Ohio

The failed Ohio amendment reflects Republican efforts nationally to restrict direct democracy

Published

1 year ago

August 12, 2023

The failed Ohio amendment reflects Republican efforts nationally to restrict direct democracy

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — After Ohio voters repealed a law pushed by Republicans that would have limited unions’ collective bargaining rights in 2011, then-GOP Gov. John Kasich was contrite.

“I’ve heard their voices, I understand their decision and, frankly, I respect what people have to say in an effort like this,” he told reporters after the defeat.

The tone from Ohio Republicans was much different this past week after voters resoundingly rejected their attempt to impose hurdles on passing amendments to the state constitution — a proposal that would have made it much more difficult to pass an abortion rights measure in November.

During an election night news conference, Republican Senate President Matt Huffman vowed to use the powers of his legislative supermajority to bring the issue back soon, variously blaming out-of-state dark money, unsupportive fellow Republicans, a lack of time and the issue’s complexity for its failure.

He never mentioned respecting the will of the 57% of Ohio voters across both Democratic and Republican counties who voted “no” on the Republican proposal.

The striking contrast illustrates an increasing antagonism among elected Republicans across the country toward the nation’s purest form of direct democracy — the citizen-initiated ballot measure — as it threatens their lock on power in states where they control the legislature.

Historically, attempts to undercut the citizen ballot initiative process have come from both parties, said Daniel A. Smith, a political science professor at the University of Florida.

“It has to do with which party is in monopolistic control of state legislatures and the governorship,” he said. “When you have that monopoly of power, you want to restrict the voice of a statewide electorate that might go against your efforts to control the process.”

According to a recent report by the nonpartisan Fairness Project, Ohio and five other states where Republicans control the legislature — Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Missouri and North Dakota — have either passed, attempted to pass or are currently working to pass expanded supermajority requirements for voters to approve statewide ballot measures.

At least six states, including Ohio, have sought to increase the number of counties where signatures must be gathered.

The group found that at least six of the 24 states that allow ballot initiatives have prohibited out-of-state petition circulators and nine have prohibited paid circulators altogether, the group reports.

Eighteen states have required circulators to swear oaths that they’ve seen every signature put to paper. Arkansas has imposed background checks on circulators. South Dakota has dictated such a large font size on petitions that it makes circulating them cumbersome.

Sarah Walker, policy and legal advocacy director for the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, said Republicans in Ohio and elsewhere are restricting the ballot initiative process in an era of renewed populism that’s not going their way. She said conservatives had no interest in amending the ballot initiative process when they were winning campaigns in the 1990s and early 2000s.

“Since then, you’ve seen left-leaning organizations really developing their organizational skills and starting to win,” she said. “The reason given for restricting the ballot initiative is often to insulate the state from outside special interests. But if lawmakers are interested in limiting that, there are things they can do legislatively to restrict those groups, and I don’t see them having any interest in doing that.”

Aggressive stances by Republican supermajorities at the Ohio Statehouse — including supporting one of the nation’s most stringent abortion bans, refusing to pass many of a GOP governor’s proposed gun control measures in the face of a deadly mass shooting, and repeatedly producing unconstitutional political maps — have motivated would-be reformers.

That prompted an influential mix of Republican politicians, anti-abortion and gun rights organizations and business interests in the state to push forward with Tuesday’s failed amendment, which would have raised the threshold for passing future constitutional changes from a simple majority to a 60% supermajority.

Another example is Missouri, where Republicans plan to try again to raise the threshold to amend that state’s constitution during the legislative session that begins in 2024 — after earlier efforts have failed.

Those plans come in a state where state lawmakers refused to fund a Medicaid expansion approved by voters until forced to by a court order, and where voters enshrined marijuana in the constitution last fall after lawmakers failed to. An abortion rights question is headed to Missouri’s 2024 ballot.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is among Republicans in the state who cast Issue 1 as a fight against out-of-state special interests, although both sides of the campaign were heavily funded by such groups.

He called the $20 million special election “only one battle in a long war.”

“Unfortunately,” he said, “we were dramatically outspent by dark money billionaires from California to New York, and the giant ‘for sale’ sign still hangs on Ohio’s constitution,” said LaRose, who is running for U.S. Senate in 2024.

