Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose Defends Election Integrity Measures

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is defending his decision to recently purge thousands of voter registration records that have been inactive for four years and have failed to update their records within that time.

LaRose’s office purged nearly 27,000 inactive voters from the voter rolls on September 28.

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Abortion Activists File Lawsuit Against Ohio Ballot Board’s Condensed Version of Amendment for November Election

A coalition of pro-abortion activists filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging the Ohio Ballot Board’s decision to use a condensed version of a proposed amendment written by the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office for the November ballot that would enshrine abortion into the state Constitution. 

This follows the Ohio Ballot Board rejecting the full text of the proposed amendment. The summary language does not alter what the actual amendment would say in the state Constitution but is the last representation of the amendment Ohioans read before casting their vote.

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Ohio Ballot Board Approves Condensed Version of Abortion Amendment for November Election

The Ohio Ballot Board on Thursday rejected using the full text of a proposed amendment for the November ballot that would enshrine abortion into the state Constitution, instead adopting a condensed version of the text written by the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office.

The board approved the condensed language, now titled Issue 1 for the November general election, in a 3-2 split decision. The board can decide to use the full text of the proposed amendment or use a condensed version of the text for the ballot language.

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Ohio Secretary of State Certifies Marijuana Legalization Initiative for November Ballot

The Ohio Secretary of State’s office has certified that the additional signatures submitted by a coalition of marijuana legalization activists who want to legalize the possession, purchase, and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older qualifies them for the November ballot.

The proposed initiative submitted by The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol aims to impose a 10 percent tax on the sale of all cannabis products, permit adults to grow up to six plants per person or 12 per household, and legalize the possession, purchase, and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older.

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Ohio State Issue 1 Defeated

After a long campaign season for and against Ohio State Issue 1 to raise the threshold to amend the state Constitution, voting numbers from county boards of elections are pouring in and being added to the unofficial results on the Ohio Secretary of State’s Website.

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Ohio Adult-Use Marijuana Activists Submit Additional Signatures for November Ballot

A group of marijuana legalization activists delivered thousands of 6,545 additional signatures on Wednesday to the Ohio Secretary of State‘s Office in an attempt to put an initiative to legalize the purchase and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older on the ballot in November. This follows…

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Ohio Pro-Abortion Activists Submit Signatures for November Ballot Initiative

A group of pro-abortion activists delivered thousands of signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office on Wednesday in an attempt to put an amendment to enshrine abortion into the state constitution on the ballot in November.

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 submitted 710,131 signatures to the Secretary of State’s office before the deadline to go before voters in November.

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State Voting Laws Banning Student IDs Won’t Tank the Youth Vote, Experts Say

State laws that prohibit students from using their school-issued IDs to vote are unlikely to suppress youth voter turnout, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

States including Idaho, Ohio and Georgia have laws on the books that limit what identification students can present to prove they are an eligible voter when at the polls. While critics of these laws argue that preventing student IDs from being used is a barrier to voting, several experts told the DCNF that there are other ways students can vote and that these laws likely will not have an overwhelming impact in preventing young voters from casting a ballot.

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Ohio Republican State Central Committee Unanimously Vote to Oppose Amendment to Enshrine Abortion in State Constitution

The Ohio Republican State Central Committee unanimously voted to oppose a proposed constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion in the state Constitution during their Friday meeting.

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, proposed “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety.”

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Ohio Ballot Board Certifies Amendment to Raise the State Minimum Wage

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 Attorney General Yost Accepts Petition to Amend State Constitution Raising Minimum Wage

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost accepted a petition on Wednesday which aims to amend a portion of the Ohio Constitution and raise the state minimum wage to $15 an hour.

The proposal called “Raise the Wage Ohio Amendment” aims to amend Article II, Section 34a of Ohio’s Constitution in order to raise the minimum wage to $12.75 per hour beginning January 1st, 2025 and then in equal yearly increments until it gets to $15 per hour on January 1st, 2026.

