Republicans appear to be in a strong position to take back control of the Senate in 2024, where they only need to flip two seats, with numerous vulnerable Democrats set to appear on the ballot amid a contentious presidential election.
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The Ohio Ballot Board has approved the language for a November ballot measure to legalize the possession, purchase, and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older.
The board approved the full ballot language as drafted by the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, now titled Issue 2 for the November general election unanimously without discussion.
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A broad coalition of Ohio leaders has joined together in order to defeat an attempt by marijuana legalization activists to put an initiative to legalize the purchase and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older on the ballot in November.
The initial coalition represents respected leaders across children’s health care, business, veterans, and law enforcement institutions including Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, Ohio Adolescent Health Association, Buckeye Sheriffs Association, Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, Ohio Fraternal Order of Police, Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, Ohio Veterans First, Veterans Court Watch, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, State Senator Mark Romanchuk (R-Ontario), Former Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken, Phillips Tube Group CEO Angela Phillips, and Smart Approaches to Marijuana CEO Kevin A. Sabet Ph.D.
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A group of Ohioans wants to try yet again to change the state’s Constitution to permit lawsuits against government employees.
The amendment, aiming for the November 2024 presidential election, looks to add a Section 22 to Article I of the Ohio Constitution in order to end qualified immunity being used to protect state employees, including but not limited to law enforcement officers, against civil lawsuits.
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Ohio Secretary of State and undeclared candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2024, Frank LaRose, told The Ohio Star that Ohioans need to know about two lies the Left is spreading about State Issue 1 before going to the polls.
“People need to know about the outright lies the Left is saying about Issue 1,” LaRose told The Star.
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A Democratic-backed group that opposes the Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment, Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 2, and an August special election to vote on it has filed a lawsuit on the grounds that the resolution is unconstitutional and illegal.
The group One Person One Vote, and a coalition of three Ohio residents Jeniece Brock, Brent Edwards, and Christopher Tavenor, filed the lawsuit with the Ohio Supreme Court in response to the passage of a resolution, the Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment, aimed at altering the process of how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments on May 10th.
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A Democratic-backed group that opposes the Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment released an advertisement praising House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) for the lack of a House floor vote on the resolution.
The group One Person One Vote praises Stephens in its advertisement for the lack of a House floor vote on the resolution and the August special election for voters to decide on it.
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An activist-led petition for marijuana legalization in Ohio could be on the November ballot now that state lawmakers have declined to evaluate the change.
The 34-page bill proposed by The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol aimed to impose a 10 percent tax on the sale of all cannabis products and legalize the possession, purchase, and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older.
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Supporters of legislation that aims to alter the process of how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments have told Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) that they have the support of at least 59 House Republicans who want a floor vote on the resolution.
It will take a three-fifths majority of the 99-member House to pass the resolution to put before voters House Joint Resolution (HJR) 1 requiring 60 percent voter approval for future constitutional amendments.
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said on Monday that he would sign a bill allowing an August special election to decide whether to alter the process of how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments if both chambers of the state legislature pass it.
The proposed August election would decide whether the voter threshold for initiative petitions should be raised to a 60 percent approval percentage for any future constitutional amendments, call for signatures from all 88 counties, and do away with the opportunity to “cure” petitions by collecting additional signatures if necessary.
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On Monday, The Ohio Ballot Board unanimously certified that the proposed constitutional amendment that would raise the state minimum wage to $15 an hour called “Raise the Wage Ohio Amendment” incorporates only one constitutional amendment and therefore advances.
The Committee to Represent the Petitioners including Prentiss Haney, Taneisha Latoya Head, Kandiss Bondurant, Mary Jo Ivan, Diane Morgan, and Andrew Ritterman must now gather over 413,000 signatures from registered voters in at least 44 counties, which equals 10 percent of the votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial election before July 5th. The number of signatures must equal at least 5 percent of the votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial race in each county.
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Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose on Tuesday supported a prospective August election as a way to change the process of how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments.
Republicans in both the House and Senate have introduced resolutions to raise the initiative petition voting threshold to 60 percent to amend the state Constitution.
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On Monday, the Ohio Ballot Board unanimously certified that the proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize abortion throughout the state called “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety,” incorporates only one constitutional amendment and therefore advances.
The Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom, a coalition of radical pro-abortion activists that includes Planned Parenthood, Pro-Choice Ohio, the Abortion Fund of Ohio, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio, along with the Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, must now gather over 413,000 signatures from registered voters in at least 44 counties, which equals 10 percent of the votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial election before July 5th. The amount of signatures must equal at least 5 percent of the votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial race in each county.