Fairness Project Executive Director Kelly Hall said Ohio Republicans’ promise to come back with another attempt to restrict the initiative process “says more about representational democracy than it does about direct democracy.”

She rejected the narrative that out-of-state special interests are using the avenue of direct democracy to force unpopular policies into state constitutions, arguing corporate influence is far greater on state lawmakers.

“The least out-of-state venue is direct democracy, because then millions of Ohioans are participating, not just the several dozen who are receiving campaign contributions from corporate PACs, who are receiving perks and meetings and around-the-clock influence from corporate PACs,” she said.

“Ballot measures enable issues that matter to working families to actually get on the agenda in a state, rather than the agenda being set by those who can afford lobbyists and campaign contributions.”

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Ohio

Mother, daughter killed in Ohio house fire

Published

8 hours ago

October 5, 2024

Press Room

Mother, daughter killed in Ohio house fire

Two people are dead after a house fire in northern Ohio on Saturday morning.

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The fire was reported in Wakeman, which is in Huron County, around 8:15 a.m.

TRENDING STORIES:

Wakeman Assistant Fire Chief Eschen confirmed to WOIO in Cleveland that a mother and daughter were killed in the fire.

No other injuries were reported.

The Wakeman Fire District took to social media to thank the other fire departments who helped put the fire out.

The fire remains under investigation.

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Ohio

Last Call: Questions, Players to Watch and Predictions for Ohio State vs. Iowa

Published

16 hours ago

October 5, 2024

Press Room

Last Call: Questions, Players to Watch and Predictions for Ohio State vs. Iowa

The second month of Ohio State’s 2024 football season begins today at Ohio Stadium.

3 – 1 (1-0)

Oct. 5, 2024 – 3:30 pm et

Ohio STADIUM

Columbus, OH

Ohio State hosts Iowa in what’s expected to be the toughest test of the season to date for the Buckeyes. While Ohio State largely cruised through September, winning all of their first three games by at least 31 points, the Hawkeyes bring one of the nation’s best rushing offenses and a strong defense – particularly against the run – to the Shoe for the Buckeyes’ fifth game of the year.

With an increased challenge on tap today, we delve into our biggest questions for Ohio State entering today’s game and pick our top players to watch before making some predictions for how the game will play out.

Questions

Can Ohio State win the ground game?

The answer to this question could make all the difference between a comfortable Buckeye win or a tight four-quarter battle.

Ohio State’s passing game is far more explosive than Iowa’s, giving the Buckeyes a clear advantage on paper. But few teams in college football are better at controlling the game on the ground than Iowa.

Iowa’s rushing offense and run defense are both by far the best Ohio State has faced so far this season, and the Hawkeyes could threaten an upset if they can put together long drives with their run game and bottle up the Buckeyes’ rushing attack. On the other hand, Ohio State could make the game a blowout if it can continue running the ball as well as it has so far this season and force Iowa to make plays through the air against an Ohio State secondary that’s much better than Iowa’s receiving corps.

– Dan Hope

Will Ohio State win the turnover battle and field position game?

On The Ryan Day Radio Show, Ohio State’s head coach called Iowa “the epitome of winning the turnover battle and field position game.” He then explained that the Hawkeyes excel at taking care of the football while also forcing their opponents to make mistakes. They are also satisfied with an offensive drive that stalls at the 50-yard line if it means they can pin a punt inside the 5-yard line. All of that said, the Buckeyes will need to be to protect the ball and have a Rolodex of plays ready if their backs are against the wall on Saturday.

– Chase Brown

Do the linebackers take a step forward?

With the threat Iowa poses on the ground, gap-sound and decisive linebacker play will be important for the Buckeyes to separate from the Hawkeyes on Saturday. The unit’s faced some criticism for their play against Marshall and Michigan State, particularly Sonny Styles, though he does lead the team with 23 tackles. Arvell Reese should also see plenty of time in 4-3 packages against some of the Hawkeyes’ heavier fronts.

– Andy Anders

Is there a little bit of a lull before Ohio State’s biggest game of the year?

