State Feed: Ohio

Ohio: Ballot Board to Take Up Right-to-Work Amendment

AmandaKathryn — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:59:36 -0500

It just happened in Indiana and it could happen in Ohio, if a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution that would enable workers to benefit from a collective bargaining contract a union negotiates with an employer without having to contribute a dollar of their pay to that union, as a condition of employment, makes the General Electiton ballot in NOvember.

Ohio voters, who last November rejected a Republican-backed bill that radically reformed the rules governing collective bargaining in the state by a nearly 2-1 margin, could have another chance to weigh-in on whether amending the constitution to reign in union dues collection is preferable to the bill (SB 5) that fired up Democratas, progressive, unions and their allies to turn out to turn the bill down.

Ballotpedia's Final Analysis on 2011 Statewide Ballot Measures Released

AmandaKathryn — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:36:18 -0500

Ballotpedia’s final analysis on donations to all 2011 statewide ballot measure campaigns has been released; the donations add up $85 million.

The report reveals some interesting information like the fact that the state with the highest contributions from all campaign sides from all ballot measures was in Ohio. The least amount of contributions was in Arkansas.

You can also find an overview of the contributions from supporters & opponents, a ranking of ballot measures from the most to the least contributions, and the ranking of political topic contributions where “labor” shows the most donations in Ohio on Issue 2.

Check out Ballotpedia’s analysis here.

Ohio: AG Approves "Personhood" Amendment Language

AmandaKathryn — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:15:23 -0500

The Ohio Attorney General approved a ballot initiative over the weekend that could ban all abortions in Ohio, as well as contraception, fertility treatments, health care for pregnant women and other basic health care.

Like many other so-called personhood groups, the Ohio egg-as-person movement (which believes that fertilized eggs have more rights than the women in whose body they are floating) is promoting a ballot initiative that would declare a fertilized egg has the same legal rights as a fully-developed person.

Ohio: Election Law Changes Key Issue in 2012

AmandaKathryn — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:32:19 -0500

The Ohio Legislature passed sweeping election law reforms in 2011. Advocacy groups cried foul and collected enough signatures to put the issue on the November 2012 ballot.

The reforms in question include:

» Narrowing the early voting window.

» Prohibiting counties from automatically sending out absentee ballots.

» Creating a standard form for provisional ballots which, if filled out incorrectly, could disqualify the ballot.

Read the full story at Zanesville Times Recorder.

Ohio: Personhood initiative could come to state

Trevor Ford — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:19:44 -0500

Anti-abortion activists, undaunted by a defeat last month in Mississippi, are pushing to get a “personhood” amendment on next year’s ballot. The effort, while still in the preliminary stages, has in-vitro fertilization doctors and abortion-rights groups digging in for a fight.

Read the story from The Plain Dealer

Big Day in Ohio Tomorrow

Trevor Ford — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:31:47 -0500

The citizen-initiated referendum on Ohio Governor John Kasich’s public sector union law will be tested at the polls tomorrow across the state. Citizens utilizing their First Amendment petition rights could very well determine the fate of the governor’s political future:

UPDATE: Romney Clarifies Support for Ohio Law Up For Referendum

Trevor Ford — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:25:31 -0400

Earlier this week Mitt Romney visited Ohio and declined to support Governor Kasich’s union reform law, but it seems he’s clarified his position after an uproar on right:

Presidential Candidate Romney Steers Clear of Ohio Ballot Politics

Trevor Ford — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:15:12 -0400

On November 8, Ohioans will head to the polls to vote on Issue 2, a referendum to repeal Governor John Kasich’s union reform bill that limits collective bargaining power for state public employee unions.

Much like the law passed in Wisconsin by Governor Scott Walker, Ohio’s collective bargaining law was met with stiff protest from unions who collected enough signatures to force a referendum vote.

Ohio: Polls indicate referendum may repeal union law

Trevor Ford — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:50:53 -0400

Opposition to Ohio’s law limiting collective bargaining for public employees is increasing as a Nov. 8 referendum on the measure approaches, a Quinnipiac University poll showed. Fifty-seven percent of voters would repeal the law known as Senate Bill 5, which first-term Republican Governor John Kasich signed in March, compared with 32 percent who would keep it, according to results released today. The margin of difference has almost doubled from 13 percentage points in a survey last month, according to the poll released today.

Read the story from Bloomberg Businessweek

Pennsylvania Township Law Banning Petitions Challenged

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 18:14:28 -0400

Millcreek Township, PA Supervisor Richard Figaski is calling for his two colleagues to rescind a policy that bans political and social-cause petition drives on township property. Attorney Gery Nietupski said in a letter to Supervisors Brian McGrath and Joseph Kujawa that the policy adopted Tuesday is unconstitutional because it violates free-speech protections on public property.

