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Tag: Politics & Elections

  • State Attorneys Defend Ohio’s Plan to Fund Browns Stadium, Urge Court to Dismiss Challenge

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    HHS Architects

    A rendering of the Brook Park dome and Haslam-operated entertainment village

    Attorneys representing several Ohio officials including Republican state Treasurer Robert Sprague want a judge to dismiss the class action lawsuit challenging the use of unclaimed funds to pay for a new Cleveland Browns stadium.

    In a pair of filings, they reject the lawsuit as a “misguided challenge” and the plaintiffs’ objections as “conspiratorial ramblings.”

    Far from coming up with some novel workaround to take ordinary Ohioans’ money, “the law is both mundane and entirely within the state’s prerogative,” the state’s attorneys argue. “The state’s right to manage, dispose of, and take title to abandoned property has been established for hundreds of years.”

    If the plaintiffs are so worried about the state taking their property, one filing repeatedly asks, why don’t they just claim it?

    The state’s lawyers have filed a motion to break up the class of plaintiffs and another to dismiss the case outright.

    Background

    The case centers on the most recent state budget. The Cleveland Browns were seeking $600 million in state dollars to help to pay for a new $2.5 billion stadium in Brook Park. Republican lawmakers came up with a clever plan to pay for it without raising taxes.

    They could just take the money from ordinary Ohioans.

    The state manages a pool of nearly $5 billion in unclaimed funds. That money is made up of forgotten assets — things like old bank accounts, security deposits or insurance policies. It’s a big chunk of what state Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, has called “lazy money.” It’s just sitting in an account generating interest, but little else. He argued, why not put some of it to use?

    The Ohio Senate’s budget plan moves money that has gone unclaimed for more than 10 years to a new cultural and sports facilities fund. Rightful owners would have 10 more years to come forward, but after that, they’d lose any claim over their money. The Ohio House didn’t object, and when the budget landed on Gov. DeWine’s desk, he didn’t either.

    Two attorneys and former Democratic lawmakers, Jeff Crossman and Marc Dann, filed a class action lawsuit claiming the state’s plan amounts to stealing. Looking to eminent domain law, they said the state has to jump through several hoops before taking possession of a citizen’s property, but Ohio officials had done none of that.

    In the most recent filings, attorneys representing Ohio’s treasurer, the Department of Commerce director, the Division of Unclaimed Funds superintendent, and the executive director of the state facilities construction commission, pushed back.

    “The complaint is nothing more than an expression of plaintiffs’ belief that the law makes for bad public policy,” the state’s attorneys said. “Plaintiffs, however, are not entitled to use this lawsuit to substitute their judgment for that of the state’s duly elected representatives.”

    Standing & class status

    To bring a lawsuit, a plaintiff needs to demonstrate ‘standing’ — that they’ve been harmed, the defendant caused that harm and the court could fix it. In its filings, the state poked holes in class action’s claims of standing. With a website available for people to reclaim property, what harm has occurred? Anyone who believes the state of Ohio has custody of their property can file a claim, right now, to get their property back.

    “Plaintiffs here simply ignored (and continue to ignore) the available administrative procedure entirely,” the state’s attorneys write. “By deciding not to file claims under that process, they plan to cause their own injury and lack standing to claim that defendants are at fault.”

    What’s more, they questioned whether any injury exists at all, much less the “actual, imminent and concrete injury” plaintiffs need to demonstrate standing. Although state lawmakers set a deadline for claims, that cutoff isn’t until 2036.

    “Thus, no matter what, plaintiffs have had, and will have, more than ten years until they could theoretically experience a loss of their property,” the state contends. “That is hardly ‘imminent.’”

    The state’s lawyers argue the case is “far too speculative, remote, and abstract” to meet the requirements. Because no property becomes truly unrecoverable until 2036, no actual harm occurs until then either. By extension, the case won’t be “ripe” until then for court review. Because the plaintiffs haven’t taken advantage of the readily available administrative process for reclaiming their property, it’s not necessary for the court to intervene.

    In a separate filing, the state’s legal team argued there’s little that binds the supposed class together. People with property in Ohio’s unclaimed funds trust might prompt similar questions, but the state’s attorneys contend the point of a class action is to deliver a singular answer for the entire group.

    The state’s attorneys explain the federal government preempts disputes over money from FDIC-protected accounts. And because the state will only take over funds that have been in the trust for ten or more years, not every claimant would fit in the class.

    “Given the vast differences within the proposed class,” they insist, “these questions will require individualized answers, which will depend on multiple factors that would require a claimant-by-claimant analysis.”

    Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.

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    Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal

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  • Cleveland Heights Voters Overwhelmingly Decide to Oust Mayor Seren in Recall Election

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    Mark Oprea

    Over 80 percent of voters decided Cleveland Heights Mayor Kahlil Seren was no longer fit for office, Tuesday’s election results show.

    Voters in Cleveland Heights decided to recall embattled Mayor Kahlil Seren in Tuesday’s election, the results from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections showed in an unofficial count.

    As of Wednesday morning, 8,307 voters turned out to polls across the city to cast their decision on the issue; a whopping 6,829 of them decided that Seren was no longer fit to lead. The city needed a simple majority to oust Seren three months before the end of his term in January.

    Josie Moore, a 2021 mayoral candidate that helped back Seren’s recall campaign, said she believes Cleveland Heights made the right decision.

    “The people of Cleveland Heights were clear: we could not afford to wait,” Moore told Scene. “We must now act to protect our city.”

    “This wasn’t about politics. It was about responsibility,” she added. “To our city employees, to our finances and to our future.”

    After the results are certified on September 26, Cleveland Heights’ first elected mayor will be forced to concede his seat to City Council President Tony Cuda, who will act as mayor until January 1.

    In early June, Moore and a handful of colleagues traversed Cleveland Heights with fellow supporters to try and validate a recall they all felt was long overdue. They collected 3,845 signatures—well over the 2,900 needed.

    Seren, they claimed, was unfit to lead. He and wife Natalie McDaniel had become embroiled in a series of scandals, including anti-semitic remarks, multiple instances of unprofessional behavior, allegations of wiretapping, and McDaniel’s indictment on trespassing charges.

    There was, Moore and others wrote in a letter this summer, “a pattern of leadership failures that place the city at risk.” Those that, they claimed, led to “extremely high” staff turnover, the resignation of three city administrators and a my-way-or-the-highway take on management that “fostered public alarm and distrust.”

    Seren’s successor will undeniably have to tackle issues of trust when they take the seat from Cuda in January.

    In Tuesday’s primary mayoral election, Jim Petras and Davida Russell, both on Cleveland Heights City Council, finished with roughly 28 percent of the vote each. The two will face off in a general election in November.

    Cleveland Heights City Hall has not released an official statement on the election results thus far, and did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

    “We will not speculate about outcomes. We will await the Board of Elections’ official results and, as required, certification,” Seren wrote in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

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    Mark Oprea

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  • Five Takeaways From the Cleveland City Council Primary Results

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    Seven Cleveland City Council wards saw competitive primaries on Tuesday, including one open seat, one featuring two incumbents, and one with an embattled sitting councilman facing censure.

    Turnout, as all expected, was dismal. Just about 7% of registered voters — a little under 9,000 — cast ballots citywide.

    There were no surprises, and there’s only so much you can tease out from the results given the turnout and races. But even with incumbents coming out of the gate strong, a few storylines emerged that are worth following in the coming weeks ahead of the November general election.

    1. Tanmay Shah Has a Real Shot in Ward 12

    Incumbent Danny Kelly came away with 669 votes, according to unofficial results from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, with challenger Tanmay Shah tallying 422 and moving on to November. Andrew DeFratis, the other challenger in the ward, drew 268 votes.

    The ward saw by far the tightest gap between incumbent and challenger, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see DeFratis voters moving to Shah’s camp this fall. Kelly has faced vocal backlash after going to war to turn a vacant CVS on Madison into a gas station proposed by two of his previous campaign donors. It struck many as a bizarre and unnecessary use of political capital on an issue that had widespread community opposition.

    Shah, a union organizer and attorney who was endorsed and supported by the progressive A Better Cleveland for All PAC, looks to have made significant inroads in the ward given last night’s results. And with the two challengers together receiving more votes than Kelly — the only instance of that happening across Tuesday’s races — there seems to be a clear sentiment that makes Kelly the most vulnerable incumbent on the ballot.

    2. Rebecca Maurer Has Ground to Make Up in Ward 5

    Forced to lose two wards, Cleveland’s redistricting process was bound to bring some interesting incumbent-on-incumbent races.

    The new Ward 5, covering Central, Downtown, Slavic Village and Kinsman, is one of them.

    Councilwoman Rebecca Maurer, who vigorously opposed the process and results of the new maps, was drawn into a race against fellow councilman Richard Starr.

    Whereas Maurer’s current ward was split into parts of six new ones, Starr’s current ward includes much of the new turf, including Central. The questions have been how Maurer would fare in the predominantly African-American ward and how turnout Downtown would impact the race.

    Early results weren’t entirely surprising given those facts, with Starr receiving 627 votes compared to Maurer’s 229.

    But given Maurer’s upset win against 16-year incumbent Tony Brancatelli in 2021 and the ground game that it took to make that happen, there’s certainly reason to believe the margin won’t look the same later this year.

    “I am happy to be moving on to the November 4 general election,” Maurer told Scene Wednesday morning. “But I am disappointed in both the low primary turnout numbers and the spread. Our goal is to continue our work of door knocking and community building so that the vote in the general is based on the will of the voters across all of Ward 5.”

    3. Scandals Haven’t Dampened Support for Joe Jones in Ward 1

    Facing a censure vote from his colleagues after a string of investigations into misconduct allegations, Joe Jones nevertheless took home 1,070 votes in Tuesday’s primary. Current State Rep. Juanita Brent received 537 and will advance to the November general while other challengers collected negligible votes. (Aylwin Bridges – 47; Lesa Jones Dollar – 69; Marc Crosby – 48.)

    Jones has been accused of threatening to kill a City Hall staff member, of making inappropriate comments to a female artist, of touching the breast of a staffer, and of general bullying behavior. Despite all that, he received enough votes from the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party’s executive committee to receive the group’s endorsement, not only in the original vote but in a re-vote following news of the latest investigation. (This is not entirely surprising given how members of the executive committee are selected.)

    Juanita Brent entered the race late and, though a Cleveland native from the ward she hopes to represent and boasting name power as a multi-term state representative, didn’t kick off her campaign as early as other challengers. Does the impending censure vote change anything? Can Brent make headway in the closing weeks? Will there be an investigation into some new misconduct allegation in the coming weeks? Anything is possible, including Jones continuing to shed scandals on the way to victory.

    4. Ward 7 Remains One of the City’s Most Interesting Races

    A Cleveland City Council election with no incumbent is a rarity up there with a Browns playoff berth. We have two this year, including the new Ward 7. Austin Davis led primary results with 950 votes followed by Mohammad Faraj with 564. Mike Rogalski received 187 and will not advance to the general.

    Spanning Tremont, Ohio City, Downtown and Detroit-Shoreway, Ward 7 includes some of the most engaged voters in Cleveland. While Davis enjoys early momentum, the race that we thought would be one of the most interesting in the city looks like it will be exactly that. And, as weird as it sounds, we’re curious where Rogalski supporters will migrate to, as his platform never really overlapped with either that of Davis and Faraj.