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Ohio Ballot Board Certifies Amendment to Enshrine Abortion in State Constitution

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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Ohio Amendment to Enshrine Abortion in State Constitution Moves Forward

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office certified the petition summary on Thursday for “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety,” a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize abortion throughout the state. The amendment would add Section 22 to Article 1 of the state Constitution.

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Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted Lays Framework for Future Statewide Run for Office

Ohio Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted has started laying the framework for a future run for statewide office.

Husted’s office announced on Wednesday that the Ohio Secretary of State’s office had received a “Designation of Treasurer” from the lieutenant governor which establishes who will oversee the purse strings of a campaign committee.

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Ohio Attorney General Sues Fake Home Warranty Company After over 1,200 Consumer Complaints

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is suing a “home warranty” firm and its administrator due to misleading and unethical business tactics.

Since 2018, more than 1,200 consumers combined have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office about Amazon Home Warranty, a Wyoming company based in New Jersey that uses a Columbus customer-service address, and Amazon Warranty Administrators, which lists a Dublin address but is not, as required by state law, registered with the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office.

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Ohio Governor Signs Bills Approved During Lame-Duck into Law

As the year ends, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is reviewing the legislation approved throughout the lame-duck session and deciding to either veto or sign it into law.

Before the holiday break, DeWine signed two bills into law Senate Bill (SB) 210 and House Bill (HB) 223.

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Bill Likely to Come Up in Lame-Duck Session Could Require Ohio Voters to Have a Photo ID

A bill to make changes in Ohio voting laws has potential to be brought up by Republican lawmakers in the upcoming lame-duck legislative session. The bill would require a photo ID for nearly all Ohio voters.

Representative Bill Seitz (R-OH-30) already has a bill, in the Government Oversight Committee, House Bill (HB) 249 to create online ballot requests with two forms of ID, to limit the locations and window of time for ballot dropboxes, and to shorten the period to request early ballots.

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Ohio Election Day Roundup: Results for National Elected Offices, State Offices, and Statewide Ballot Issues

After a long campaign season for the Ohio midterm election, voting numbers from county boards of elections are pouring in and being added to the unofficial results on the Ohio Secretary of State’s Website.

According to the Ohio Secretary of State, results are unofficial until they have been reviewed and certified once the official canvass has been completed by November 29th.

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Ohio Secretary of State Readies Voters, Officials for Busy Election Day

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is making one last push to inform Ohioans of important voter information prior to their final opportunity to cast a ballot.

The Ohio secretary of state’s office indicates that there is only one official source for Ohio election information, which is voteohio.gov. To ensure all voters have the correct information ahead of Election Day, LaRose urges voters to only utilize voteohio.gov as an official resource for vital and accurate election information including finding a polling location, voter ID requirements, sample ballots, absentee ballot tracking, support for voters with disabilities, and election results.

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Ohio Election Eve Roundup: Statewide, District, County, and Municipal Races to Watch

Ohio are set to choose their next governor, U.S. senator, and three seats for the state supreme court this election cycle.

The big-ticket race in Ohio is to fill the U.S. Senate seat left open by retiring Senator Rob Portman (R-OH). Republican nominee J.D. Vance was endorsed by former President Donald Trump and he is currently in a tight race with Democratic Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH-13).

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Ohio Voters May Be in New House, Senate, and Congressional Districts Due to Redistricting

Ohio’s journey to develop maps for the legislative and congressional voting districts has put many voters in new Ohio House, Senate, and Congressional districts for the upcoming election.

When voters go to the polls next week they may notice that they have different lawmakers representing them at the Statehouse and in Washington.

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Ohioans Can View What’s on the Ballot Before Going to the Polls

With only a week left until the midterm election and early voting well underway Ohioans can access, review, and mark their selections on a sample ballot prior to election day.

The November 8th election is a midterm, so a number of federal, state, and local candidates will be on the ballot as well as two important statewide issues.

