Connect with us

Ohio

Ohio Supreme Court: Drop box restrictions for voters with disabilities allowed

Published

on

Ohio Supreme Court: Drop box restrictions for voters with disabilities allowed



The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that voters with disabilities cannot have their designees deliver their ballots to drop boxes

A divided Ohio Supreme Court ruled that individuals can’t use drop boxes when delivering ballots for voters with disabilities. Instead, they must go inside the county board of elections and fill out a form.

The Ohio Democratic Party and two voters filed a lawsuit challenging Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s directive that required individuals delivering ballots for voters with disabilities to fill out a form at a county board of elections during business hours. This rule prevented them from using drop boxes stationed outside the county boards of elections.

LaRose’s directive came after a federal judge ruled in July that Ohio’s election law violated the rights of people with disabilities by limiting who could drop off their ballots. LaRose said the rules are needed to prevent ballot harvesting, which is when a third party collects and returns multiple ballots.

Advertisement

Democrats argued that LaRose’s rule made it harder for individuals with disabilities to vote by removing the drop box option. But the Ohio Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, ruled that Democrats waited too long to make their legal argument.

“As a general matter, courts should refrain from ordering changes to the rules governing elections during or close to the start of an election,” according to the majority’s opinion, joined by Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy, Justices Pat Fischer and Pat DeWine and Judge Stephen Powell, of the Twelfth District Court of Appeals.

The majority worried about confusing election officials and voters. “(W)e will not endorse a scenario in which boards of elections send voters incorrect instructions and unavoidably create voter confusion.”

Democratic Justice Jennifer Brunner dissented, writing that LaRose had overreached.

Advertisement

“Good judgment by this court would be to tell the secretary that he has violated his constitutional duties rather than followed them,” wrote Brunner in a decision joined by Judge Pierre Bergeron of the First District Court of Appeals and Judge J. William B. Hoffman of the Fifth District Court of Appeals.

Bergeron, who was filling in, wrote that LaRose’s directive would disenfranchise some of Ohio’s most vulnerable voters. “That is a travesty beyond description,” he wrote. “The directive issued by Secretary LaRose, and the decision by the majority allowing it to persist, sends the message that marginalized citizens may be safely relegated to the sidelines in our democracy.”

More: Ohio Supreme Court election has 6 candidates running for 3 seats

Three justices running for election this year, Democrats Michael Donnelly and Melody Stewart and Republican Joe Deters, recused themselves from reviewing the case.

Read the decision here:

Advertisement

Jessie Balmert covers state government and politics for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.



Source link

Ohio

Sieh Bangura runs for 149 yards and a score, helps Ohio beat UNLV 17-10 in Frisco Bowl

Published

on

Sieh Bangura runs for 149 yards and a score, helps Ohio beat UNLV 17-10 in Frisco Bowl


FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Sieh Bangura rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown and Ohio beat UNLV 17-10 on Tuesday night to win the Frisco Bowl.

The Bobcats (9-4) have won their last seven bowl games — dating to 2017 — after losing eight of their first 10.

Defensive coordinator and interim head coach John Hauser led Ohio to this victory after head coach Brian Smith was fired earlier in the month for having an affair with an undergraduate student.

Ohio’s Parker Navarro had a 5-yard touchdown run on a quarterback keeper five minutes into the second quarter for the only score of the first half. The lead was 6-0 after David Dellenbach’s extra-point kick hit the right upright.

Advertisement

UNLV (10-4) had a first down on the Bobcats’ 33-yard line with 32 second left, but DJ Walker picked off an Anthony Colandrea pass in the end zone to keep it 6-0.

Bangura scored on a 23-yard run less than four minutes into the third quarter, and Navarro passed to Chase Hendricks for the two-point conversion and a 14-0 lead.

Hendricks muffed a punt at the end of UNLV’s first possession and Kayden McGee recovered at the Ohio 30. The Rebels settled for a career-long 50-yard field goal by Ramon Villela to cut it to 14-3.

Dellenbach kicked a 45-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, but Colandrea scored on a fourth-and-goal run from the 2 to get the Rebels within 17-10 with 4:45 remaining. UNLV never got the ball back in falling to 4-4 all time in bowl games.

Navarro completed 11 of 15 passes for 143 yards with an interception. Bangura did his damage on 19 carries.

Advertisement

Colandrea totaled 184 yards on 19-for-30 passing.

UNLV had the nation’s longest run of scoring at least 20 points end at 35 games.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Ohio

Ohio AG on human trafficking: It’s not rich and poor, it’s literally all around us

Published

on

Ohio AG on human trafficking: It’s not rich and poor, it’s literally all around us


For the second time in two years, the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force and the Steubenville Police Department have joined forces to combat human trafficking crimes.

In October, the operation led to the arrest of eight individuals for sex trafficking offenses, including men from Follansbee and St. Clairsville.

Earlier, in July 2024, 10 men from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia were apprehended and charged with solicitation and possession of criminal tools.

“It just goes to show that human trafficking happens everywhere,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said. “This isn’t a big city thing, it happens in small towns, it happens out in the country. It’s not rich and poor, it’s literally all around us.

Advertisement

“I am hopeful that the message is going out around Ohio and Steubenville and the Mahoning Valley — Don’t Buy Sex in Ohio!”

He also highlighted the support provided to survivors during these operations.

“We always have social service providers that partner with us that are on site. So, whether it’s something simple like a meal or a shower or something as necessary as an addiction treatment bed — we’re there to try and help provide the resource,” Yost added.

Comment with Bubbles

BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT

Advertisement

For those affected by human trafficking, a victim services directory is available here.



Source link

Continue Reading

Ohio

3 kids lead police on Ohio car chase after learning to steal vehicles on YouTube: officials

Published

on

3 kids lead police on Ohio car chase after learning to steal vehicles on YouTube: officials


NEWBURGH HEIGHTS, Ohio — Three kids, ages 12, 11, and 8, led Ohio police on a chase in a stolen car on Saturday, according to police.

According to the Newburgh Heights Police Department, an 11-year-old was driving a car that was stolen from Parma, WEWS reported.

Officers chased the car on Harvard Avenue west over the Denison Bridge. Shortly after the chase began, the car crashed into a house on Denison Avenue, police said.

No injuries were reported.

Advertisement

Newburgh Heights PD said two brothers, an 8-year-old and an 11-year-old, along with a 12-year-old, began running from the police.

After police caught them, the kids told officers they watched YouTube videos to learn how to steal cars, police said.

According to the department, the boys were released to their parents, and police will file charges in juvenile court.

Copyright © 2025 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending