the requirements would change to the following:
Increase the percentage of state voters who would have to vote “yes” to pass future proposed amendments from 50% to 60%.
Signatures must be obtained from all of the 88 counties in Ohio.
From each of the 88 counties, there must be signatures equal to at least 5 percent of the total vote cast for the office of governor in that county at the last gubernatorial election.
Eliminate the 10-day “cure period” during which amendment campaigns can collect additional signatures if their first batch falls short.
Issue 1 Support and Opposition
After denying that abortion was a factor, Secretary of State LaRose admitted that “Issue 1 is ‘100%’ about blocking the abortion measure.” He highlighted the choice of political expediency over tradition when he told supporters, “Some people say this is all about abortion. Well, you know what? It’s 100% about keeping a radical pro-abortion amendment out of our constitution. The left wants to jam it in there this coming November.”
Republican legislators and statewide officials support Issue 1 and many cite “out of state special interests” as their reason. In addition to “protecting Ohio’s Constitution from special interests,” Republican State Senator Rob McColley offered another reason, stating that this measure would prevent “sweetheart deals” from getting into Ohio’s Constitution, citing the 2009 casino amendment as one such deal.
Issue 1 is also supported by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. However, not all business leaders are on board, including the founder of the Ohio Roundtable and the former CEO of Procter & Gamble.
On the other hand, opponents are concerned about the historic low voter turnout for special elections and fear that the state legislature is attempting to sneak these historic changes past voters. Opposition to Issue 1 involves more than two hundred organizations including the Ohio Fair Courts Alliance, the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, and Faith Choice Ohio.
All of the living former Governors and five Attorney Generals (including Republicans and Democrats) have repudiated the proposed change and current mayors, public servants, citizens, and many others have spoken out against State Issue 1. At stake they say is the end of majority rule where 40% of voters would veto the will of 60% of voters for citizen initiatives. Issue 1 would mean almost insurmountable hurdles for getting a citizen-led initiative on the ballot.
Former State Representative and Dispatch editor Mike Curtin said, “Those justifications don’t make sense. It’s a phantom, it’s sasquatch, it’s the boogeyman.” He recounted the track record for citizen-initiated amendments:
Over [the last] 15 years, of those 51 separate groups, six were successful in placing proposed amendments on the ballot — six. Of those six, three won and three lost. Of the three that won, Republicans supported two of those three. Three wins in 51 attempts for a batting average of 6%. Ladies and gentlemen, that is not a record of our Ohio constitution being ‘easily influenced by outsiders.’
Bolstering Curtin’s argument is, despite claims about protection from outside special interests, a political action committee called Save Our Constitution – backed by Illinois Billionaire Richard Uihlein – spent more than $1 million dollars on political ads to put pressure on legislators to put Issue 1 on the ballot.
A CBS News investigation found a coordinated campaign, again heavily funded by Republican mega-donor Richard Uihlein, that could make it hard to pass amendments to protect abortion access in places like Ohio. The report shows how that effort was also used in other states. Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Maureen O’Connor was interviewed for this investigation and said, “When you keep changing the rules & moving the goalposts, you are intentionally silencing the vote of the people.”
Legal Challenges
Lawsuits came swiftly and the Ohio Supreme Court ruled on the following three cases related to the campaign.
State ex rel. DeBlase v. Ohio Ballot Bd (2023-Ohio-1823)
This action arose from an initiative petition proposing a constitutional amendment titled “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety.” It was filed on May 2, 2023 by registered Ohio voters Margaret DeBlase and John Giroux, seeking to compel Secretary of State Frank LaRose to convene a meeting of the ballot board and to compel the board to vacate its decision and instead determine that the petition contains more than one proposed amendment.
On June 1, 2023, in a 7-0 decision, the court ruled that the Ohio Ballot Board “did not abuse discretion or disregard applicable law in determining that the petition at issue proposes only one constitutional amendment, as required by R.C. 3505.062(A).”
State ex rel. One Person One Vote v. Ohio Ballot Bd (2023-Ohio-1928)
This case involved the ballot language adopted by the Ohio Ballot Board and the ballot title adopted by the Secretary of State Frank LaRose. The Relators, One Person One Vote, Jeniece Brock, Brent Edwards, and Christopher Tavenor, argued that the ballot language and title were incomplete and misleading and that the amendment violated legal standards established by the Revised Code and the Constitution.
Relators therefore requested that the Court issue writs of mandamus directing the Ballot Board to reconvene and adopt ballot language that properly and lawfully describes the amendment, or, in the alternative, adopt the full text of the Amendment as the ballot language; and directing Secretary LaRose to adopt a ballot title that properly and lawfully describes the amendment.
On June 12, 2023, in a 4-3 ruling, the court ordered the board to revisit part of the title and a technical error in the measure. The court stated that the phrase in the title “any constitutional amendment” is misleading because it incorrectly suggests that the signature changes would apply to all amendments. The title was subsequently changed to “an initiated constitutional amendment. Regarding the technical error, the justices ordered the Ballot Board to redo that part so it accurately reflects the number of required signatures.
State ex rel. One Person One Vote v. LaRose (2023-Ohio-1992)
On May 31, 2023, the One Person One Vote advocacy group sued Secretary of State Frank LaRose and asked the court to direct him to: (i) remove the constitutional amendment proposed by Amended Substitute Senate Joint Resolution Number 2 (“S.J.R. 2”) from the August 8, 2023, special election ballot and (ii) instruct county election officials not to proceed with the special election.
The group contended that the amended S.J.R. 2 setting of an August 8, 2023 special election is contrary to law and requested the court strike the August 8 special election on the grounds that it was unlawfully approved by state lawmakers. The group argued the election is not legal because Ohio’s new voting law, House Bill 458, abolished August Special Elections and allows municipalities and school districts to hold August special elections only if they’re under a fiscal emergency.
Steven Steinglass, a retired dean and law professor at Cleveland State University’s College of Law who authored a book about the Ohio Constitution, said the state’s statutory law — including HB 458 — cannot be repealed or amended by a joint resolution, Steinglass said, citing an 1897 case before the state’s highest court. “That’s 123 years ago, and I view this as a bedrock principle of Ohio constitutional law,” he said. “Two different instruments, two different processes — you can’t combine them.”
However, on June 16, 2023, in a 4-3 ruling split down party lines, the Ohio Supreme Court determined that lawmakers legally set an August 8 election for Issue 1. The court ruled it was legal, stating that “Article XVI, Section 1 of the Ohio Constitution authorizes the General Assembly to prescribe a special election on a specific date by joint resolution.”
Key Voting Information
Now that these lawsuits have been settled, Ohioans will go to the polls on Tuesday, August 8, 2023 to vote on State Issue 1, the only item on the ballot. Here is some important voting information to review before casting your ballot:
You can vote early in person, vote by mail, or vote on Election Day.
Early voting started Tuesday, July 11. Find your early vote location here.
If you vote by mail, request your absentee ballot by August 1.
Check the new voter ID laws before you cast an in-person ballot.
Conclusion
While the outcome of August’s high-stakes election will impact all Ohioans for years to come, all eyes are on Ohio as the end result has the potential for national implications.
According to Chris Melody Fields Figueredo, executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, “What happens in Ohio, win or lose, will have an impact moving forward and have a reverberating effect across the country… Whatever happens, it will set the tone for how we go into 2024 legislative sessions, what tactics, what nuances state legislatures may do to try and undermine the will of the people, and impact the ability of citizens to bring issues to the ballot.”
In other words, don’t sit this one out.
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