Common Cause Ohio

One by one, U.S. civil rights agency dismantles tools to fight discrimination
by Andrea Hsu

One by one, U.S. civil rights agency dismantles tools to fight discrimination The EEOC is seeking to overturn rules created decades ago to tackle discrimination in employment. The Trump administration says those rules have led to more discrimination —against white people.

Ohio photo voter ID amendment prompts pushback across political spectrum
Voting rights groups question the push for an amendment when the proposal makes no changes at all to current law and only makes future changes harder.
by Nick Evans

Ohio photo voter ID amendment prompts pushback across political spectrum • Ohio Capital Journal Some Ohio Republicans want to enshrine photo voter ID in the state constitution, but a hearing last week raised doubts about the effort.

Opinion
This is purely performative politics. Republicans can’t seem to find any evidence for their allegations of rampant voter fraud, so they gin up a constitutional amendment that makes it sound like there is and that they’re doing something about it. Surely Ohio voters are smart enough to know that an ID is already required to vote, and that enshrining it in the Ohio Constitution is nothing more than grandstanding.
-Lisa Garvin, Plain Dealer editorial board member

GOP electoral calculus behind push to enshrine Ohio voter photo ID law in state constitution? So how does our Editorial Board Roundtable view the pluses and minuses of having a voter photo ID constitutional amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot along with other high-stakes contests, including for governor?

How single-party primary elections are reshaping Congress Some lawmakers are speaking out against closed, single-party primaries, which they see as part of a system that limits voter choice and incentivizes elected officials to prioritize party loyalty.

Plain Dealer Opinion
Ohio’s famously corrupt utility is back for another rate hike. How can Ohioans believe anything it says?
FirstEnergy is back at the table asking for more of your money — and if history is any guide, it’s going to get it.

FirstEnergy — the Ohio utility that paid $60 million in bribes — is back asking ratepayers for $180 more a year FirstEnergy's $481 million request for tree trimming and storm prep comes just months after its last rate increase — and years after it was supposed to modernize the grid.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Liberal and conservative Ohioans have come together to oppose an amendment to require voters to show photo ID at the polls.
by Morgan Trau

Republicans deny ‘juicing’ votes as they attempt to put already existing law on midterm ballot Liberal and conservative Ohioans have come together to oppose an amendment to require voters to show photo ID at the polls.

An Ohio House committee reviewed the voter photo ID amendment. No one spoke for it
by Jo Ingles

An Ohio House committee reviewed the voter photo ID amendment. No one spoke for it Ohio lawmakers want to put Ohio's current voter ID law on the ballot this fall so voters can codify it in the Ohio Constitution.

Commentary
If Ohio’s the election ‘gold standard,’ why are lawmakers going for desperate, duplicative changes?
by Marilou Johanek

If Ohio's the election 'gold standard,' why are lawmakers going for desperate, duplicative changes? • Ohio Capital Journal Since when did the Ohio General Assembly become an arm of the Vivek Ramaswamy campaign for governor? Just asking, after the obviously coordinated spectacle last week between the billionaire and Republican lawmakers on a newly drafted resolution.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Some Ohioans serving in the military overseas did not have their overseas ballots return in time for the May primary election, including Ohio’s top election officer.
by Katie Millard, Colleen Marshall

Ohio secretary of state votes provisionally after overseas ballot unreturned COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Some Ohioans serving in the military overseas did not have their overseas ballots return in time for the May primary election, including Ohio’s top election offi…

Ohio lawmaker proposes election form changes after candidate name disputes
by David Rees

Ohio lawmaker proposes election form changes after candidate name disputes COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — An Ohio lawmaker who avoided being removed from the ballot in 2024 is now proposing legislation to change how candidates disclose former names on election paperwork. R…