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Conservatives Critical of VP Hopeful Kamala Harris Stop at Cuyahoga County Polling Place

With just 10 days before the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election and President Donald Trump’s approval numbers increasing, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris toured northern Ohio on Saturday to rally voter turnout in the battleground state.

One of the stops the Vice Presidential candidate made was to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections in downtown Cleveland – on the first day of early voting in one of Ohio’s largest counties.

The visit was criticized on social media – some claiming that Harris violated Ohio election law by campaigning at a poll location.

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State Board Meets Today to Decide if Ohio Secretary of State May Spend Up to $3M to Prepay Absentee Ballot Postage

A state board is meeting today to decide if Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose can spend up to $3 million to pay for absentee ballot postage for the November elections.

The Ohio Controlling Board will consider LaRose’s request today. Their agenda is here, and more information about LaRose’s request is here.

This appropriation of state funds will be used by the Ohio Secretary of State to pay the cost of returning absentee ballots on behalf of any Ohio voter who opts to use that manner of voting in the November 3, 2020 General Election. This will not expand Ohio’s existing absentee voting opportunities and will not permit universal vote by mail. There will still be in-person voting at polling locations on Election Day, November 3, 2020. 

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Michigan and Ohio Secretaries of State Endorse Zuckerberg’s Millions Directed to Elections

Michigan and Ohio state secretaries Jocelyn Benson and Frank LaRose endorsed $300 million directed to elections by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan. The Center for Tech and Civil Life (CTCL) and Center for Election Innovation and Research (CEIR) announced Tuesday that Zuckerberg and his wife donated in order “to promote safe and reliable voting in states and localities.”

Both Benson and LaRose agreed that the investment was necessary considering the pandemic’s effects on the presidential election. LaRose reposted the press release the day it came out, citing the need for accurate information during voting.

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Ohio Elections Chief Frank LaRose Seeks Openness for ‘Dark Money’ Groups

The source of money contributed to so-called “dark money” groups operating in Ohio and trying to influence the political process should be disclosed, with possible penalties for violating this requirement including a low-level felony and a substantial fine, Ohio’s Republican elections chief said Monday.

The Secretary of State should also have subpoena power for campaign-finance related records and groups trying to block the gathering of ballot initiative signatures should be required to register with the state, said Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

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Democrat Kathleen Clyde Promises to ‘Impact’ Ohio’s Elections and Redistricting Process

With so much attention on Ohio’s race for governor, and about half a dozen seats for the U.S. Senate and House up for grabs, there is one office that might easily be overlooked by voters. As The Ohio Star has previously reported, both candidates for this crucial office are 39-year-old…

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Democrat Secretary of State Nominee Kathleen Clyde Continues to Rail Against ‘Voter Purges’ in Ohio

Registering to vote was once considered an individual responsibility – part of what it means to be an American citizen doing one’s civic duty. But that’s changed. The burden now falls to the state, not individual citizens, to assure that people register and stay eligible to vote. To do anything…

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Kathleen Clyde Tells Ohio Voters She’ll Be ‘Nonpartisan’ While Admitting to Out-of-State Leftists She Will Be Anything But

Kathleen Clyde, a Democrat whose campaign for Ohio secretary of state has been largely bankrolled by out-of-state liberals like Barbra Streisand, has promised that, if elected, she will be “nonpartisan.” 2/2 We’ve seen what partisan leadership does—13 voting rights restrictions in Ohio. I’ll be a nonpartisan leader as Secretary of…

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Democrat Nominee for Ohio Secretary of State Kathleen Clyde Sought to Ban President Trump From State Ballot in 2020

Donald Trump, Kathleen Clyde

State Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent), the Democrat candidate for Ohio Secretary of State, is part of a nationwide movement seeking to keep President Donald Trump off of state ballots in the 2020 election. Clyde has maxed out on her political career in the state legislature due to term limits, but…

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