    5. It’s Still Early

    While we’re reading into some of these results, it is with the caveat that two months remain in the campaigns and primary results with a turnout in the single digits doesn’t necessarily represent how voters who will only cast ballots in the general feel.

    As always, some of these are going to come down to turnout. (We wouldn’t be surprised if one of them is decided by a few dozen votes.) So get out to some events and learn more about the candidates in the coming weeks, and then get your ass to your polling place in November.

    Other results not covered above:

    Ward 3: Deborary Gray comfortably advances to November with 654 votes while the race for second place to run against her was decided by just 16 ballots, with Erich Stubbs advancing (129) over Sharon Spruill (113).

    Ward 8: Stephanie Howse Jones (562 votes) will face Charlotte Perkins (172 votes) in November.

    Ward 9: Kevin Conwell receieved 938 votes. He’ll face Alana Belle (218 votes) in the general.

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    Vince Grzegorek

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  • Ohio Lawmaker Proposes Three Bills to Rein in Property Taxes, Working Group Debates Deferrals

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    The Ohio Channel

    Sponsor (R) Rep. Gary Click

    Ohio state Rep. Gary Click is joining the chorus of Ohio officials floating ideas to rein in property taxes.

    The Vickery Republican recently introduced a “trilogy” of property tax reforms restricting what levies are available, potentially requiring more of them to go to the voters and imposing higher thresholds to pass more expensive levies.

    “I know that our constituents are demanding a response, and this is me saying, ‘I’m listening,’” Click said.

    His ideas join several others up for debate. A handful of proposals would cap the growth in property taxes — either to a specific percentage, the rate of inflation or based on a homeowner’s wealth. Others would expand the homestead exemption.

    After vetoing several property tax measures in the state budget, Gov. Mike DeWine put together a new working group to come up with suggestions as well. The group continues to meet and is tasked with sharing their ideas at the end of the month.

    Click’s trio

    The first bill Click filed, House Bill 420, would eliminate continuing levies. In short, every property tax proposal on the ballot after 2030 would need to have an end date.

    “We’re not saying that these are bad levies that are out there,” Click said. “But it’s saying, okay, each generation should have a voice in saying ‘I understand what I’m paying this tax for, I agree, or I disagree.’ I think that’s too much, or not enough, or whatever it is, but that each generation gets to have their voice heard.”

    State Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original story.)

    Continuing levies filed prior to that cutoff would expire unless they were approved to pay for bonds. Any taxes that did expire as a result of the bill would be eligible for renewal, but taxing authorities would have to take the proposal to the ballot.

    Click’s second measure allows local organizers to reduce what’s known as “inside millage.” The Ohio Constitution allows local authorities to levy up to 10 mills (or 1%) in property taxes without going to the voters. Anything beyond that amount requires voter approval. House Bill 421 would allow petitioners to go to the ballot to lower that 10-mill ceiling further.

    Organizers would need to gather signatures from 15% of the area’s voters in the most recent gubernatorial election to get the question on the ballot. The bill also requires two-thirds approval from local taxing authorities to put the question of restoring the 10-mill ceiling on the ballot.

    “What works in Sandusky County might not work in Seneca County; what works in Seneca County might not work in Crawford County or Marion County,” Click argued. “And so each county gets to assess and look at the situation, and what works for their community, rather than imposing a statewide assessment on property.”

    His last proposal, House Bill 422, would require supermajority support for proposals with higher millage rates. Levies of less than one mill (or 0.1%) could pass with a simple majority, but those of one mill to 1.9 mills would need at least 60% approval and those of two mills or more would have to clear 66%.

    “The more you want, the more you ask for, the higher the bar is going to be,” Click said.

    His second and third proposals, however, could test the boundaries within the state constitution. The Ohio Constitution sets the terms, barring local authorities from taxing property “in excess of one per cent of its true value” unless those levies are “approved by at least a majority of the electors.”

    Whether courts would interpret that section as guaranteeing 10 mills of unvoted property tax or a simple majority standard for additional levies is an open question. So far, Click said, he hasn’t heard any warning about constitutional conflicts.

    Working group check in

    The governor’s working group continues to wrestle with recommendations for lawmakers. At its most recent hearing, the group debated a pair of delay tactics.

    First, the working group considered offering some kind of deferral for homeowners hit with eye-popping property tax bills. But even that simple idea raises a host of other questions. Should it be one-time or renewable? Should the state charge interest? What about minimum requirements — do homeowners need a certain amount of equity or ownership history?

    The group largely settled on capping deferrals at a dollar amount whether they run once or consecutively. It also nixed the idea of charging interest, while leaving the door open for charging an administrative fee. In terms of minimum requirements, a home equity benchmark was popular, but Warren County Auditor Matt Nolan explained it would be difficult to assess.

    “You know, I can pull your mortgage to see what you took a mortgage out for,” he said, “but I can’t see how much you’ve paid down on that or not, and are there other outstanding liens that aren’t recorded?”

    Instead, the group landed on a 10-year home ownership minimum as a decent proxy. The members also seemed open to making ownership transferrable, so seniors who downsize don’t wind up resetting the clock.

    But not everyone was on board with deferrals. Lake County Auditor Chris Galloway likened pushing off payment amounts to kicking the can down the road.

    “It doesn’t change what somebody’s tax liability is,” Galloway said. “All we’re doing is changing the taking — collecting those taxes from grandma or her corpse, right?”

    Instead, Galloway suggested lawmakers pause property tax increases temporarily while they come up with a comprehensive response.

    “The idea behind it is to, like, hit the pause button somehow,” he said. “To stop the outrage, to stop the bleeding, to be able to say, let’s give ourselves some time to fix this problem right.”

    Auditors would still go forward with assessing properties and updating valuations, but tax bills would hold steady. That delay might give lawmakers time to pass legislation like House Bill 186 — an idea popular with working group members that would limit tax increases to the rate of inflation.

    But other working group members, particularly Chair Bill Seitz, seemed skeptical of the idea. Those paused tax increases would eventually come due, and in the meantime, the benefits would land unevenly. For instance, Galloway acknowledged taxpayers who saw spikes after last year’s reassessments, including those in his county, wouldn’t get any immediate relief.

    Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.

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    Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal

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  • Ohio Lawmaker Wants Utilities to Give Customers Rebates for Reducing Power Use

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    (Photo by Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal.)

    Rep. Roy Klopfenstein, R-Haviland, describing his bill on the Ohio House floor.

    Ohioans could soon be able to sign up for programs that reduce their energy bills in exchange for allowing the utility to dial back their consumption. These demand response programs already exist for big energy consumers like factories, but state Rep. Roy Klopfenstein, R-Haviland, thinks residential consumers should have the opportunity as well.

    “This is one more tool in the toolbox that gives the distribution folks, the ability to manage the power so those that need it the most — and you can put whatever you want in there — that they are never without power,” he said.

    In a press release describing the measure, House Bill 427, Klopfenstein offers a few examples. Utilities might roll back your smart thermostat on a really hot day, or cycle home appliances like your water heater.

    Klopfenstein’s measure doesn’t specify the exact terms of a program. Instead, it directs state regulators to consider proposals from utilities so long as the programs are voluntary and open to everyone. It also requires that customers can override the power reductions. The Public Utility Commission of Ohio gets tasked with weighing whether programs are cost-effective for consumers and offer long-term savings to the energy grid.

    Many states offer demand response programs for residential customers, with varying incentive or rebate structures. In California, for instance, PG&E’s Power Saver Rewards Program notifies customers that demand is high and then gives them a dollar per kWh of power they save.

    “My rural cooperative has had a radio control on my electric hot water heater probably for 40 years,” Klopfenstein said. “This gives them the ability to shut the hot water heater off to limit demand during peak times. And in 40 years, I have never recognized when it was shut off.”

    Although he got paid up-front to participate, Klopfenstein said he doesn’t get a monthly incentive on his bill. Because he gets power through a co-op, though, he said the better they manage demand the lower his bills are overall.

    “Now, I will tell you what I believe consumers will want today, they’re going to want to be rewarded probably more than I am — and that’s OK.” Klopfenstein said. “Somewhere in there there’s a balance, but we need to give them a tool to manage the power distribution.”

    Supply and demand

    Klopfenstein sponsored a sweeping energy measure known as House Bill 15 earlier this year. That measure aimed to encourage new energy generation by offering tax incentives to new facilities and streamlining the regulatory process. The bill also ended a controversial coal plant bailout tied to the House Bill 6 scandal.

    Notably, that bill got broad bipartisan support and Rob Kelter, managing attorney with the Environmental Law & Policy Center, sees Klopfenstein’s newest proposal as a continuation.

    “Good energy policy manages both supply and demand. Ohio lawmakers took measures in HB 15 to increase supply, and we commend Rep. Klopfenstein and Chair (Rep. Adam) Holmes for moving quickly to lower demand,” Kelter said. “Republicans and Democrats worked together on HB 15, and we know there will be similar cooperation here.”

    In a press release, the Environmental Law & Policy Center estimates residential demand response could “create estimated net savings of between $34.5 million and $104 million for the utility system, depending on participation rate.” The group added that companies can roll out programs to reduce demand far faster than they can increase supply by standing up new power plants — even with HB 15 greasing the skids.

    Klopfenstein explained residential demand response almost made it into HB 15 itself. But it showed up as an amendment late in the process, and lawmakers stripped it out so they could debate it further.

    Still, the idea appears to have supporters on both sides of the aisle. Nolan Rutschilling from the Ohio Environmental Council said demand response is “crucial to addressing skyrocketing energy costs.”

    “This legislation allows utilities and retail energy providers to establish programs that save customers money, reduce strain on our electric grid, and create more capacity in the PJM market, lessening the burden on all energy customers,” he added.

    Ohio Conservative Energy Forum Executive Director Shayna Fritz said, “providing demand response solutions will ensure we are helping our energy remain reliable during peak times. We worked with Ohio lawmakers on critical energy legislation such as House Bill 15 and look forward to working with them again to develop the best solutions for all residents.”

    Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.

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    Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal

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  • LifeWise Academy Will Be in Nearly Half of Ohio School Districts This School Year

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    Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal

    LifeWise Academy is an Ohio-based religious instruction program that started in 2019

    LifeWise Academy, a controversial Hilliard-based religious instruction program, will be in almost half of Ohio’s public school districts this school year. 

    The academy will now be in 613 Ohio schools in 303 school districts for the 2025-26 school year, said Christine Czernejewski, a spokesperson for LifeWise. 

    Back in January, LifeWise was in about 160 Ohio school districts — a nearly 90% increase since the start of the calendar year.

    The academy’s new count comes after a new law took effect in April that requires Ohio school districts to have a religious-release time policy. The previous law merely permitted a policy. 

    “While the recent clarification in Ohio law has helped reinforce districts’ ability to offer release-time religious instruction, the growth is primarily driven by increased demand from families across the state,” Czernejewski said. “Communities have been proactively bringing LifeWise to their local schools because they understand the positive impact of Bible education during school hours.”

    LifeWise operates in 34 states and plans to enroll nearly 100,000 students this year, according to its website. 

    “Demand for LifeWise is surging, and we couldn’t be more excited to see families taking advantage of our programming, from urban areas to remote towns,” said CEO Joel Penton.  

    The non-denominational Christian program teaches the Bible to public school students during the school day, and started in Ohio in 2019. The courses usually take place during lunch or during elective courses.

