Election 2022
From credit cards to pool cleaning, FirstEnergy money benefitted Householder, feds say
CINCINNATI — A $1.3 billion utility bailout might have been titled “Ohio Clean Air Program,” but the utility that received it paid to settle a lawsuit over a failed coal mine owned by Larry Householder, the bailout’s prime mover, a prosecution witness said in federal court on Thursday. Householder is charged with racketeering in what […]
“Noncitizen” will now be listed on Ohio IDs. Advocates worry that will endanger immigrants
In a little-noticed measure, whether a person is a “noncitizen” will now be printed on driver’s licenses and state IDs under a controversial law that was just signed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. Critics worry that the requirement addresses a nonexistent problem while making it more difficult for documented immigrants to get IDs they need […]
Teachers’ pension system touts clean audit. Retirees unimpressed
Correction: The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio manages about $90 billion in assets. An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect amount. It has been updated. The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio has been flagging the results of a special audit conducted in response to complaints from some teachers and retirees. But […]
Secretary LaRose says voter ID is popular, but won’t say if it’s needed
Ohio’s top elections official last month continued to make seemingly contradictory statements about election security in the Buckeye state. Secretary of State Frank LaRose has repeatedly said that fraud is extremely rare in Ohio elections and then made statements claiming that it’s a problem. Most recently, LaRose tweeted an opinion article from the Washington Examiner […]
Most Ohio Republicans won’t disavow support for Trump
What does it take for Ohio’s Republican leaders to say they won’t support Donald Trump? Apparently dining with people who deny the Holocaust and express affection for Nazis — and Trump’s own call for the “termination” of the Constitution — aren’t enough. Since Trump’s Nov. 22 dinner with Ye and Nick Fuentes and his Dec. […]
Ohio abortion foe calls for doctor discipline in miscarriage, doesn’t address other problems
The state’s most prominent anti-abortion group is calling on medical authorities to investigate emergency-room doctors reported to have denied care to a woman suffering a miscarriage. But it won’t comment directly on other health problems doctors say have been caused by a restrictive abortion law that took effect when the U.S. Supreme Court repealed Roe […]
In official count, Democrat wins last undecided Ohio House race, now headed for automatic recount
In official election results from the Franklin County Board of Election, Ohio House Democratic incumbent Richard D. Brown looks to have won the only remaining undecided race, meaning that Republicans will control the House 67-32 instead of 68-31. The official results for Ohio House District 5 show Brown received 17,429 votes, or 50.21%, compared to […]
LaRose wants to make it harder for voters to amend constitution but evidence of a problem is lacking
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose denied that he wanted to block abortion protections or anti-gerrymandering measures when he announced that he wanted to hustle through a measure that would make it harder for voters to amend the Ohio Constitution. But he’s failed to point to a single amendment in the Constitution as an example […]
Effort to claw back $10M in staff bonuses for Ohio teacher retirement system withdrawn
At least 200 employees of the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio made more than $100,000 a year in 2021. An earlier version of this story said that all of the system’s employees listed on the Ohio Checkbook database made more than that, but that was inaccurate. A spokesman said more than half of the […]
Ohio GOP moves forward bill to strip powers from Board of Ed. after losing control to Democrats
The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. Democratic-affiliated candidates won control over the State Board of Education in Ohio, and […]
College students push to ease voting access after midterm barriers
Story originally published in Stateline, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Young voters made their voices heard during the midterms last week, turning out in relatively high numbers in an election that produced the first congressperson from Generation Z. But university students and voting rights advocates say voters on college campuses faced far too […]
Last minute donations: Who gave to Ohio’s federal candidates in the final weeks of the election?
Donors spent a lot of money in Ohio during this year’s election. Campaign advertising tracker AdImpact estimated $344 million went into ads on TV, online or over the radio. OpenSecrets, which tracks federal campaigns, showed candidates raising about $100 million — and that didn’t take into account the final week of fundraising. During the final […]