Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said state House members who dont support putting a constitutional amendment on an Aug. 8 ballot will face consequences for their decision. Who's in charge in Columbus is important. This week, host Anna Staver was joined the entire team of state reporters: Jessie Balemert, Laura Bishoff and Haley BeMiller. The goal, to support the local school board and urge them to put a new high school levy on the ballot in November. Contact Editor David DeWitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com. Between 1995 and 2018, just one legislative referral was a statute. . Switch to Fios Home Internet. But that's just the start of what voters can expect -- and we want to make sure you're prepared with everything you need to know before casting your ballot. Cities | Reporting and analysis from the Hill and the White House, Ohio Republicans try to change rules to defeat abortion rights amendment. Andrea Yagoda said she waited over three hours to testify but never got the chance. "I think we could all agree we would certainly want to stop those kinds of nefarious activities from going on. It may be prescription drug prices again or it may be medical marijuana that people want to put in the constitution. A special election would cost about $20 million. Note: polling place locations and times are subject to change. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. According to the Auglaize County board of elections, her even-year voting record is basically flawless, save missing a primary in 2014. Illinois and Florida are two other states that require a 60% supermajority to approve constitutional amendments. Up in the Toledo area, longtime Rep. Marcy Kaptur faces a tough re-election campaign against political newcomer JR Majewski. Early voting continues during published hours until 2 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Summit County Board of Elections, 500 Grant St., Akron. You need to have a form of ID with you to cast a ballot on election day. With hundreds of races, issues and levies on. Here's what you can expect from 3News: Did you get your "I Voted" sticker? Watch for these updates on, Subscribe to our free 3News to GO! "This is absolutely outrageous.". State lawmakers decide on everything from sales taxes and income taxes to abortion, gun reforms and funding for public schools. .sbtotaltable td { While LaRose points out that most states dont permit citizen initiatives to change constitutions, he opposes eliminating them in Ohio, but wants to increase the threshold for approval. "This is why township ordinances are easier to change than the Ohio Revised Code, and the Ohio Revised Code is easier to change than federal law. Sen. Mike DeWine's support, but he'll need to sign off on the August election. There is one other wrinkle in all this. Example video title will go here for this video. An Ohio House committee took up two measures Wednesday aimed at re-establishing an August special election. 3News will offer special coverage of the election as soon as polls close on WKYC+ (available on Roku and FireTV). Legislation and Ballot Issues. Who wouldnt want to curtail the power of rogue politicians, of special interest groups?" DEIJ Policy | Ethics Policy | Privacy Policy. Driving the news: Last week, the Ohio Ballot Board approved the wording of both constitutional amendments placed on the ballot by Republican majorities in the state Legislature. He said in an interview that while abortion is not my issue, he is outraged by the attempt to change the rules. The Ohio Ballot Board verified Monday that a proposed amendment for the November ballot to cement abortion rights in the Ohio Constitution can now move forward to the full signature-gathering stage. Click here to find the latest polling places at the Ohio elections site. It would take 413,446 valid signatures gathered by July 5 to place issue on the November ballot. Democrats called the measure undemocratic and arrogant and believe it will erode the ability of Ohioans to make their voices heard. The two elections measures in the House would settle the question of when. Ohio requires a 60 percent vote in each legislative chamber during one legislative session to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot. After the 2020 elections, Republicans decried changes made during the pandemic that expanded early and mail-in voting, which has tended to favor Democrats. 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Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050. How to vote | Some proponents of the rule change will not specify that abortion politics is the reason they are rushing to do this. From the race to be Ohio's next governor to the battle for Sen. [8], The following were the top donors to the committee. Simple. "Across the country, special interests have hijacked these processes and used them as their own business development tools," Euton said. Marozzi was among 61 individuals and groups to testify against SJR2 so far; 14 others testified in support. Here's a comprehensive list of what school levies voters can expect to see on their ballots, broken down by county in alphabetical order. [1], The ballot title for the initiative was as follows:[1], An Act to Control and Regulate Adult Use Cannabis[3], The ballot summary for the initiative was as follows:[1], The full text of the measure is below:[1], The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol is leading the campaign in support of the ballot initiative. The House, which also is controlled by Republicans, has held off on voting for the two bills. There has not yet been a hearing for proponents of SB92. SB92 also appropriates $20 million for a special election, a diversion from also Republican-backed election reform passed in December that effectively eliminated special elections. The initiative was designed to enact a state law to legalize the cultivation, processing, sale, purchase, possession, home growth, and use of recreational marijuana for adults 21 years of age or older. Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D) said, At face value, this sounds pretty good. With Sen. 1) U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Under this measure, adults would be authorized to possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and up to 15 grams of marijuana concentrates, and individuals would be able to grow six marijuana plants at home or up to 12 plants per household. The Ohio Ballot Board's role in the process is first to determine whether the petition language contains a single issue and secondly, to prescribe the official ballot language and any missing arguments for each statewide issue. Here's a brief overview on each: The Supremes: These races will determine whether we have a Democratic or Republican majority on the court. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) said that in order for the amendment to appear on the August ballot, both measures must pass the Ohio House of Representatives before May 10, 2023. Rob McColley, R-Napoleon. Im pro-life and I dont believe we should have abortion in our constitution. Follow Ohio Capital Journal on Facebook and Twitter. Still, for all her optimism about turnout, even Manchester isnt immune from sitting out a sleepy election or two. Euton said special interest groups have preyed on the 18 states like Ohio that have a process for citizens to bypass the legislative process and amend the constitution directly. The effort is as transparent as it is cynical. Gambling Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, added that a May election wouldve been preferable because it was already scheduled.. "The constitution is meant to inform us as to how the government is supposed to be run and to enshrine rights for all Ohioans.". The 18.23% turnout in Auglaize County in 2022s August election was the most in the state, but it was not quite in line with prior elections. So thats going to be up to the speaker and the members of the Legislature, the House in particular, if they can muster the 60 votes that are needed to do this.. So now, proponents of raising the threshold for passage of constitutional amendments also want to authorize an August election. As long as they give us the time and resources, our highly professional, talented election administrators in 88 counties will do what they always do and deliver another free and fair election, LaRose said. On August 13, 2021, the campaign submitted a new version of the initiative petition. Backers of the initiated statute originally wanted the proposal before voters in November 2022, but an attorney for the Ohio House and other state officials believed the law required the . 18Proponents and opponents gathered in the Statehouse Tuesday to testify on contentious legislation that could curtail a statewide ballot initiative to enshrine abortion access in the Ohio Constitution this November. } Of the 49 states that require voter approval for constitutional amendments (Delaware does not require voter approval for constitutional amendments), 38 states require a simple majority vote while 11 states require a supermajority vote or other criteria that must be met for ratification.

   .sbtotaltable { Cole highlighted the $20 million price tag attached to an August election and suggested that there were better uses of that money. A few of the big statewide races include: RELATED: LIVE BLOG | Ohio November 8 midterm election: Real-time updates.     font-size:1.2em;  Senate Bill 92 would create a special election this August for Ohioans to vote to raise the voter threshold, but the legislation excludes the abortion-rights proposal from appearing on that same ballot. On August 5, 2021, the attorney general rejected the ballot summary of the initiative because it did not meet the standard of a fair and truthful statement of the proposed law.". Some of those races are all but guaranteed to re-elect an incumbent, but there's a handful of close races.  The proposed amendment does not require Gov. The coalition argued that legislative leaders would claim that signatures weren't submitted in time. Send us a picture on Facebook, Twitter or by texting it to us at 216-344-3300.         color:white !important; Without those measures, the abortion-rights initiative could pass in November with support from a simple majority of Ohioans. I dont think spending $20 million on a low turnout election was the right decision," Manning said.  Breaking election results will be available through push alerts with the free WKYC app. Ohioans are going to vote on two statewide ballot initiatives this November. It is easy to vote and hard to cheat in Ohio elections, LaRose said. Ohio recently did away with its August elections (except in a few cases) on the grounds that they were costly and generally resulted in low turnout. Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. When it comes to general elections, the August 2022 turnout is a pittance. "When an initiative can be bought by billionaires from California or anywhere else, and passed by a slim majority here in Ohio, it isn't about the will of the voter, it's about the wallet of the funder.". But its not exclusively about that because the next thing coming down the line is minimum wage. All Republicans supported the resolution, but Sen. Nathan Manning, R-North Ridgeville, was the sole GOP senator to vote no on the election bill. Curtin later served in the Ohio General Assembly as a Democrat. LaRose opposed these signature-related changes, saying they could disadvantage truly citizen groups using largely volunteer labor and give an advantage to corporate or other special interests who could afford paid signature gatherers. State and local courts | When its a school levy or a parks district levy or a sewer district levy, you can see where people could say that. Ohioans are going to choose three justices for the state Supreme Court this November as well as a secretary of state, attorney general, auditor and treasurer. To that end, Rep. Richard Brown, D-Canal Winchester, asked Manchester if shed voted in any recent August elections. The only time there was a statewide constitutional amendment for consideration on an August ballot in Ohio was 97 years ago. Yost says he's pushing back against the inappropriate use of presidential power.  