    But LifeWise has many critics and parents have said their students have been ostracized and bullied for not taking part in LifeWise.  

    “These kids are affected when they don’t go,” said Zachary Parrish, a parent who had LifeWise file a lawsuit against him for copyright infringement. “They feel left out. They don’t understand why their parents aren’t letting them go.” 

    Parrish now lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but his daughter was a second-grader in Defiance City Schools in 2021 and he is not surprised Ohio has seen such an uptick in districts offering the religious classes.  

    “They’ve been in Ohio the longest,” he said. “They’ve got the most connections in Ohio. It’s where the organization is from. It’s where all the leadership is from. So it doesn’t surprise me that Ohio is the hotbed for it.”

    Religious instruction under the law

    The United States Supreme Court upheld release time laws during the 1952 Zorach v. Clauson case, which allowed a school district to have students leave school for part of the day to receive religious instruction.

    Religious release time instruction must meet three criteria: the courses must take place off school property, be privately funded and students must have parental permission.

    Tina Sobo, a rabbi at Temple Israel Dayton and mom of two students in Miamisburg Schools, said students in her congregation have heard antisemitic comments from their classmates when they return from LifeWise. 

    “The curriculum teaches that because my kids are Jewish and don’t believe in Jesus, we’re going to hell … And touching on just some of the low-level antisemitism, just really more ignorant type comments,” she said. “It’s a very specific version of Christianity that, I think, goes against, in my opinion, goals of creating an inclusive, positive religious environment in America.”

    LifeWise, which started in Miamisburg in January, “unequivocally condemns antisemitism or any form of harassment or discrimination,” Czernejewski said. 

    “Our mission is to provide Bible-based character education,” she said. “If any student were to make inappropriate or hurtful remarks toward their peers, whether inside or outside of school, that behavior would be inconsistent with what LifeWise teaches.”

    Rachel Evans, a mom of a student in Centerville City Schools, does not want to send her son to LifeWise because their family is Jewish. LifeWise is launching in Centerville this month. 

    “You have these kids who are taught that they need to save people because they’re taught that hell is just the worst place you could go,” she said. “And they’re really trying to help their friends, but that can be really damaging to a kid.” 

    Hearing LifeWise is in almost half of Ohio’s school districts makes Evans scared for her son’s future. 

    “I have had past experiences where I was proselytized to at a very young age and it’s not a good feeling,” she said. “… The whole point of it is to disrupt the school day. … There are so many other times when this would be appropriate, and I think during the school day is not it.” 

    Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.

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    Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal

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  • Trump Science and Medical Grant Cuts Impact Ohio Universities and Children’s Hospitals

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    (Photo by Graham Stokes for the Ohio Capital Journal.)

    On the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

    More than 30 National Institutes of Health grants in Ohio have been impacted by recent cuts at the federal level. 

    Thirty-two NIH grants are currently being impacted and eight NIH grants have been reinstated for an estimated loss of $16.75 million, according to Grant Witness, a project that tracks the termination of grants of scientific research agencies under President Donald Trump’s administration. 

    More than 5,110 NIH grants have been impacted, totaling $4.52 billion lost, according to Grant Witness. 1,290 grants have been reinstated. 

    The United States Supreme Court recently allowed NIH to terminate $783 million in grants tied to diversity initiatives.

    NIH ended hundreds of grants linked to DEI studies earlier this year after a series of Trump executive orders. Two separate groups of plaintiffs went to federal court in Massachusetts to challenge the termination of the NIH grants and a federal judge ruled in their favor, but U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the Supreme Court to intervene. 

    Ohio’s affected grants, according to Grant Witness.

    • Case Western Reserve University has nine grants affected, including one that could be possibly reinstated.
    • Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center has two grants affected.
    • Kent State University has one grant affected.
    • Ohio State University has 18 grants, including six that could be possibly reinstated and one with frozen funding.
    • The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital has three grants affected.
    • The University of Cincinnati has six grants affected, including one that could be possibly reinstated.
    • The University of Toledo has one grant affected.

    The Ohio Capital Journal reached out to all affected universities and hospitals, but most of them did not respond by deadline. 

    “We have not experienced the sweeping reductions in funding that have been proposed for some other institutions,” Ohio State University Spokesperson Ben Johnson said in an email. “When you look across our entire portfolio, we have not had a significant number of grants canceled. However, each cancellation is significant to the researchers involved and we are working to support those individuals.”

    Ohio State’s research portfolio totaled $1.6 billion last year and about $775 million of that was federal funding, he said. 

    The University of Toledo acknowledged a NIH grant was terminated and university spokesperson Tyrel Linkhorn said there were no layoffs associated with the termination. 

    In addition, Ohio University has been notified of two NIH sub-awards totaling $13,040 that have received stop-work orders, university spokesperson Dan Pittman said. 

    “Ohio University leaders will continue to assess evolving guidance from federal agencies and provide additional details and guidance as needed; during this time, we encourage all (OU) researchers to continue their efforts to explore research opportunities and to pursue funding,” he said in an email.

    The types of NIH grants affected in Ohio range from studying the long-term effects of COVID, vaccine hesitancy in rural communities, inflammatory bowel disease, bisexual adolescents’ and young adults’ risk for depression and suicidal ideation, minority women’s mental health and creating healthy habits for heart health, among others. 

    “The cuts to the NIH funding … are going to severely reduce the amount of research that universities in Ohio are able to engage in,” Sara Kilpatrick, executive director of the Ohio Conference of the American Association of University Professors. “And this, of course, is a problem nationwide, but this is a great concern for our research institutions in the state of Ohio.” 

    This will hurt local economies and Ohio’s economy as a whole, she said. 

    “I think that anybody who understands the kind of economic engines that our universities are has to be able to see the way that this is going to severely undermine the research missions of our universities,” Kilpatrick said. 

    Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.

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    Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal

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  • Lawsuit Challenges New Proof of Citizenship Requirement at Ohio BMV for Voter Registration

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    The women’s political organization Red Wine and Blue has sued Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose over changes to the voter registration process at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

    Thanks to the federal “motor voter” law, car registration agencies around the U.S. have offered voter registration services to applicants since the early 1990s. New state law in Ohio requires applicants provide proof of citizenship before the bureau registers them or updates their registration.

    Red Wine and Blue argued the change, passed as part of Ohio’s two-year transportation budget, “makes it harder for lawful, eligible Ohio citizens to exercise their fundamental right to vote.”

    “Frank LaRose and Republicans in the state legislature should not be able to disenfranchise anyone,” she continued. “Especially not the rural Ohioans, elderly voters, students, and women who have changed their legal names through marriage and divorce who are disproportionately affected by this legislation.”

    In a press release LaRose dismissed the case as a “baseless” and “activist” lawsuit. He added the state of Wyoming instituted similar changes and courts there have already upheld the policy.

    “It’s common sense that only U.S. citizens should be on our voter rolls,” LaRose said. “I won’t apologize for, or back down from the work we do to ensure the integrity of our voter rolls.”

    “We will win this case,” he insisted, “just like we’ve fought off the other baseless actions that such groups have brought against us.”

    At root, the changes shift the burden from state agencies to individuals.

    Under prior law, registrants had to attest under penalty of perjury that they are a citizen. Verification then happened behind the scenes with elections officials at the state and local level.

    On the one hand, drivers renewing their license who previously proved their citizenship shouldn’t have a problem. On the other, it’s not hard to imagine ordinary people showing up to the BMV without a marriage abstract or divorce paperwork; or a senior letting their license lapse and then losing the ability to renew without tracking down a birth certificate.

    Researchers at the University of Maryland have found more than 21 million Americans — about 10% of the eligible voting population — don’t have ready access to proof of citizenship.

    The complaint

    The Red Wine and Blue complaint focuses on attestation requirements in prior law. A sworn state statement was good enough in Ohio for decades, and it’s the standard many other states and the federal government rely on, too.

    “Indeed,” the complaint adds, “Ohio currently allows residents to register to vote based on an attestation of citizenship — so long as they register somewhere other than the BMV.”

    The problem with imposing proof of citizenship requirements, the group claims, goes back to the motor voter law. That measure states registration agencies may only require the minimum amount of information necessary to determine a voter’s eligibility.

    “Because the (National Voter Registration Act) separately requires that all applicants must attest, under penalty of perjury, that they are United States citizens,” the complaint states, “requesting any ‘proof’ of citizenship beyond that attestation goes beyond the ‘minimum’ amount of information that is ‘necessary’ to determine an applicant’s eligibility.”

    In short, Red Wine and Blue contends that Congress said a sworn statement is fine and that states aren’t free to go further.

    Attorneys for Red Wine and Blue warned the secretary about that point in a letter prior to filing their lawsuit.

    In a response, LaRose’s general counsel, former Senate President Larry Obhof, dismissed them out of hand.

    The U.S. and Ohio Constitutions bar noncitizens from voting, he wrote, and Ohio law bars them from registering.

    “When a license registrant does not present proof of United States citizenship and has not done so in the past, Ohio does not have ‘the minimum amount of information necessary’ to assess whether the registrant is eligible to register to vote,” Obhof said.

    The broader context

    In recent years, right-wing organizers have grown increasingly insistent that noncitizens are flooding the American electoral system.

    Republican officials including Donald Trump and JD Vance have fanned those flames, and in the final weeks of the 2024 election, Ohio boards of elections were flooded with thousands of bogus registration challenges.

    LaRose himself has made a point of pursuing alleged voter fraud aggressively. Ahead of last year’s election, his maintenance efforts erroneously swept in naturalized citizens.

    LaRose’s office has flagged hundreds of individual registrations for review since taking office.

    As part of a 2023 investigation, Ohio Capital Journal spoke to dozens of county prosecutors about those cases. Many described a similar pattern: ineligible people received a form and filled it out thinking it was required. In some cases the applicants even checked a box stating they aren’t a citizen but county officials registered them anyway.

    Those cases are about confusion rather than fraud, the prosecutors claimed. Ohio’s new proof of citizenship requirements might limit those cases, but Red Wine and Blue contends many more Ohioans will be harmed in the process.

    And for all the fear mongering about noncitizen voting, no one has been able to show it’s a substantial problem.

    Following a more thorough review of LaRose’s flagged cases in 2024, Attorney General Dave Yost turned up a grand total of six cases of voter fraud. The 2024 post-election audit came back with an accuracy rate north of 99% yet again.

    Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.

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    Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal

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  • Northeast Ohio Is a Big Part of Trump Deportation Network

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    An ICE officer in an udated photo

    The airport, a jail, and a prison in Ohio’s Mahoning Valley have emerged as a major part of the network the Trump administration is using to conduct mass deportations. As it has, residents and advocates are raising concerns.

    For his part, the county sheriff said he doesn’t have strong opinions in the deportation debate. He said he’s taking immigration detainees to supplement a thin budget.

    The debate illustrates how moral and practical concerns can clash in the second Trump administration. The clash is particularly poignant in the Mahoning Valley, a place settled by immigrants who built an industrial powerhouse. That powerhouse has seen decades of decline in the wake of globalization and competition from overseas.

    President Donald Trump ran last year on claims that the United States was overrun with violent criminals he would deport. Since then, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been rounding up undocumented immigrants — and some who are legally seeking asylum. He’s also seeking to deport hundreds of thousands of others who are legally here under temporary protected status.