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Following a closed-door meeting at the Ohio Statehouse held by State Representative Derek Merrin (R-Monclova), a group of over thirty lawmakers filed a new version of their proposal to increase the threshold for citizen-led ballot initiatives.
47 Republicans who adhered to the Republican caucus’s decision to abstain from voting for state Representative Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) for speaker of the house, were invited by Merrin to a meeting on Wednesday. The meeting included discussing house rules, redistricting, and progressing the proposed constitutional amendment to require support from at least 60 percent of voters rather than a simple majority to pass future proposed amendments that was introduced last legislative session.
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Determined to use their oversight authority to ensure election integrity, House Republicans are deploying dozens of trained observers to key races around the country while dispatching letters putting federal and state officials on notice to look for any shenanigans in the midterms.
The effort led by Rep. Rodney Davis, the top Republican on the House Administration Committee, includes investigating how federal agencies are implementing President Joe Biden’s executive order instructing the U.S. government to expand voter registration, along with the training and deployment of House staff as observers under the authority of Congress.
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Monday morning on Always Right with Bob Frantz, weekday mornings on AM 1420 The Answer, host Frantz welcomed Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose to the show to discuss the strategy of Democrats to ‘sue until their blue’ and violate the Ohio constitution.
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Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose blasted a ruling from the Ohio Supreme Court, which blocked the state’s redistricting maps for the fourth time.
The ruling requires a new set of maps to be drawn and submitted to the Court and the Secretary of State’s office by May 6th.
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Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose wants more money from the General Assembly to conduct the state’s May 3 primary after continued delays in creating new district maps increased pressure on county boards of elections.
LaRose, who also is a member of the Ohio Redistricting Commission that twice had maps thrown out by the Ohio Supreme Court, also ordered county boards to start taking steps to place candidates for the General Assembly on the ballot, even though the court has yet to approve a third set of maps passed late last week.
“The General Assembly has the legal authority to set the time, place, and manner of our elections, and they’ve made it clear that the state House and Senate contests will be placed on the May 3 ballot,” LaRose said. “I’ve also communicated to the legislative leaders the risks associated with rushing this process. Elections officials across Ohio are concerned about the compressed timeline for candidate certification, ballot preparation and the programming and testing of voting equipment.”
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The Ohio Redistricting Commission faces yet another deadline regarding the redrawing new congressional districts as members wait on Ohio House Speaker Robert Cupp bides his time on moving forward on a process that could have ended Sept. 30.
The commission has not met since the Ohio General Assembly failed to consider, let along pass, options for redistricas the state prepares to lose one congressional district following the reapportionment of congressional representation among the states sparked by the 2020 U.S. census.
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John Adams, a four-term veteran of the Ohio House of Representatives, has formally announced he will take on Ohio Secretary of State of Frank La Rose for the GOP nomination to lead the key elections and business registration office.
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Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci has asked Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Secretary of State Frank LaRose to open another line of investigation into the FirstEnergy Corp. public corruption scandal and incumbent GOP Governor Mike DeWine’s re-election campaign.
Renacci transmitted the joint letter to the Republican statewide officeholders Monday late afternoon in the latest attack attempting to more closely tie DeWine and the corruption scheme from the House Bill 6 passed in July 2019. FirstEnergy pushed the legislation to allow it to tap Ohio electric customers both inside its service territory and that of other investor-owned electric utilities to financially support its two old nuclear power plants located along the Lake Erie shores to the tune of $1.1 billion.
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The Ohio Republican Party (ORP) has given the 2022 re-election campaign of Governor Mike DeWine (R-OH) $870,968 since January 1, 2021, despite the fact that DeWine has two announced primary challengers for the Republican gubernatorial nomination–former Congressman Jim Renacci (R-OH) and Joe Blystone.
Recent filings by the Ohio Republican Party Central Committee State Candidate Fund with the campaign finance division of Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office show the party gave the 2022 re-election campaign of Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted a $500,000 payment on July 30 without the approval of the party’s fiscal review committee or a formal endorsement of the governor’s campaign against rivals for the GOP nomination.
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Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced on Monday that his office has identified 117 non-citizens that registered to vote for the 2020 election — a violation of Ohio state law.
After identifying the individuals, LaRose referred the individuals to the Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost for investigation and potential prosecution.
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Last week a Republican primary candidate for the 2022 Ohio gubernatorial race uncovered that his vote in the 2020 Presidential Election was not reflected in his voter history on the Franklin County Board of Elections (FCBOE) website.
Joe Blystone, a Canal Winchester rancher and first-time political candidate, requested FCBOE investigate the matter. FCBOE later determined that Blystone’s vote was cast but not recorded in his voter history.
