Allison Russo
Ohio lawmakers send 60% supermajority amendment to the ballot
Wednesday, Ohio House lawmakers voted 62-37 to advance a resolution asking voters to raise the passage threshold for constitutional amendments. The vote caps off nearly six months of legislative wrangling largely meant to hobble an abortion rights amendment. Lawmakers are entering questionable legal territory, however, as they set the vote in August through the resolution […]
House leaders tee up supermajority amendment measure for floor vote
The stage is set for a long-awaited House vote on SJR 2. The resolution would ask voters whether the threshold for amending the constitution should be 60% rather than a simple majority. But lawmakers pushing the plan may not be celebrating yet. A parallel effort to send the question to voters before they consider an […]
Ohio House lawmakers consider Senate version of supermajority resolution
Ohio House lawmakers took up the Senate version of a measure asking voters to raise the threshold for future constitutional amendments. The House’s version of the proposal is already awaiting a floor vote. The jousting between sponsors or supporters and the Democratic members attempting to forestall the measure covered familiar territory. But a few new […]
Ohio House approves rules package over the objection of right-wing GOP bloc
Usually a procedural afterthought, the Ohio House approved a new rules package Tuesday over the bitter objections of right-wing lawmakers. The provisions lay out the ground rules for the coming session. Republicans who backed Rep. Derek Merrin for speaker argue they were locked out of the process. Rejected rules included allowing guns on the floor, […]
Ohio House Republican faction brings back proposal making it harder for voters to pass amendments
After more than an hour behind closed doors, a bloc of Ohio Republicans led by state Rep. Derek Merrin, Monclova Twp., trooped through the Ohio Statehouse. The faction — thirty-odd lawmakers who wound up on the losing side of the House Speaker’s race last week— climbed three floors and squeezed into the clerk’s office. After […]
Ohio’s new Republican crybaby caucus another consequence of gerrymandering
After a weeklong meltdown of moaning, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, a new faction of Ohio House Republicans capped off their temper tantrum Wednesday by revitalizing plans to subject the Ohio Constitution and all Ohioans to extremist minority rule. Last week, 54 adults in the Ohio House came together in a bipartisan vote to elect […]
DeWine touts achievements, commits to mental health in inaugural speech
In the Ohio Statehouse rotunda Monday, Gov. Mike DeWine struck an optimistic tone to begin his second term as governor. The 76-year-old has spent more than half his life in public office, and the next four years may well be his last in an elected post. He begins the term after securing big corporate investments […]
Statehouse ‘coup’ — Ohio GOP bitterly divided by deal with Democrats to elect House Speaker
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. Late-night phone calls, behind-closed-door bargaining and a deal with the Democrats led to […]
Ohio Supreme Court allows Dems’ redistricting objection
The Ohio Supreme Court has rejected a request by the state’s Attorney General to reduce Democratic redistricting leaders’ court filing to a “friends of the court” brief. In a short ruling released Friday evening, the court denied a motion to convert the brief, filed by Ohio Redistricting Commission co-chair state Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, and […]
GOP says ‘attempts’ on partisanship make Ohio Statehouse maps constitutional
The GOP members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission have said objections to their maps have no merit because they made their best attempt at politically balancing the maps. Democrats on the commission filed their own response in favor of invalidating the second version of the maps, just as those who objected to them want. The […]
Legislature on the clock to redraw Ohio’s unconstitutional Congressional district map
As the state awaits the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision on the second round of legislative maps, the state legislature is on a timeline to revise the invalid congressional map as well. The state’s high court decided in a 4-3 decision on Jan. 13 that a congressional map passed by the General Assembly was not valid, […]
Republican Mike Carey wins OH-15 special election
Republican former lobbyist Mike Carey has won a special election to represent Ohio’s 15th Congressional District. The race raised the profile of an otherwise typical off-year election dominated by local offices like city council or school board. The contest was seen by some outside Ohio as one of the latest proxies for determining former President […]