Peoples' Veto Referendum Petitions Approved for Ballot in Ohio, Maryland

Staff — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 10:40:03 -0400

Voters in Ohio and Maryland will decide whether to veto acts of their state legislature in November. Ohio voters will weigh in on Senate Bill 5, and Maryland voters will decide whether to keep the “Dream Act.”

Ohio: Enough signatures collected for federal healthcare initiative

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 12:05:04 -0400

Leaders of tea party groups say they have collected enough signatures to qualify a constitutional amendment for the Nov. 8 ballot that would exempt Ohio from a key provision of last year’s federal health-care overhaul. If the Ohio Health Care Freedom Amendment is enacted, it will forbid the federal, state and local governments from mandating that Ohio residents buy health insurance. This mandate was a major part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, frequently derided as “Obamacare” by critics.

Read the story from The Columbus Dispatch

Ohio: State senate moves to let citizens vote on healthcare overhaul

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 11:31:52 -0400

A resolution approved by the Ohio Senate would let voters decide whether they should have to follow certain requirements under the federal health care overhaul. The GOP-controlled Ohio Senate voted to 24-9 to place on the November ballot a measure that would prohibit any law from compelling Ohioans to participate in a health care system.

Read the story from The Republic

Ohio: Collective bargaining bill could end up going to voters

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 15:41:04 -0500

House committee hearings on Senate Bill 5 will kick off next week as the GOP-controlled chamber prepares to debate and pass a sweeping collective-bargaining bill. The proposal, which would eliminate the ability of public-employee unions to strike and limit their negotiating power, will be heard by the House Insurance and Labor Committee, which normally meets at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays but could get a schedule adjustment.

Read the story from The Columbus Dispatch

Ohio: Opponents of streetcar start collecting signatures

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:50:17 -0500

Setting the stage for a second ballot showdown over the Cincinnati streetcar, opponents have started circulating petitions for a proposed charter amendment to block City Hall from spending any money on the $128 million-plus project for the next 10 years.

Read the story from The Enquirer

Ohio: School levies will be on May ballot

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 12:40:33 -0500

Fostoria residents will see a school levy on the ballot this May. The city school board met Monday and approved the measure to place a 7.5 mill, five-year renewal levy up for a vote this spring. If approved the measure will generate 1.6 million dollars annually.

Read the story from WFIN 1330

Ohio: Streetcar project could face opposition again from voters

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 12:05:14 -0500

After years of acrimonious debate, the Cincinnati streetcar project is on track to finally become a tangible presence in 2011, with groundbreaking on the $128 million-plus system expected early this year. Not, though, if opponents get their way. Even as the city looks to hire a contractor to oversee construction of the Downtown-to-Uptown line - now expected to start by early spring - opponents hope to derail the project, if not before work begins, then shortly after it starts.

Read the story from The Enquirer

Ohio: Citizens control when tax measure can go on ballot

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 14:48:25 -0500

The next chance to get a tax levy on the ballot may not be in the hands of City Council, but in those of residents. During Wednesday’s taping of the Mayor’s Roundtable, a public access program with Mayor Bill Grace, Grace said city charter ties the hands of city officials as to when and how they can place a tax issue on the ballot. However, a citizen-initiated petition drive would trump the city charter. Citizens can say they want to see a tax issue on the ballot, and if enough registered Elyria voters sign a petition, it can happen.

Read the story from The Chronicle-Telegram

Red Light Cameras Routed at Ballot Box - Including in America's 4th Largest City

Staff — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 12:22:14 -0500

After blogging yesterday about traffic enforcement cameras in Ohio, a reader pointed me to this excellent breakdown of red-light and speed camera votes around the country from TheNewspaper.com. According to the article, the cameras have never survived a public vote: they usually lose by margins of two-to-one.

Among the five additional communities to ban cameras is Houston, Texas - America’s fourth largest city:

Petitions Against East Cleveland, OH Traffic Cameras to Hit Streets Before Tickets Do

Staff — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 15:06:44 -0500

It seems that just about the only people who like red-light and speed enforcement cameras are the politicians and bureaucrats who bring in the ticket money and the companies who profit by making the cameras themselves. Citizens all over the country have organized against the devices, many calling them “highway robbery.” In several Ohio cities citizens have been able to use their initiative and referendum rights to prevent or remove the cameras, and a group that has successfully lead anti-camera petition efforts is taking on a Cleveland suburb’s cameras before they start ticketing.