    Despite Trump’s claim that he would focus deportation efforts on violent criminals, just 40% of the 112,000 arrested by ICE between Jan. 20 and late June had any criminal conviction. Only 7% had been convicted of violent crimes and just 5% of drug crimes, Stateline reported.

    Even so, arrests have continued to surge. Nearly 60,000 people were in ICE custody as of Aug. 10, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

    As they are, Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley are playing a big role. 

    From February through July, 202 ICE planes carrying detainees traveled through the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport — the seventh most of any in the United States, according to Witness at the Border, which compiles the statistics. At the same time, the county jail and a private prison in Youngstown are housing about 500 ICE detainees, many of whom are shuttled to and from the airport.

    Chris Harris, a local resident, said it’s wrong for local institutions to participate in what she sees as Trump’s needless persecution of a powerless minority.

    “I’m fundamentally, morally, and spiritually opposed to our government rounding up immigrants, people of color, people who have or don’t have documentation, putting them into detainment, a lot of times with no due process,” she said in an interview last week. “Folks are just sitting in jail. A lot of times they have no way to contact an attorney, no way to contact family. People can’t find their loved ones in detainment. And then they’re getting shuttled from one detention center to another across the country. Fundamentally, I’m against that. I’m opposed to that. It’s a faith thing for me.”

    Harris and a small group of others had been tracking and photographing ICE flights through the airport, which she said had usually taken place every morning and every night. But she said the flights now appear to have been moved out of public view.

    As ICE planes have shuttled detainees around the country and overseas, they’ve prompted accusations that it’s a gambit to keep detainees out of touch with their attorneys and to deny participation in their legal proceedings.

    Lynn Tramonte, founder of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, said it’s a system of injustice.

    “I think it’s incredibly disturbing that we have set up this network of jails and charter flights,” she said. “We’re spending billions of dollars. We’re establishing prisons in foreign countries to house people who, up until the time of their arrest, were working and taking care of their families and following a legal process.”

    Andrew Resnick is a spokesman for the Western Reserve Port Authority, which operates the Youngstown airport. He said his agency was aware of the Boeing 737 planes passing through the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, but said they were there as a consequence of a federal lease with a fixed-base operator.

    “It is important to note that the Port Authority serves as the commercial sponsor of the federally owned Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport (an FAA asset),” Resnick said in an email. “Our primary job is to ensure the ongoing operations of the facility through the safety and maintenance of airport facilities and grounds.”

    While the port authority appears to have no say in the ICE presence at the airport, two jails in Youngstown are voluntarily housing around 500 ICE detainees daily. 

    Every Thursday, Harris leads a prayer vigil at one or the other. She said nuns from a Catholic convent nearby and a few others regularly join her. But she said bigger numbers have been slow to materialize.

    “People are scared. They don’t want to admit what’s happening. They don’t want to think about it,” Harris said. “We’ve got to stand up. If you’re not doing something, you’re part of the problem. I refuse to be part of this problem.” 

    The larger of the two facilities is the Northeast Ohio Corrections Center. It’s owned by a private company, Nashville-based CoreCivic, which contracts with the federal and state governments. 

    A spokesman was asked to confirm whether it housed 400 detainees in the Youngstown facility, as a source reported to the Capital Journal. The spokesman, Brian Todd, referred the question to ICE “out of respect.”

    “Out of respect for our government partners at ICE, we kindly ask that you contact them directly regarding contractual/capacity questions,” he said in  an email. 

    ICE didn’t respond to questions about the movement of detainees through the Mahoning Valley. Todd sent a February press release by CoreCivic indicating that the private prison company would take a major stake in Trump’s mass-deportation project.

    Five weeks after Trump took office, the company announced “that it has entered into contract modifications to add capacity for up to a total of 784 detainees from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) at its 2,016-bed Northeast Ohio Correctional Center, its 1,072-bed Nevada Southern Detention Center, and its 1,600-bed Cimarron Correctional Facility in Oklahoma. In addition, CoreCivic has obtained a contract modification to specify that ICE may use up to 252 beds at its 2,672-bed Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Mississippi.”

    Tramonte of the Immigrant Alliance said the money flowing to such private companies could be better used.

    “That’s billions of taxpayer dollars that we could be spending on public education, health care, nutrition, priorities for American people instead of implementing a mass-deportation system,” she said. “It’s absolutely disturbing.”

    The other Youngstown facility housing detainees, the Mahoning County Jail, typically houses about 100 a day. Sheriff Jerry Greene makes no bones about his motives for taking them — it’s for the money.

    At $125 per-inmate, per-day, the department stands to take in an additional $4.5 million a year with most expenses other than food being covered by the feds, Greene said in an interview last week.

    “I knew I had bed space,” he said. “The moment Trump won, I got on the phone with ICE in Cleveland and told them if they needed bed space, we’d like to put in for that. They jumped at that.”

    Greene said his jail already housed prisoners for the U.S. Marshals Service, so all it took was a contract modification to take in the ICE detainees. He acknowledged that some members of the community objected to their presence in the jail, but he said they harbor some misconceptions.

    “They’re accusing us of going out and kicking in doors and ripping people away from families, but really we’re just a number here,” Greene said. “Mahoning County has 100 beds. We get inmates from everywhere — from Maryland, Detroit, California, Florida you name it. We have a number we can take and they keep us full.” 

    Greene, formerly a Democrat who last year switched his affiliation to Republican, said he doesn’t have an opinion about Trump’s deportation policies “other than I believe that if people are in this country illegally, they shouldn’t be. Would I call myself a fanatic about it? Absolutely not. But I agree with that part of it. If you’re not supposed to be here, you shouldn’t be here.”

    It was pointed out that some of those being deported are in the country legally. Some are in the midst of asylum proceedings, and Trump is working to deport hundreds of thousands more with temporary-protected status. 

    “When you peel this onion back, there’s probably going to be layers of good and bad to it,” Greene said. “But at the end of the day, I’m here to support the federal government, and this also benefits us.” 

    During the first Trump administration, some Ohio counties were sued on claims that detainees were mistreated in their jails. Greene said mistreatment is not going to happen in his jail. In fact, he said, among his staff, ICE detainees are known to be good to work with.

    “When you talk about mistreatment, it’s funny, because the comments that come from our medical staff and our deputies is that… the ICE inmates are great,” he said. “They don’t give the deputies problems like other inmates do.”

    To Greene, the matter is simple: Somebody is going to house the detainees, so it might as well be Mahoning County where he says they’ll be well-cared for and the county’s depressed economy can benefit.

    “If we didn’t house these hundred inmates, they’d be housed somewhere else,” he said. “They might be in a tent in the Everglades.”

    But to Harris, the activist, it’s part of an anti-immigrant scheme that flies in the face of the region’s heritage.

    “It’s so frustrating because we’re all immigrants over here in Youngstown. My dad came from East Germany,” she said. “He was a refugee seeking asylum. Folks, you’re Italian, you’re Irish, you’re Serbian, Ukrainian. This is your heritage.” 

    Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.

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    Marty Schladen, The Ohio Capital Journal

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  • ‘Not a National Emergency.’ Retired Military Oppose DeWine Deploying Ohio National Guard Troops to D.C.

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    Tourists pass by members of the National Guard stationed outside Union Station in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 18, 2025.

    Retired military and active-duty Ohio families spoke out against Gov. Mike DeWine recently deploying Ohio National Guard troops to Washington D.C. at the request of President Donald Trump. 

    Trump said earlier this month he would send National Guard troops to Washington D.C. to crackdown on crime and Ohio is one of six states that has so far sent troops to Washington D.C.

    Violent crime in Washington D.C. is at a thirty year low and Toledo, Dayton, and Cleveland all had a higher crime rate than Washington D.C. in 2024. 

    “This is not a national emergency,” said VALOR Media Network President Kenneth Harbaugh. “The impact on the morale of these soldiers on the ground is palpable when they are pulled away from their families, when they have to miss birthdays and graduations and the beginning of school and things like that to go guard a Shake Shack.”

    Trump has also talked about possibly sending troops to other cities including Chicago, New York, and Baltimore.  

    “The current deployments … and the ones that are being contemplated in other places throughout the country in the near future are unnecessary and disruptive to the lives of all these citizen soldiers,” said Christopher Dziubek, retired U.S. Army Brigadier General. 

    Secretary of the Army Daniel P. Driscoll asked DeWine on Aug. 15 to send 150 members from the Ohio National Guard to Washington D.C. and members of the Ohio National Guard are currently there on a 30-day deployment.

    Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Tennessee have also sent troops — all states with Republican governors. 

    “These deployments to D.C. are not an emergency and are an overstep in the use of our military,” said Ohio Army National Guard veteran Jermaine Collins. “It’s downright disrespectful to our citizen soldiers to pull them away from their families and their communities to police the unhoused population in D.C. and assist ICE in mass deportations.” 

    Part of Trump’s crackdown on crime comes from a recent executive order that forces those experiencing homelessness off the streets.

    “Our loved ones are being deployed, not for defense, not for disaster relief, not for emergencies, but for missions that are vague, polarizing, and even cosmetic,” said Brandi Jones, an Ohio military spouse and co-executive director of Secure Families Initiative. “Beautification of cities is not the job of the military.”

    The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia has not asked for National Guard troops to be deployed, and Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has spoken out against the deployment.

    “Folks did not sign up for the National Guard to become political pawns,” Collins said. “If our citizen soldiers wanted to become Metro P.D. or ICE agents, they would have signed up for that instead of the National Guard. … National Guard troops shouldn’t be used as political pawns.”

    Trump does have the authority to request National Guard troops to Washington D.C.

    “But the trigger for using those legal authorities is in an emergency situation … where normal local authorities are hamstrung by lack of resources, or they’re utterly overrun by violent rioters, protesters, insurrectionists, (or) rebels,” said Dan Maurer, U.S. Army veteran and Ohio Northern University College of Law associate professor.

    Sixty cities have a higher violent crime rate than Washington D.C., he said. 

    “The governor should have asked questions … like, ‘Well, what exactly is the emergency we’re facing? … What are the facts on the ground that justify the extraordinary use of another state’s National Guard on the streets of American cities to do law enforcement?” Maurer said. 

    The Ohio National Guard is one of the largest in the country with around 17,000 soldiers and airmen, according to the 122nd Army National Guard Band. 

    Advocates are calling on DeWine to bring the deployed National Guards troops home.

    Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.

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    Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal

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  • Anti-Abortion Facilities Get Ohio Grants as Funding for Other Women’s Health Facilities Slashed

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    The Midtown Planned Parenthood in September of 2022, which has now closed

    As some Ohio women’s health facilities square with federal budget cuts and a new effort to cut funds at the state level, anti-abortion pregnancy resource centers are receiving million in state grants.

    Even in a state with a constitutional amendment that protects the right to abortion, the difference between the facilities receiving boosts in funding and those facing further cuts is largely their stance on abortion.

    A new Ohio bill introduced by Republican state Reps. Jean Schmidt and Adam Mathews seeks to bar Medicaid funds from going to any entities that provide abortion other than when the abortion is a result of rape or incest, or when the life of the pregnant person is endangered.

    The bill bases its language on the federal budget reconciliation bill passed and signed into law by President Donald Trump in July.

    The federal budget language was criticized for specifically impacting Planned Parenthood, which could lose hundreds of facilities if the loss of funding, on top of other budget cuts, goes through.