Ryan Day has gone out of his way to avoid complacency and praise Iowa all week, but considering most of the players are between 18-22 years old, you have to wonder if there might be just a little bit of a lull in the start of Ohio State’s matchup against the Hawkeyes considering the Buckeyes face what could be their stiffest test of the year against Oregon next week. I’m not expecting that this team will let that happen, but it’s certainly happened before to other teams a week before big matchups.

– Garrick Hodge

Players to Watch

Tyleik Williams

Ohio State’s defensive line hasn’t looked as dominant in the last two games without Williams as it was in the first two games without Williams. Having Williams return at full strength today would go a long way toward slowing down that’s rushed for more than 200 yards in all four of its games so far this season.

– Dan Hope

Will Howard

I picked him last week; I’ll pick him again this week. Iowa’s defense is one of the best in college football. According to Bill Connelly of ESPN and his SP+ model, the Hawkeyes have the best defense in college football. With solid performances in Ohio State’s wins over Akron, Western Michigan, Marshall and Michigan State, I’m looking to see how Howard looks against Phil Parker’s well-renowned unit. How many times will he throw it? How many times will he run it? Can he take care of the football and make the routine plays routinely?

– Chase Brown

Jeremiah Smith

Pass defense is easily the weaker portion of Iowa’s defense as the Hawkeyes rank 69th nationally in pass yards allowed per game. Smith has been Ohio State’s brightest star at wide receiver through four games; expect the freshman sensation to post another big outing as his legend grows.

– Andy Anders

Cody Simon

Similar to Dan’s reasoning with picking Tyleik, Simon will be instrumental in helping to slow down Iowa’s vaunted rushing attack, primarily standout running back Kaleb Johnson. The linebackers will need to have a big day on Saturday, and that starts with Simon.

– Garrick Hodge

Predictions

Will Howard has his first 300-yard game as a Buckeye

Will Howard has one career 300-yard passing game and came up eight yards short of the mark in his second game with Ohio State against Western Michigan in Week 2. He’s yet to play four full quarters, which he could be in store for if Iowa manages to keep this one a little closer, and the secondary is once again the matchup for the Buckeyes’ offense to expose. Seems ripe for a big day throwing the ball.

– Andy Anders

Denzel Burke gets a pick-six

There might not be any player on Ohio State’s roster who’s hungrier for revenge against Michigan than Burke. The senior cornerback could get a small slice of revenge on Saturday by picking off Cade McNamara, who quarterbacked Michigan to a win over Ohio State during Burke’s freshman season in 2021. Burke leads the Buckeyes with two interceptions this season; I think he gets his third against the Hawkeyes, and I’ll take it a step further by saying he predicting he returns said interception for his second career pick-six.

– Dan Hope

Caleb Downs records an interception or a forced fumble

I won’t be as bold as Dan and predict a pick-six, but I think the standout safety will force his first turnover of the season against Iowa via either an interception or a forced fumble. In doing so, Downs will continue his “activation” at the backend of Ohio State’s defense, as Jim Knowles called it this week.

– Chase Brown

Cade McNamara is held to less than 100 passing yards again

Maybe this isn’t as bold as you may think considering McNamara has done this feat in two of his three games against FBS opponents this season, but it could be a testament to how stout OSU’s secondary may be considering I expect OSU to get ahead early and force Iowa to lean on the pass a little more than it would like. The Buckeyes’ cornerbacks see better skill position players in practice daily than any of Iowa’s receivers, and that should be reflected in OSU’s pass defense statistics this week.

– Garrick Hodge

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Ohio

Tavien St. Clair, Ohio State 5-star QB recruit, has six-TD performance for Bellefontaine

Published

24 hours ago

October 5, 2024

Press Room

Tavien St. Clair, Ohio State 5-star QB recruit, has six-TD performance for Bellefontaine

BELEFONTAINE, Ohio — Tavien St. Clair, Ohio State football’s five-star quarterback recruit, threw five touchdowns and ran in one of his own in a near-perfect display Friday night. St. Clair led Bellefontaine High School to a 56-8 victory over conference rivals Tecumseh.

Patience, control, and domination flowed from St. Clair on Friday as he completed 18 of 22 passes for 260 yards in one half of play in Week 7 of Ohio high school football.

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