At the time of reporting, 96 individuals and groups have submitted written versions of their testimony to the committee. LaRose said he backed the elimination of virtually all August special elections because they fly below the radar. The state ID cards can be obtained at no cost to residents. Curtin has said the system has worked well for a century and that arguments to the contrary are a smokescreen to go after the reproductive rights amendment. Copyright  Tribune Chronicle | https://www.tribtoday.com | 240 Franklin Street SE, Warren, OH 44483 | 330-841-1600, I think that members who choose not to support this will have consequences for that, meaning the voters will hold them accountable because there are a lot of Ohioans who want to see this done,, not for changing the rules willy-nilly at a whim when it comes to changing our constitution., Predicting what the Ohio House of Representatives can and cannot do currently is a pretty risky endeavor so Im not going to make a prediction. Forest Hills Local School District has a 6.9 mill tax levy on the ballot for general and permanent improvement purposes. The first is about bail and what judges should take into consideration when assigning it to people accused of crimes .  But the motive is clear: Facing the possibility that abortion rights could be enshrined into the state constitution by a vote of the people later this year, Republicans want to change the rules by making it tougher to pass such amendments by requiring them to receive 60 percent of the vote. The first round of petitions are allowed to circulate for an indefinite period of time. Rep. Jeff Crossman, D-Parma, says the current attorney general, Republican Dave Yost, uses the office for political fights like vaccine mandates, critical race theory and transgender student-athletes. They arent the sort of issues the average voter spends an enormous amount of time thinking about, and they come up at a time most voters arent thinking about heading to the polls. Only a few . Ballot Board. Apr. On January 5, 2022, it was reported that Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose resubmitted the measure to the Ohio General Assembly. The newly drawn district is also a tossup with Democratic voters making up 51% and Republicans holding 47%. I certainly hope they will act.. Most polls of the race show him with a double-digit lead over his Democratic challenger, former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley. As seems to be the case with abortion in Ohio, Republican lawmakers are trying to change rules when public opinion appears to be against them. | Acceptable forms of identification are listed HERE. Mike DeWine is seeking re-election, multiple other candidates are hoping to take the role. Separately, McColley acknowledged the reasoning behind Republicans effort to bring back the August election date. Elections in 2023 |  View your sample ballot and local voting information. On August 20, 2021, the attorney general certified the new ballot summary of the initiative. What are the races that impact you?   The May 3 primary election has multiple big races on the ballot, including the Ohio governor battle to the U.S. Senate contest to replace retiring Sen. Rather than trying to convince a majority of Ohio voters that abortion rights should not be added to the state constitution, Republican legislators have decided to try to move the goal posts. Who wouldnt want to curtail the power of rogue politicians, of special interest groups? 104 East Sugar Street.  Resource Details Share this  I think that members who choose not to support this will have consequences for that, meaning the voters will hold them accountable because there are a lot of Ohioans who want to see this done, LaRose said during a Wednesday interview. Ohioans are also going to elect 15 representatives to the U.S. House.  On April 6, 2023, HB 458 went into effect, removing one day from the early voting period, Early voting is no longer available on the Monday before Election Day. Obviously, some folks want to make this all about abortion.  It happened in Michigan last November, when about 57 percent of voters approved a reproductive rights amendment in an election that also saw voters reelect Gov. The Republican-backed effort consists of two interdependent prongs:  House Joint Resolution 1 and Senate Joint Resolution 2 both propose to amend the state constitution to require a 60% vote to pass any and all future constitutional amendments  a measure that would itself need to be approved by Ohioans in a statewide ballot initiative. Constitutional rights        font-weight:bold; On August 30, 2021, the Ohio Ballot Board cleared the petition for signature gathering. Signatures are collected in two phases for indirect initiatives: Ohio also has a signature distribution requirement, which requires that signatures be gathered from at least 44 of Ohio's 88 counties. Asked about waiting until the Nov. 7 general election to put the issue in front of voters, LaRose said, I cant speak for (the Legislature), but the thinking is no time like the present because theres currently an effort to put something in the constitution that doesnt belong there. The new measure would extend that to all 88 counties in Ohio and would eliminate the curing period, or the time given to correct for faulty signatures. Ballotpedia covered local ballot measures in Ohio for voters in two counties on two election dates, including November 8. State executives | And just like the congressional races, some of these are competitive and some of them are not. Polls are open throughout Ohio from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.  Early and mail-in voting regulations are prime examples of such action. Applications for absentee ballots for all 2023 elections may be accepted (first day of the year) R.C. Polls show a substantial gender gap in the Ohio . Democrats repeatedly hammered the sponsors about timing because August elections typically involve far lower voter turnout. DeWine said, If both houses approve this and thats the way, the direction they want to go, Im going to sign it. ACLU of Ohio's Collin Marozzi told the Senate General Government Committee that it's a "a false equivalency to think that the Ohio constitution should be equally as difficult to amend as the US constitution," arguing that, the more local the government is, the more responsive its laws should be. In the Akron-Canton area, former Ohio House Minority leader Emilia Sykes, a Democrat, is running against another Trump-endorsed Republican, Madison Gesiotto Gilbert. CLEVELAND  Get ready, Ohio Election Day is here! Remember, you are still permitted to vote as long as you're in line before the polls close at 7:30 p.m. RELATED: When do polls close on Election Day 2022? But I still dont believe, after listening to the debate, that this is the way forward.. [20], On May 13, 2022, the CTRMLA reached a settlement with state officials, allowing them to resubmit the first 132,887 collected signatures at the start of the 2023 legislative session.[21].