    The national Planned Parenthood Federation of America is suing to stop the cuts from being enforced. A federal judge temporarily stopped the cuts in July as the lawsuit continues.

    Meanwhile, Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel announced nearly $20 million in grants over the next two years, distributed through the Ohio Parenting and Pregnancy Program. The grants were announced as funding boosts to help improve Ohio’s infant health outcomes.

    The awards were provided to entities for “prenatal education, parenting classes, case management, referrals and material assistance tailored to the needs of their local communities.”

    “These efforts are part of the DeWine-Tressel Administration’s broader mission to reduce infant mortality and ensure every child in Ohio has the opportunity to live up to their God-given potential,” a release on the grant funding stated.

    The grant program is distributed by the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, which saw its own cuts in the most recent state operating budget, including millions of dollars cut from line items for “infant vitality.”

    The state department reported an infant mortality rate of 6.5 per 1,000 live births in 2024, a slight decrease from the year before.

    The annual March of Dimes Report Card for 2024 noted the decrease, but still gave Ohio a D+ for its preterm birth rate, ranking the state 32nd in the country. The report card also noted the infant mortality rate for Black individuals was 1.9 times higher than the overall state rate.

    Among the 21 recipients of the grantees are several religiously affiliated groups, including Heartbeat of Lima County, Inc., Elizabeth’s New Life Center, Inc., and the Family Life Center of Auglaize County.

    Grant recipients also included several pregnancy resource centers, a sector of services that are controversial and criticized for not being required to have the same medical license requirements as facilities like Planned Parenthood, and for providing medically debunked and inaccurate information to patients.

    The application details for the grants noted that the awards would only go to entities who promote “childbirth, parenting and alternatives to abortion.”

    State law establishing the Ohio Parenting and Pregnancy Program further specifies entities supported by the program can not be “involved in or associated with any abortion activities, including providing abortion counseling or referrals to abortion clinics, performing abortion-related medical procedures or engaging in pro-abortion advertising.”

    Funding future

    In the federal budget bill, the women’s health clinic funding prohibition targeted at abortion providers lasts for one year, but leaders of Ohio clinics say the state measure could mean more longterm cuts.

    The state-level Medicaid ban being proposed by conservative, anti-abortion legislators, along with federal-level cuts, would cut funds that don’t go toward abortion services in the first place.

    “By introducing all of these bills to cut Planned Parenthood out of Medicaid, it does not impact abortion at all, it impacts every other service that keeps people healthy,” said Erica Wilson-Domer, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio.

    Wilson-Domer said more than 40% of her affiliate’s patients are covered by Medicaid, and the “vast majority” of the services provided to those patients are office services. Those services include well visits, contraception services and infection checks, among other non-abortion care.

    Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio has already announced staffing reductions after “mounting attacks from the Trump administration, including the loss of Title X funding and Medicaid defunding through the federal reconciliation bill.”

    In announcing the reduction in force, the greater Ohio affiliate said the federal funding losses represent a $10 million drop in annual funds.

    “Without a reduction in force, PPGOH could cease to exist, leaving over 50,000 patients without access to birth control, gender affirming care, abortion and a myriad of other essential health care services,” Wilson-Domer said in the announcement on Aug. 4.

    Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region also announced changes because of federal funding cuts, including the closure of a clinic in Springfield and another in Hamilton. Neither of the closed facilities provided abortion services.

    Wilson-Domer and her fellow Planned Parenthood affiliate leader Nan Whaley in Southwest Ohio both said federal funds have never paid for abortion services. But the services they do provide to low-income and underinsured patients make them “uniquely positioned to have a better impact on maternal and infant mortality,” Wilson-Domer said.

    “To take us out of Medicaid is just completely taking away any women’s health care options for those communities, and it will completely exacerbate this crisis,” Wilson-Domer said.

    Republicans who sponsor and support anti-abortion measures are missing the point of the care, and taking away other services while they attempt to stifle abortion services, according to abortion rights advocates in Ohio.

    “Our policies are not promotion of abortion, our policy is to make sure every person has bodily autonomy,” Wilson-Domer said. “We will do what we need to do to help you with whatever decision you’ve made.”

    Abortion rights advocacy group Abortion Forward said budget cuts on the state and federal level don’t show the prioritization of children, and in fact could create more infant and maternal mortality problems.

    The group’s deputy director, Jaime Miracle, said the state’s time would be better spent supporting all facilities who are working to address the problem, rather than cutting them down.

    “These actions speak louder than his words when (DeWine) continues to fund unproven, deceptive programs instead of real providers with a track record of success,” Miracle told the Capital Journal. “To really help families in our state, Ohio must invest in improvements to prenatal care, home visiting programs with a proven track record of success, and respect and support people seeking abortion care.”

    Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.

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    Susan Tebben, The Ohio Capital Journal

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  • ‘It Feels Like a Betrayal.’ Ohio College Students Experiencing Effects of New Higher Education Law

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    (Photo by David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal.)

    Ohio college students and protesters rally at the Statehouse on March 19, 2025, against Senate Bill 1, a higher education overhaul that bans diversity efforts and faculty strikes, and sets rules around classroom discussion, among other things.

    Ohio college students are navigating the ramifications of the state’s new higher education law that bans diversity efforts, prohibits faculty strikes, and regulates classroom discussion. 

    Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 1 into law on March 28 after it quickly passed the House and Senate earlier this year. Ohio S.B. 1 went into effect nearly two months ago. 

    S.B. 1 creates post-tenure reviews, puts diversity scholarships at risk, sets rules around classroom discussion, and creates a retrenchment provision that blocks unions from negotiating on tenure, among other things. The law affects Ohio’s public universities and community colleges.

    Diversity centers across Ohio’s public universities have closed because of the new higher education law.

    “I feel like it’s almost a grieving process where I know for a fact that the Pride Center is gone,” said Ohio University senior Audrey Ansel. “I know that that office space is empty — I helped empty it out — but it still just feels strange, and it’s not something I had ever imagined would happen.”

    Ohio University sunsetted the Division of Diversity and Inclusion which included the Pride Center, the Women’s Center and the Multicultural Center. Ansel lost her job at the Pride Center when it closed and has been unable to find a different job on campus. 

    “It is just frustrating having done all of that work and (having) put so much of myself into the Pride Center for three years,” Ansel said. “I will always be proud of that, but it’s hard when that physical representation of that work is gone.”

    The Pride Center was a big reason Ansel chose to go to OU. 

    “I don’t regret going to school here, and I’ll never regret going to school here. … But it feels like a betrayal,” she said.

    OU’s Pride Center served not only the campus community, but also the city of Athens.  

    “This (was) a hub for queer people in southern Ohio,” Ansel said. “I think that was something that was unique about the Pride Center, was that it wasn’t just exclusive to students, and I always appreciated that. … Community members are going to suffer without that resource.”

    Kent State University’s LBGTQ+ Living-Learning Community was one of the main reasons Chloe Ripoli chose to go to Kent State, but it now no longer exists because of the new law.

    “As someone who got to experience the LLC the last year that it was in place, knowing that no one else would have that experience was really heartbreaking to me,” said Ripoli, a 19-year-old sophomore.   

    Ripoli was planning on going to the LGBTQ+ Center more this year, but is unable to do so since the new law closed the center. 

    “I no longer have access to that safe space,” Ripoli said. 

    Nica Delgado, a graduate student at Kent State, said she previously found solace at the E. Timothy Moore Student Multicultural Center during her undergraduate years at Kent State. 

    “It gave me a community that I could lean on,” she said. “It also provided a space that I knew on campus was for me.”

    The center closed after S.B. 1 took effect this summer. 

    “It makes me fearful for the safety of students to not have that space that is for them,” Delgado said. 

    Members of Youngstown State University’s chapter of the Ohio Education Association tried unsuccessfully to get a referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot to stop S.B. 1., but fell about 53,000 signatures short.

    Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.

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    Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal

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  • Ohio U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno Brushes Off Boos at City Club of Cleveland

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    Ohio voters gave Republican U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno a harsh welcome Wednesday during an appearance at The City Club of Cleveland. Unruffled, Moreno defended Republican policy and painted the Trump administration in glowing terms.

    “He should, and probably will, end up getting the Nobel Peace Prize,” Moreno said of the president.

    “Those are just facts”

    In a discussion moderated by NBC News’ Henry Gomez, Moreno praised the Trump administration and its centerpiece budget legislation, The One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

    The measure makes permanent large tax breaks from Trump’s first administration and adds on temporary deductions for overtime pay and tips that expire in 2028. Opponents criticize Republicans for paying for those tax cuts by rolling back safety net programs like Medicaid and food stamps.

    But Moreno claimed there’s no cut.

    “The facts are, over the next 10 years, we will spend 20% more on Medicaid nationally than we’re spending now,” Moreno said. “Medicaid spending will be increased by 20%, that’s a fact.”

    Despite insisting throughout the event that “those are just facts” and encouraging people to “look it up,” Moreno’s math is fuzzy.

    Nonpartisan researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation note CBO forecasts predict a $911 billion cut to the program and an increase of 10 million uninsured Americans. Ohio Capital Journal asked Moreno’s office about the figure but got no response.

    One possibility? He could be comparing apples and oranges.

    In June, the GOP-controlled, U.S. House Budget Committee put out a press release claiming the Congressional Budget Office had “set the record straight.” But the committee argued Medicaid spending would climb more than 30% — not 20%.

    They arrived at that figure by comparing projected Medicaid costs in 2034 with the current ones. That, of course, ignores the likely increase in program spending if Trump’s legislation hadn’t passed.

    The CBO described that comparison in the very same paragraph, stating, “CBO estimates that enacting the Medicaid provisions of H.R. 1 would reduce Medicaid spending by $125.2 billion in 2034.”

    Moreno also defended the Trump administration’s approach to tariffs: “We need to make more things here in America so that we have good, high paying middle class jobs — that’s just a fact.”

    And he voiced support for the idea of taking an equity stake in Intel.

    “If a company is going to ask for help, if a company is going to ask for money, the taxpayer should get equity so we have the upside,” Moreno said.

    “As a company becomes successful, we can sell that equity and recoup the money for the taxpayer,” he added. “To me, that’s common sense.”

    Question and answer

    Moreno answers elicited jeers throughout the discussion with Gomez. When the event turned to audience questions, it didn’t get much friendlier.

    One person asked what he was doing to protect NASA following major job cuts and another sought his help with changes to the 529 education savings plan making it easier to donate left over money.

    Moreno assured the first that NASA is important for national security and the city of Cleveland.

    “A lot of that technology and knowledge lives here in Cleveland,” Moreno said before predicting a “big increase in funding.” He promised the other attendee he’d investigate the 529 issue and work on fitting it into upcoming legislation.

    Different speakers pressed him on his support for Israel’s war in Gaza and what he’s doing to protect Ukraine from Russia’s invasion.

    “This is a total problem caused by Hamas that could be fixed by Hamas, and Israel is defending itself and I support them unequivocally,” Moreno said of the war in Gaza.

    As for Ukraine, Moreno said, “We cannot allow 6,000, 7,000 innocent people to die every single week. It is a terrible, terrible situation what’s happening there, and I, for one, I’m on the side of peace.”

    One attendee asked about Trump’s recent flirtation with prohibiting mail-in voting. The senator argued the last time Congress proposed federal election laws, Democrats were in charge.

