Republican National Committee Launches Ohio’s State Buildout for ‘Bank Your Vote’

On Friday, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced Ohio’s state buildout for “Bank Your Vote” and launched the State Leadership Team.

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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 Lawmaker Introduces Legislation to Prohibit Use of Ranked-Choice Voting

A Republican Ohio lawmaker introduced a bill into the Ohio Senate to prohibit the use of ranked-choice voting, also known as instant runoff voting, in the state.

Senate Bill (SB) 137, sponsored by State Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green), would prohibit ranked choice voting in all elections in Ohio except for those conducted in municipalities or chartered counties.

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Ohio Senate Unanimously Passes Legislation Removing Hundreds of Pages from the Ohio Revised Code

The Ohio Senate unanimously passed legislation that removes hundreds of pages from the Ohio Revised Code, increasing efficiency at the state level.

Senate Bill (SB) 74, sponsored by State Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green), contains over 100 individual changes to the Ohio Revised Code, most impacting government-to-government interactions. The bill eliminates 64 code sections, cutting hundreds of pages from the Ohio Revised Code.

Senate Bill (SB) 74 sponsored by State Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) contains over 100 individual changes to the Ohio Revised Code with the vast majority of these changes impacting government-to-government interactions. The bill eliminates 64 code sections altogether, cutting hundreds of pages from the Ohio Revised Code. 

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Ohio Senate Passes ‘DATA Act’ to Modernize and Clarify Election Data

The Ohio Senate has passed legislation that aims to increase transparency and modernize and clarify data in Ohio’s elections.

Senate Bill (SB) 71 known as the Data Analysis Transparency Archive (DATA) Act, sponsored by state Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) in collaboration with Secretary of State Frank LaRose passed in the Ohio Senate along party lines 24-7.

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Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee to Consider Supreme Court Endorsements and Resolution to Protect State Constitution

The Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee is scheduled to meet on Friday to consider endorsements for the three Ohio Supreme Court seats up for grabs in 2024, as well as a resolution to support the Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment.

In the Ohio Supreme Court, Democratic Justices Michael Donnelly and Melody Stewart are up for re-election and Republican Justice Joe Deters must run for retention in 2024 and re-election in 2026. It will give Republicans an opportunity to hold 6 of 7 seats in the high court. Currently, the GOP has a 4-3 majority in the state Supreme Court.

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Ohio State Senators Re-Introduce Legislation to Protect Second Amendment Rights

Two Ohio Republican state senators have re-introduced legislation that aims to prohibit fees and insurance requirements from owning a gun.

Senate Bill (SB) 58, sponsored by State Senators Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) and Terry Johnson (R-McDermott), tries to protect Ohio’s Second Amendment rights by ensuring that no Ohioan will be required to possess or purchase firearm liability insurance or pay a fee for the possession of a firearm, parts, components, ammunition, or a knife.

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Ohio Ballot Board Requests State Supreme Court to Dismiss Abortion Amendment Lawsuit

The Ohio Ballot Board requested that the Ohio Supreme Court dismiss a lawsuit claiming that it erred in a decision to advance a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize abortion throughout the state.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost wrote a brief on behalf of the ballot board saying that the relators “fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted” and the relators “do not have a clear legal right to the relief sought.” Additionally, the Ohio Ballot Board requested that the judge dismiss the relators’ claims.

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Ohio GOP Chairman Triantafilou Endorses Legislation to Protect Ohio’s Constitution

Alex Triantafilou, the newly elected head of the Ohio Republican Party, endorsed legislation on Thursday that aims to alter the process of how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments.

There are currently two pieces of legislation that Republican lawmakers have introduced this session to protect the state Constitution from out-of-state special interest groups.

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Ohio Republican State Senators Move Closer to Putting Constitution Protections on the August Ballot

Republican state lawmakers are getting closer to putting a measure on the ballot in August that would need 60 percent of voters to approve constitutional amendments.

State Senators Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) and Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) introduced two pieces of legislation on Wednesday one which aims to alter the process of how constitutional amendments can be proposed by initiative petitions and one to allow for special elections to be held in August for certain purposes.

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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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Democrats Request Independent Audit of Ohio Voter Database ‘Purges’

Ohio House Democrats are requesting an independent audit of the recent update to the state’s voter registration database, which they claim initially disqualified 16,000 individuals from casting ballots.

State Representatives Juanita Brent (D-Cleveland) and Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake) criticized the state’s voter “purges” in a letter to Secretary of State Frank LaRose and demanded transparency.

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Secretary of State LaRose and Senator Gavarone Introduce DATA Act to Increase Ohio Election Transparency

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose in collaboration with state Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) introduced legislation on Wednesday to increase transparency in Ohio’s elections.

Senate Bill (SB) 71 known as the Data Analysis Transparency Archive (DATA) Act aims to codify standard definitions of key election data, create within the Secretary of State’s Office an office of data analytics and archives which will serve as a clearing house for retention and review, publish standardized data and results online, and codifies a process for county Board of Elections to transfer election data to the 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 Requiring Voters to Have a Photo ID Passes the Ohio House

After completing six hearings a Republican-backed bill to make changes in Ohio voting laws passed out of the Ohio House Government Oversight Committee along partisan lines 7-5 on Monday.

House Bill (HB) 294 sponsored by state Representatives Bill Seitz (R- Green Township) and Sharon Ray (R-Wadsworth) aims to require a photo ID for nearly all Ohio voters.

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Republican Matt Huffman Unanimously Re-Elected as Ohio Senate President

Ohio Senator Matt Huffman, (R-Lima) will once again serve as President of the Ohio Senate for the 135th General Assembly after a unanimous vote Tuesday, as reported by a release from the Senate.

Huffman was first elected to the Ohio Senate in 2016. He was re-elected to a second term in 2020 when he previously served as Senate President during the 134th General Assembly and prior to that as Majority Floor Leader. This follows his serving four terms in the Ohio House of Representatives building up to his election as Speaker Pro Tempore.

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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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