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Mike Gibbons announced Tuesday that he will run for the Ohio seat in the U.S. Senate up for grabs in 2022. A Cleveland Republican, Gibbons is an investment banker, entrepreneur and real estate investor who made his first bid for U.S Senate in 2018 when he competed in the Republican primary.
The Ohio Star talked with Gibbons Tuesday morning shortly after he announced his candidacy. His full press release can be viewed below.
“I’ve got five kids and five grandkids. I’ve never been more frightened for their future in my life,” Gibbons responded when asked why he’s running. “When I started, I didn’t know I’d do as well as I have. We were able to send our kids through college and grad school without loans – I started with nothing.”
Monday morning Cleveland businessman and 2018 U.S. Senate candidate Mike Gibbons announced a statewide tour during which he will listen to what Ohio voters have to say as he considers a run for office in 2022.
“This listening tour will allow me the opportunity to meet directly with the voters who understand that we can’t afford to send another politician or party insider to Washington. We need to send someone with a business background, who will fight for working-class Ohioans, who’s unafraid to stand up to his own party and who will always tell the truth,” said Gibbons.
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Wednesday, U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mandel (R) called on Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine to remove all COVID mandates and re-open businesses 100 percent.
“Mike DeWine and Amy Acton have done a horrible job handling the COVID response and completely trampled on the freedoms, liberties, and livelihoods of everyday Ohioans. Today I call for Ohio to fully re-open and allow Ohioans to get back to work, get their kids back to school, and remove our statewide mask mandate,” Mandel said.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee (SCC) voted 53-11 on Friday to elect Bob Paduchik chairman over candidate John Becker.
Paduchik will replace Jane Timken who resigned just weeks following her mid-January re-election to run for the U.S. Senate seat that will not be sought by the incumbent and two-term winner Rob Portman (R-OH).
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Late last week, several media outlets reported Dr. Amy Acton resigned as Director of Human:Kind – a Columbus Foundation project – a move that feeds speculation she is preparing to run for US Senate in 2022.
This is the third resignation by Acton in less than a year.
The first was when she left the post of Director at the Ohio Department of Health in June in the middle of the COVID pandemic and amidst rising opposition to the state’s COVID policies – mandates one judge called “arbitrary, unreasonable and oppressive.”
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Rob Portman’s U.S. Senate seat is up for grabs after the establishment Republican announced he would not run for re-election in 2022. Portman cited gridlock and more time with family as primary reasons driving his decision to step away from federal politics – ending his 33 year career since his first political job as a legal aid to President George H.W. Bush in 1989.
Following the announcement, the Ohio rumor mill swirled with talk about many prospective Republican replacements.
Jim Jordan (R-OH-4) is a strong Trump advocate and member of the House Freedom Caucus who has represented Ohio in D.C. since 2007. His spokesperson said the congressman was honored by the overwhelming support to run for U.S. Senate but is solely focused on representing Ohio’s Fourth District and would not be running.
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Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced Wednesday that 97,795 voters were removed from the rolls after Ohio’s 88 county boards of elections identified the abandoned registrations as part of the maintenance process required by Ohio and federal law. “Getting rid of bad voter data from the voter rolls helps prevent fraud, makes it easier for county boards of elections to do their jobs, and strengthens the confidence Ohioans place in our elections,” LaRose said. The purge process began in 2016 when registrants who had been inactive for two years at that point received notification to determine if they were at the registered address and wished to remain a registered voter. “If that record remains inactive for another four years or six years of total inactivity, it must be removed from the voter rolls,” the secretary of state’s release stated. On August 17, LaRose released to all county boards of election Directive 2020-14 announcing a December 7 deadline by which boards had to identify for removal inactive registrants. Between the August directive and the December deadline, 18,000 Ohioans took action to keep their active voter status – 10,000 did so by voting in the 2020 presidential election. “It’s important…
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Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced he fulfilled his pledge to bring more transparency to the Secretary of State’s office.
Unanimously passed at the end of 2020, Senate Bill 107 (SB107) is an act to “allow certain entities to file campaign finance statements electronically, to require the Secretary of State to make the information in those electronic statements available online.”
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Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) announced Tuesday that county post-election audits are complete.
“In yet another example of unprecedented transparency, LaRose has provided the results of county post-election audits online for the first time,” wrote Maggie Sheehan, the secretary of state’s press secretary, in a statement.
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On Wednesday The Ohio Star reported that Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost was taking a “deep dive into the legal theories” of the lawsuit Texas filed in the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) against Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin.
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Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose officially certified the results on Friday of the 2020 presidential election.
In a press release, the top election officer’s Press Secretary Maggie Sheehan, the office called the election “record-setting,” proof that voting “was most secure and more accessible than ever before.”
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