    “We’re on the side of states’ rights, and saying, hey, states should manage that,” Moreno said. “But at the same time, it is a federal obligation to make sure those states are doing a good job.”

    Notably, the Trump administration is leaning on GOP-led states to redraw maps mid-cycle to advantage the party. Among other changes, the Democratic legislation Moreno referenced would have required states to establish independent redistricting commissions.

    Another attendee asked Moreno about changing his tune about the 2020 election and Jan. 6.

    “What’s the truth about the 2020 election? Was it stolen, Senator?” the man asked. “And what’s the truth about Jan. 6, Senator? Were they patriots or felons?”

    Moreno pointed to Hunter Biden’s laptop.

    “That story was supposedly Russian misinformation, which it was clearly not, and did that alter the election? Absolutely it did,” he said.

    “I get the question,” Moreno added, “was Joe Biden the legitimate president of the United States for four years. He was legitimately the worst president of the United States for four years.”

    Moreno did not address Jan. 6.

    Pressing the flesh?

    Cleveland’s event is far from the first time Moreno has come home, but his visits have generally relied on private tours and press conferences. Critics have lobbed abuse at Moreno for failing to meet with constituents.

    When Ohio Capital Journal reached out to Moreno’s office about events with voters, a spokeswoman sent a press release describing a three-day, 18-county tour promoting the One Big Beautiful Bill earlier this month.

    Those visits included a dairy, a restaurant, a steel plant, and a factory. But the events weren’t widely publicized, and most appear to be made up of invited guests. Although the press release notes Moreno visited Ohio’s three most populous counties, it doesn’t mention coverage from any of the numerous news outlets in those areas.

    Frustrated with their lack of access, Moreno’s critics have have taken to hosting regular protests outside his Ohio offices. They showed up outside The City Club, as well. In a statement, organizer Ellen Brown said, “he doesn’t represent all of Ohio.”

    “He refuses to do a town hall with constituents of different points of view, he’s allowing the executive branch to take power from the Senate as he votes with the president 100%, and the budget bill hurts Ohioans in favor of billionaires,” Brown continued. “He’s allowing illegal deportations against immigrants and he’s an immigrant himself.”

    Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.

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    Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal

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  • Ohio Gov. DeWine Sending Guard Troops to D.C. Makes Him Complicit in Trump’s Military Occupation

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    (Photo by Graham Stokes for the Ohio Capital Journal )

    Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine talks with the press.

    What Pandora’s Box has Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine opened by joining other Republican-led states in sending hundreds of reinforcement National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. to join the 800 military already mobilized on the streets of the nation’s capital?

    Whatever possessed the lame duck Republican governor to become complicit in Donald Trump’s authoritarian power grab to seize control of an American city with a manufactured “crime emergency” and boots on the ground? 

    DeWine must know the bizarre, militarized occupation of D.C. is based on fallacies about rising Washington crime debunked by data that proves otherwise.

    To be sure, violent crime is a serious, ongoing problem in D.C. — as it is in other major U.S. cities — but Trump’s hostile takeover of the capital city is not about effective crime-fighting and prevention. It is a distraction. A stunt. Trump has to change the subject about the Epstein coverup with something surreal.

    But deployment of National Guard troops in iconic Washington — whose number will nearly double in size after the out-of-state reinforcements arrive — is a gross abuse of power by a would-be autocrat whose favorite tactic is to assert fake emergencies (with no acute crisis) as cover for extreme action.

    Trump has declared 11 of them since January to justify everything from turning the southern border into a military zone (and soldiers into de facto border police) to setting tariffs on every country in the world, promoting fossil fuel production and exerting police power (deploying National Guard troops, federal agents and actual military) in an appalling show of force and weaponry meant to strike fear first in Los Angeles and now in the District.

    Tourists on the National Mall are greeted by active-duty soldiers on a domestic mission to surveil Americans and keep them law-abiding.

    The troops have their marching orders from a charlatan drunk on power to look tough on crime as they sightsee in combat fatigues.

    Many will soon be armed against enemy civilians who cross the line — a reversal of initial deployment directives that Guard troops would wear body armor but leave their weapons at the armory.

    Tactical armored vehicles, developed for troops in Afghanistan, are parked throughout D.C. on apparent standby to combat falling crime. Newly erected barricades and random checkpoints conducted by masked federal law enforcement appear out of nowhere.

    Outraged local residents have erupted into spontaneous “Free D.C.” demonstrations to protest the insane federal surge of law enforcement flexing its muscle and stopping people for no apparent reason.

    The militarized patrols have had a chilling effect on free speech and the exercise of assembly, but that’s right out of the authoritarian’s playbook.

    Trump uses his unchecked power as a weapon to crush the vulnerable into submission. His stated rationale for excessive use of force in D.C. is to rehabilitate “conditions of law and order,” which is rich coming from a convicted felon who praised and pardoned lawbreakers who violently assaulted police officers, rampaged through the U.S. Capitol and hunted the vice president to hang.  

    The performative theatrics of Trump’s military policing of Americans — in the ostensible land of the free — would almost be comical if the unprecedented siege of armed combatants against fellow citizens wasn’t so scary.

    Trump has made no secret of his intentions to squash self-rule elsewhere, too. He has indicated troops could be deployed to other Americans cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Baltimore where, coincidentally, the mayors are all Black Democrats.

    This is the dystopian hellscape we feared under construction. Trump is desperate to distract his base from his years-long relationship with an infamous pedophile accused of victimizing hundreds of teenage girls, so why not normalize military occupations in America with Republican enablers like Ohio’s governor?

    “We’ve been asked by the Secretary of the Army to send 150 military police from the Ohio National Guard to support the District of Columbia National Guard,” read a brief statement from DeWine’s office Saturday night.

    Ohio guard members will “carry out presence patrols and serve as added security,” the press release explained with an odd asterisk that none of the military police from Ohio were “currently serving as law enforcement officers in the state of Ohio.” 

    Wait, what? DeWine just dispatched Ohio soldiers to play cops on the beat in Washington but it’s okay?! My friends, we are deep down the rabbit hole.

    Would the governor also welcome hundreds of troops to carry out presence patrols in Ohio cities with higher crime rates than D.C., as a few do?

    Would that also warrant hostile federal takeovers by armed military rolling from Toledo to Dayton to restore “law and order” under Trump’s selective application of justice?

    When word spread about DeWine’s decision to send military reinforcements — to be deployed against a nation’s own people — demonstrators gathered at the Ohio Statehouse to protest his offering of homegrown troops “to further militarize D.C.”

    What if Columbus is next?

    Could Ohioans count on their governor to be a bulwark against an authoritarian regime leveraging the military for control of Ohio’s “big three” cities, or would DeWine follow orders as a partisan invertebrate to the end and reinforce the takeover with more troops to suppress dissent, maintain power and project strength?

    Ask the 150 Ohio soldiers on their way to D.C.

    Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.

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    Marilou Johanek, Ohio Capital Journal

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  • Cleveland Power Alliance, New Local Coalition, Aims to Boost Democratic Participation and Working Class Policies

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    Mark Oprea

    Erika Anthony, a co-founder of Cleveland VOTES, kicked off the announcement at City Hall on Tuesday of the Cleveland Power Alliance, a coalition of 21 local nonprofits hoping to influence City Council with a massive democracy-focused policy agenda.

    Nearly two dozeh community-driven organizations, from immigrant advocates to members of Legad Aid, have banded together to fine-tune a policy wishlist a month before the September primary election and possible shakeup of City Council.

    The Cleveland Power Alliance, a diverse coalition of 21 nonprofits, announced its presence on the steps of City Hall on Tuesday morning, in a bid to see if a collective bastion of leftist values—equality, workers rights, pure democracy—can rouse a new set of voters in the next few months and push for change in the future.

    The alliance includes Cleveland Votes, the Northeast Ohio Workers Center, NEOCH, All Voting is Local Ohio and many others.

    Because CPA is a nonprofit, it is barred from publicly endorsing candidates. Instead, as six members explained from the podium, the alliance will act as a unifying body that puts pressure on City Council, and whoever fills those seats, to try and inch toward more community-focused policies in 2026.

    Which all begins with actually getting people motivated to get to the polls. It’s reasonable and long-standing concern. Last November was the lowest turnout for a presidential election — at 48 percent — since President Obama’s first bid in 2008, Cleveland.com found.

    “We know that get-out-the-vote is often tied to education,” Kayla Griffin, president of the Cleveland branch of the NAACP, said from behind the podium on Tuesday.

    “We have been struggling in this city to really get voters engaged over the last decade,” she said. “We want voters to feel empowered in their democracy. We want them to know that they have a place in this government. That this is their City Hall.”

    Months after a Republican-majority Congress passed Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill, which slashed Medicaid and SNAP, Democrats have been organizing to rethink how to pitch voters. Especially those moderates and former Democratic strongholds that shifted to Trump.

    What’s emerged — whether out of a July Democratic mayor’s conference downtown, the campaign of New York City hopeful (and Democratic Socialist) Zohran Mamdan, or the myriad conversations happening within and about the party in the aftermath of Trump’s election — is a call to focus on policies that actually help the working class, rather than lambasting the president’s endless controversies.

    click to enlarge Nia Gatewood, a Rising Star barista and organizer, spoke alongside colleagues at Tuesday's press conference. She and her colleagues, Clay Reid and Caleb Reese, said they joined the Cleveland Power Alliance as a kind of fortification as they unionize. - Mark Oprea

    Mark Oprea

    Nia Gatewood, a Rising Star barista and organizer, spoke alongside colleagues at Tuesday’s press conference. She and her colleagues, Clay Reid and Caleb Reese, said they joined the Cleveland Power Alliance as a kind of fortification as they unionize.

    Which is what CPA seems to be serious about. In a 22-page policy packet handed out after the press conference, the group is calling for a wide range of legislative policies. A list so long that it’s indicative of how far a Democratic city like Cleveland still has to go.

    There’s a call for Council to aid voter registration and 2030 Census turnout; a call for guaranteed paid family leave; a push for grocery co-ops and city-owned grocers; a nod for more mental health specialists and policies like Tanisha’s Law; a call for universal language access ordinance, which would guarantee brochures and translators to any immigrant in a public facility that may need one.

    And also calls for second tries at policies Clevelanders weren’t sold on the first go-around—from re-doing the redraw of City Council’s new 15, to getting participatory budgeting (letting Clevelanders have a say in “at least” $500,000 of the general fund) on the ballot again.

    Many of those decisions lie with those 15 people who will occupy Council. (Ward 12 Councilwoman Rebecca Maurer and Ward 4 candidate Rehan Waheed were present at CPA’s announcement.)

    An underlying political philosophy pervaded the press conference: that local governments need to ramp up their support of the marginalized in an era when the federal administration surely isn’t.

    “This is about ensuring that every single resident, regardless of their religion, culture, nationality or identity,” Melaak Rashid, a director with Smart Development, said, “can feel as though they are finally a part of the Cleveland that we all aspire to have.”

    Nia Gatewood, who helped organize fellow baristas at Rising Star Coffee in Lakewood, told Scene that joining CPA gave her and her coworkers more confidence to unionize in the face of intimidation.

    What leaders can do, she said, is push legislation clearly in-line with workers’ rights.

    “The only way workers can have rights, have their concerns addressed,” Gatewood said at the podium, “is only if you hear it from the workers themselves. Because only the workers are able—are truly able to know what we need.”

