Politics & Gov
Ohio bill to raise minimum wage to $15, eliminate tipped worker distinction has sponsor testimony
A bill that would raise Ohio’s minimum wage was rolled out for the first time to the Senate Workforce and Higher Education Committee Wednesday afternoon during sponsor testimony. Ohio Sens. Kent Smith, D-Euclid, and Hearcel Craig, D-Columbus, introduced Senate Bill 146, which would gradually increase the state’s minimum wage $1 each year until it was […]
Ohio Redistricting Commission co-chair defends Dem teamwork, despite process issues, criticism
Redistricting concluded on Tuesday with the adoption of new Statehouse maps that had unanimous approval from all members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission. The vote represents the first bipartisan agreement on maps, though the bipartisan agreement was lopsided, with only two Democrats on the current seven-member commission. The maps give the GOP 61 of 99 […]
Ohio senators consider election law changes to close primaries, prohibit ranked choice voting
This week an Ohio Senate committee took up a handful of election administration bills. Those proposals would close primaries, tweak Ohio’s “Sore Loser” law, and prohibit ranked choice voting. In Ohio, party affiliation is loose. You don’t select one when you register to vote. When primary elections come around, you can select whichever party’s ballot […]
Should abortion law be paused while court case continues? Ohio Supreme Court weighs arguments.
The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday heard arguments from both parties involved in the court case that would decide whether the six-week abortion ban law can continue in Ohio. But the arguments the state’s highest court heard on Wednesday had more to do with whether the law should be paused while the Hamilton County court […]
Ohio Sec. of State LaRose wants to fight voter fraud, but pulling out of ERIC will make that harder
Last month, a Cuyahoga County judge sentenced James Saunders to three years in prison for voter fraud. The judge’s ruling described how Saunders cast ballots in Ohio and Florida in 2020 and 2022. Although the incidents lie outside the case, he added evidence that suggests Saunders likely voted in both states going back to 2014. […]
Democrats ask LaRose to provide more information about moving his office to campaign headquarters
Thirteen Ohio Democratic lawmakers are asking Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose to provide more information about moving his office to the same location as his U.S. Senate campaign headquarters. Earlier this month, it was reported that LaRose is looking to move the secretary of state’s office from a building at 180 E. Broad Street, […]
Biden makes historic visit to metro Detroit picket line to rally with striking auto workers
In the midst of ongoing negotiations between striking auto workers and Detroit’s Big Three manufacturers, President Joe Biden on Tuesday made an appearance on the picket line in Belleville, Michigan. Speaking to picketers from UAW Local 174 at Willow Run Redistribution Center in metro Detroit, Biden said that unions “saved the automobile industry” in times […]
Ohio Redistricting Commission adopts sixth version of Statehouse maps with bipartisan support
The Ohio Redistricting Commission reached bipartisan agreement as it passed new Statehouse maps late Tuesday night after a few more hours of public comment, and then negotiation behind closed doors. The maps show a Republican-to-Democratic advantage of 61 to 38 in the Ohio House, with eight Democratic toss-up seats and three GOP toss-ups. In the […]
After two rejections, is Ohio attorney general slow-walking anti-gerrymandering amendment?
One might think that a movement associated with a former state Supreme Court chief justice could draft a petition summary that passes legal muster. But twice already, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has rejected summaries of a petition to put an anti-gerrymandering amendment on Ohio’s November 2024 ballot. So far, nobody’s explicitly accusing Yost of […]
Ohio Sec. of State LaRose flagged more than 520 cases of noncitizen voter fraud. Only one was legit.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has referred 641 cases of suspected voter fraud since taking office. The vast majority of those incidents, 521 in all, are allegations of a noncitizen violating Ohio’s elections laws. But an Ohio Capital Journal review of LaRose’s referrals found just one case in which a noncitizen was charged with […]
Active-duty military would work without pay in shutdown, White House warns
WASHINGTON — The White House is warning that a partial government shutdown would mean 1.3 million active-duty armed services members must keep working without receiving paychecks and hundreds of thousands of Pentagon employees would face furloughs. The Biden administration on Tuesday blasted what it’s now calling an “Extreme Republican Shutdown,” saying it would undermine national […]
The farm bill is on the verge of expiring. Congress is months away from a new version.
WASHINGTON — As the deadline for Congress to pass a new farm bill looms this weekend, staff members of the House and Senate Agriculture committees say it will be months – if not longer – until they reach agreement on a new bill. Lawmakers must rewrite the sweeping farm bill every five years to set […]