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    Mark Oprea

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  • Huge Numbers of Ohioans to See Big Increases in Insurance Costs

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    Experts are warning that more than 500,000 Ohioans are poised to lose insurance subsidies starting next year. In many cases, the increased costs they’ll face will be so big that more than 100,000 will lose their coverage, they warn.

    However, Ohio U.S. Sens. Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno, both Republicans, won’t say whether they’ll act to renew the program.

    The subsidy is known as the “enhanced premium tax credit.” It was created during the coronavirus pandemic to make insurance purchased on the marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act more affordable. 

    It’s available to people making between 100% and 400% of federal poverty guidelines. For a family of three, that’s between $26,650 and $106,600 a year. Nearly 20 million Americans and 530,000 Ohioans receive it.

    More than 90% of those who get insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace receive the subsidies, and they’re set to expire at the end of the year. 

    The average recipient saves about $700 a year because of them, the Center for American Progress reported. But some save much more, meaning they have a lot more to lose.

    “A typical 60-year-old couple making $82,000 … would see monthly marketplace premiums more than triple, from $581 to $2,111 — an annual increase of roughly $18,400,” the group reported late last year.

    The subsidies are credited with helping to push the percentage of uninsured Americans to an all-time low. That might be why, after initially being skeptical of the Affordable Care Act, 66% of Americans had favorable views of the law by June 2025.

    After attempting to repeal the Affordable Care Act in his first term, President Donald Trump has undertaken several other measures that some experts say will push the number of uninsured Americans up — a lot.

    One is by cutting nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid spending over 10 years as part of his One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The law gives roughly the same amount in tax cuts to the richest 1% of Americans, and it adds $3.4 trillion to the deficit.

    The Medicaid cuts are expected to add greatly to the ranks of the uninsured. KFF, an independent nonprofit, in June estimated that 11 million Americans would lose insurance because of them. In Ohio, 310,000 would lose insurance, increasing the rate of uninsured Ohioans by 3%, the organization estimated.

    Emergency physicians have warned that creating huge numbers of newly uninsured people will strain hospital services for all patients — especially in rural areas where hospitals are already struggling.

    ERs have to treat people regardless of their ability to pay. To cover those costs, hospitals will have to cut staff, leading to longer wait times, fewer services and negative health outcomes, the doctors say.

    Expiration of the marketplace subsidies would make the numbers even more dire, experts warn. KFF estimates that between the loss of subsidies and the Trump Medicaid cuts, 16 million Americans will lose insurance, including 440,000 Ohioans.

    If Congress allows the subsidies to expire at the end of 2025, those who receive them will feel the pain before those facing Medicaid cuts do. Medicaid work requirements — the biggest single way cuts to that program will be financed — don’t kick in until after next year’s midterm elections.

    Americans for Healthy Communities, a nonprofit advocacy group, urged Congress to renew the insurance subsidies.

    “By failing to renew the ACA’s premium tax credits, Republicans in Congress are jeopardizing the health of more than 500,000 Ohioans who rely on these credits to receive the care they need,” it said in a written statement. “We urge Congress, especially Ohio’s delegation, to quickly come to the table and work together on passing an extension of these tax credits before it’s too late. Congress still has a chance to renew the tax credits when they return in September — however, if they once again refuse to, millions will lose their coverage and millions more will face unaffordable, high premiums. The time to act is now.”

    The offices of Husted and Moreno didn’t respond when asked whether they believed the insurance subsidies should be allowed to expire.

    Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.

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    Marty Schladen, The Ohio Capital Journal

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  • Federal Judge Allows Proof of Citizenship Requirement for Naturalized Ohioans Challenged at Polls

    Federal Judge Allows Proof of Citizenship Requirement for Naturalized Ohioans Challenged at Polls

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    Scene archives

    The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections

    A federal district judge in Ohio has given the green light to a requirement that naturalized Ohio U.S. citizens show proof of citizenship to cast a ballot. In 2006, the same judge determined a statute requiring challenged voters provide proof was unconstitutional because it “subjects naturalized citizens to disparate treatment,” and permanently enjoined the law.

    Now, however, the judge says circumstances are different, and the plaintiffs demanding enforcement of that 2006 order haven’t demonstrated standing.

    They brought the challenge after Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose revised the form used when a voter’s citizenship is challenged at the polls. Following the 2006 ruling blocking the law, a challenged voter only had to attest under oath that they were a citizen to receive a regular ballot.

    LaRose’s changes reverted to the show-me-your-papers requirement, citing the enjoined statute as the relevant authority.

    Following the judge’s order, the ACLU of Ohio issued a warning to naturalized voters urging them to bring citizenship documentation to the polls in case they’re challenged.

    The judge’s opinion

    District Judge Christopher Boyko, a George W. Bush appointee, emphasized that, “The legal landscape has significantly changed in the nearly two decades” since his previous order. He noted the statute itself has been amended to reduce the list of people who can challenge voters to precinct election officials, rather than a broader universe of potential challengers. That omission “likely limit(s) the risk of random challenges based on appearance or name or accent,” he contended.

    Boyko also noted lawmakers have passed legislation requiring all voters show photo ID to cast a ballot, and that the Secretary has sent letters to new citizens warning them to update their license.

    On the question of standing, the judge was skeptical the voters who challenged Ohio’s law in 2006 continue to face “actual or imminent concrete injury” from the secretary’s actions.

    “They have offered no affidavits at all,” he wrote. “None saying that these six plaintiffs intend to vote and possess a photo identification card with the non-citizen designation, subjecting them to further questioning and proof or be restricted to voting provisionally.”

    He added the plaintiffs didn’t attest to missing the secretary’s letter urging them to update their IDs, placing special emphasis on the fact all voters must show photo identification.

    “Unlike in 2006,” he concluded, “plaintiffs have not demonstrated an undue burden on their fundamental right to vote nor that they have suffered disparate treatment so as to warrant the exercise of the Court’s remedial powers on their behalf.”

    At the same time, the judge declined to lift the underlying injunction, in an apparent effort to keep voter challenges to only those who show up at the polls with a noncitizen driver’s license.

    Reactions

    After succeeding in court, LaRose took to social media calling it a “big legal win for election integrity.”

    “You can’t make this up — the (ACLU of Ohio) sued me to try to force us to accept NON CITIZEN IDs without proof of citizenship,” LaRose wrote. “We fought and WE WON! American elections are only for American Citizens and in Ohio we make sure of it.”

    Meanwhile, the ACLU of Ohio focused on informing affected voters about what they need to do to cast a regular ballot.

    “We urge naturalized citizens to look at their license,” the organization wrote. “If it still bears a “noncitizen” notation, bring your naturalization papers or U.S. Passport if you plan to cast a ballot in person, in case you are challenged.”

    Any naturalized citizens who are challenged at the polls, but don’t have proof on hand, can still vote a provisional ballot. But for that ballot to count, they’ll need to go back to their board of elections with documentary proof of citizenship. The deadline for curing a provisional ballot is November 9.

    Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.

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    Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal

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  • A Look at the Money Being Spent on the Campaigns For and Against Ohio Issue 1

    A Look at the Money Being Spent on the Campaigns For and Against Ohio Issue 1

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    Ohio Capital Journal

    Left, a Vote Yes sign in favor of the constitutional amendment that would remove politicians from the redistricting process in favor of a citizen commission. Right, a No sign against the proposal.

    Ohio Issue 1 seeks to replace politicians on the Ohio Redistricting Commission with a commission made up of citizens. Campaign finance filings detail the many millions being spent in the fight over the proposed anti-gerrymandering reform.

    Issue 1 would replace the current Ohio Redistricting Commission made up of four lawmakers and three statewide elected officials with a 15 member Citizen’s Commission, made up of five Democrats, Republicans, and independents each.

    Elected officials, lobbyists and political consultants would be banned from joining, and four retired judges — two Democrats and two Republicans — would narrow down the list, pick six applicants, and those six would select the remaining nine.

    Once chosen, commission members would have to abide by a set of rules, including crafting districts that comply with federal laws, crafting maps that correspond to statewide election results, and keeping communities with shared “ethnic, racial, social, cultural, geographic, environmental, socioeconomic or historic,” identities together. 

    The amendment also mandates the commission hold a series of public meetings on redistricting throughout the map drawing process, including five public meetings across the state for initial input on how maps should be drawn, and five public meetings after draft maps are released.

    The candidates, the ballot measures, and the tools you need to cast your vote.

    Citizens Not Politicians is the campaign for Issue 1. Since filing their ballot initiative last August, the group has raised $39,476,270.23, with $15 million of that coming from supporters in Washington D.C. and $7 million from Ohioans. 

    According to their pre-general election campaign finance filings — covering activity up to Oct. 16 — Citizens Not Politicians has spent $37 million to pass Issue 1, with $25 million going to advertising. 

    Comparatively, Ohio Works Inc., the campaign opposing Issue 1, which has received the backing of the Ohio Republican Party and allied organizations, has raised $5.6 million since August, and spent $4.5 million on TV and print advertising. 

    Of the money in Ohio Works’s chest, $2.7 million came from Ohio donors, and $2.1 million came from allies in Washington D.C.

    “Yes on 1 has the momentum headed into the final stretch of the campaign,” said retired Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, in an interview with the Columbus Dispatch. “This report shows that Ohioans are ready to place an explicit ban on gerrymandering in the Ohio Constitution and put citizens not politicians in charge of drawing legislative maps, which we will accomplish by voting Yes on Issue 1.”

    When asked about their campaign finance totals, Ohio Works spokesman Matt Dole replied, “We knew we were going to be outspent. We’re an Ohio-powered campaign. We still feel confident about Election Day.”

    But who are the dark money groups, mega donors, and interest groups supporting these campaigns? The Ohio Capital Journal read their reports, and broke it down. 

    Ohio Works

    The anti-Issue 1 group’s biggest contributors are as follows: 

    – American Jobs and Growth: $1,750,000
    Based in Washington D.C. American Jobs and Growth is a 501(c)(4) dark money group. 2022 IRS filings for the group show $4,775,959 in revenue, and it is currently spending $700,000 on advertising opposing Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The same entity gave $50,000 to oppose legalizing marijuana in Ohio, and spent over $1 million supporting Republican candidates in Ohio in 2022. American Job and Growth have received $225,000 from The Leadership Action Fund Inc, a tax exempt Delaware corporation named in a complaint by the Campaign Legal Center for violating campaign finance law. The Revitalization Project — another dark money group — gave $100,000, and, according to their 2022 IRS filing, $690,000 in grants.

    – Ohioans for a Healthy Economy: $1,000,000
    Based in Columbus, Ohioans for a Healthy Economy is an independent expenditure group connected to the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, with the group’s Super PAC and the chamber sharing an address, as shown in Federal Election Commission filings. The group’s Super PAC has run campaign ads opposing Democratic candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court, and accepted $500,000 in donations from a PAC affiliated with Illinois billionaire Richard Ulhein.

    – American Action Network: $400,000
    Operating out of Washington D.C. the American Action Network is an advocacy organization that supports Republicans running for Congress. Founded in 2010 by Republican strategists to advance conservative ideals, the network has a total revenue of $46,157,056, according to their latest IRS filing, spending millions on “television advertising, direct mail, automated phone calls, digital advocacy, public opinion surveys, and grants to allied organizations.”

    – Ohio Manufacturers Association: $300,000

    – 55 Green Meadows:$250,000
    The political advocacy arm of the Ohio nursing home industry, the group reported revenue in the amount of $945,000 in their latest IRS filing. An Ohio Capital Journal investigation found that the nursing home industry spent $6.1 million on state politics from 2016 to 2020, with 55 Green Meadows contributing $3.4 million to an array of other dark money groups in the same time period. The group also gave $100,00 to oppose Ohio’s Issue 1 abortion amendment, and $135,000 to Generation Now, the dark money group associated with the FirstEnergy bribery scandal.

    – Ohio Oil & Gas Association:$200,000
    A trade group representing producers of crude oil and natural gas in Ohio, their Board of Trustees includes individuals from several oil and gas companies, including Ariel Corporation, Infinity Natural Resources, and others. These businesses have prospered from the pro-natural gas policies supported by Republican leadership in the statehouse.

    Multiple campaigns for Republican Congresspeople also donated to Ohio Works, including Jim Jordan ($250,000), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise ($100,000) and Majority Whip Tom Emmer($100,000) among others.

    Individual donors to Ohio Works were largely affluent individuals with a history of supporting conservative causes. Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam own the Haslam Sports Group, with Halsam’s personal net worth is estimated at $8.5 billion. The couple each contributed $50,000, bringing their donation to $100,000 total.

    Federal Election Commission records show the two have made $2 million in political donations, largely to Republican candidates and efforts, in the 2024 election cycle. 

    Out-of-state, Texas-based investment analyst Kenneth Lawrence Fisher also gave $100,000 to Ohio Works. 

    Citizens Not Politicians

    The pro-Issue 1 campaign’s biggest contributors are as follows:

    – Article IV: $9.95 million
    A  liberal non-profit based in Arlington, Virginia, Article IV advocates for ranked choice voting and independent redistricting commissions of the kind Issue 1 would create. Article IV also donated millions to support a ranked choice voting initiative that was proposed in Missouri during the 2022 midterm election. IRS filings from 2022 display thousand-dollar donations given by Article IV to ranked choice voting groups in several states, including New Mexico, Oregon, and Utah.

    – Sixteen Thirty Fund: $6.7 million
    A liberal dark money group based in Washington D.C., the Sixteen Thirty Fund previously donated $5.3 million to Ohio’s reproductive rights amendment campaign. Founded in 2009, the fund is among the most influential left-wing dark money operations in the United States. The organization spent $196 million in 2022 supporting various causes, ranging from sponsoring state ballot measures to bolstering Democratic campaigns, and funneled more than $400 million in the 2020 election cycle. The latest filings show the Sixteen Thirty Fund’s total revenue is $191,659,154, though their donors are undisclosed. The fund is part of a network of liberal dark money groups — such as the Hopewell Fund, and New Venture Fund — overseen by Arabella Advisors, a consulting nonprofit founded by ex-Clinton appointee Eric Kessler. Documented donors include billionaires George Soros, Pierre Omidyar, and Hansjorg Wyss.

    -Our American Future Foundation: $2.45 million
    A 501(c)(3) charity, Our American Future Foundation had a total revenue of $11,185,907 in their latest IRS filing. Created in November of 2022, the foundation was incorporated by Ezra Reese, the political law chair of powerful Democratic law firm the Elias Law Group. Most recently, the group ran a fellowship that trained Democratic congressional candidates.

    – Ohio Education Association: $2.07 million

    – Ohio Progressive Collaborative: $2 million

    – Tides Foundation: $2 million
    Created in 1976 by liberal activist Drummond Pike, the foundation currently manages $1.4 billion in assets. Receiving at least $3.5 million from liberal billionaire George Soros, the foundation expressed support for Occupy Wall Street, and delivered millions in grants to several charities and activist groups, as shown in their IRS report. Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation — the nonprofit that advances and supports the black lives matter movement — sued Tides, alleging that they mismanaged $33 million in funds earmarked for BLM. 

    The most recognizable individual donor for Citizens Not Politicians is director Steven Spielberg, who, with his wife Kate Capshaw, contributed $100,000 to the campaign. 

    Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.

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    Zurie Pope, Ohio Capital Journal

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  • Republican Voters Speak Out Against Trump Even as Ohio’s Outcome Seems Pretty Certain

    Republican Voters Speak Out Against Trump Even as Ohio’s Outcome Seems Pretty Certain

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    Emanuel Wallace

    Donald Trump at the RNC in Cleveland

    Republican Donald Trump was a controversial political figure even before he launched his first presidential campaign. He carries a laundry list of well-publicized racist, sexist and bigoted remarks not to mention a track record of abusing the power of his office. His unfiltered approach has been central to Trump’s appeal. Even when supporters don’t fully embrace what he’s saying, his willingness to say it has earned him a strong base of devoted adherents.

    But it has also turned off many Republican voters.

    The “Never Trump” wing of the party has been around from the outset, but after his victory in 2016, many of those opponents got in line. Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election fractured the party more deeply. Again, given time, many Republicans came around.

    But now in Trump’s third presidential campaign, a chunk of disaffected Republicans has crystalized into a group called Republican Voters Against Trump. The group has the backing of Republican Accountability PAC, an anti-Trump committee organized by prominent conservative figures like Sarah Longwell and Bill Kristol.

    Part of their approach is to collect and share testimonials from Republicans voters who will not be supporting Trump. Ohio Capital Journal spoke with a handful of those voters about what drove their decisions.

    Nathan Price

    Nathan Price is in his late 20s and lives in Kettering, Ohio. He grew up in Republican household in Republican community and voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020. He parted ways with the candidate following the January 6 riot.

    “I had the Trump flag, the Trump mug, the hat, I had socks — all the merchandise,” he said. “And then January 6 happened, and I packed it all up in a box that night, and I never looked back.”

    His first big political memory is his mom pulling him out of school to attend the rally where John McCain announced he was selecting Sarah Palin as his running mate.

    “I just thought it was the coolest thing ever, you know, going to something like that,” he explained.

    Price still considers himself a Republican, but says he split his ballot pretty evenly between Democratic and Republican candidates. He and his husband want to adopt in the next few years. Pointing to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 agenda, he worries that some in the GOP don’t want to see them as parents. Price spoke favorably of U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-OH, but also said he was “ecstatic” to cast a ballot for Kamala Harris.

    “I’m feeling homeless,” he described, “And the longer this goes on, the more I’m going to become a Democrat.”

    One thing he’s keeping his eye on is how the GOP responds win or lose following Election Day.

    He described how he was initially drawn to Trump’s lack of filter, but noticed how it was a political liability during his first term. Still, when the 2020 election came around, he saw Trump as the better option. Following Trump’s attempt to overturn the election Price hit a fork in the road and compared Trump’s self-aggrandizing rhetoric to a toxic relationship.

    Price knows Trump is likely to win in Ohio. But based on the number of people in his orbit who have changed their mind about the former president, he believes the margins will be tighter. While he acknowledged that’s purely anecdotal, he argued narrowing the gap could send a message.

    “I think that those types of votes help show that whatever track the Republican Party has chosen with him is not the track that’s going to help them win long term,” he said.

    Dale Struble

    Dale Struble is in his late 60s and lives in Troy. He describes himself as a retired educator. “I’ve been a band director, shop teacher, special ed teacher,” he said. Struble said Ronald Reagan drew him to the Republican Party and he supported both George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.

    “The idea of small government, of lower taxes, perhaps fewer services,” he explained. “But I was the kind of person that took care of myself and felt that everybody else should do that.”

    He voted for Trump in 2016 despite feeling “a little leery” of the candidate. His biggest red flag was the way Trump talked about John McCain.

    “I was not in the service, but I really have a lot of respect,” he said. “I realized the sacrifices that people made, and gosh, I knew his story and the sacrifices he made, and for Trump to not respect him for that, that was the first inkling there was something wrong.”

    He can’t point to specific breaking point, but he grew disillusioned enough with Trump to vote for a Libertarian candidate in 2020. Like Price, he saw the January 6 riot as a breaking point.

    “And not only it happening,” he said, “but the ‘big lie’ that precipitated it, and all the lies that occurred after it, and saying that those people are heroes and patriots. It just, I mean, it still boggles my mind.”

    As for where he stands now, Struble recalled describing himself to a friend as a Liz Cheney Republican following January 6.

    “According to the state, I’m still a Republican, because I requested the (primary) ballot to vote for Nikki Haley,” he explained. “So technically, I am a Republican. In my mind, I’m an independent.”

    He said his congressman, U.S. Rep. Mike Carey, R-OH, seems like a good guy, but Struble complained he hasn’t been clear about whether Trump won or lost in 2020. “And until Republicans can just say that simple truth,” he added, “then I will vote for Democrats.” After decades voting for Republicans, he said it’s a bit disorienting to support Kamala Harris.

    Struble acknowledged they probably won’t see eye to eye on plenty of issues, “but overall, I feel like she says what is true.”

    Chris Gibbs

    Chris Gibbs’ conversion came a few years earlier than Price’s or Struble’s, and his change of heart has gotten much more publicity. Gibbs is in late 60s and he’s been a farmer in Shelby County for decades. He got his start politically through the local farm bureau in the early 1980s, and eventually became chair of the Shelby County Republican Party.

    He now leads the Shelby County Democratic Party.

    In describing how he got there, Gibbs explained he was skeptical about Trump from the start. To him, the failure of immigration reform in 2013, signaled the Tea Party would be a lasting political force. At that point, he found himself at odds with his own party so he stepped down as county chair but remained on the central committee.

    “(20)16 comes along, no way I was going to vote for Donald Trump for primary, so I voted for Jeb Bush,” he explained.

    When the general election came around, he still didn’t like Trump but saw him as the lesser of two evils. “I just wasn’t built to vote for another Clinton,” he said.

    “I ended up finally justifying a vote for Donald Trump in ’16,” he said, after deciding “there’s nothing he can do that our Congress and our institutions can’t fix. So what’s the punchline? Boy, was I wrong.”

    Gibbs has spoken before about his frustration with Donald Trump’s decision to launch a trade war. Those tariffs all but guaranteed other countries would retaliate, targeting the country’s “soft underbelly.”

    “And what is that? That’s agriculture,” Gibbs insisted.

    To make matters worse, Gibbs argued, the administration then “raided our treasury and paid farmers the difference in hush money.” The Market Facilitation Program he’s referring to served as a backstop for farmers who saw the price of crops like soybeans plummet in response to the trade war. In all, the program cost $23 billion.

    But Gibbs said he parted company with Trump about two months before the largest chunk of tariffs were imposed. He points to a 2018 summit in Helsinki between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Russian leader had insisted his country played no role in the 2016 election despite U.S. intelligence agencies agreeing Russian actors engaged in a major misinformation campaign.

    “Trump then stood up and says I believe him,” Gibbs described. “My intelligence services, all 17 intelligence services said, yes, they did have an influential role in in the 2016 election, Russia did with disinformation, but I believe Putin over my intelligence agencies. And I knew right then I’m done. You do not do that. You do not do that.”

    Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.

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    Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal

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  • As Anti-Trans Ads Rage On, There’s a Final Push to Motivate LGBTQ+ Ohioans to Go Vote

    As Anti-Trans Ads Rage On, There’s a Final Push to Motivate LGBTQ+ Ohioans to Go Vote

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    Photo by the States Newsroom

    The election is only a few days away and LGBTQ+ issues are featuring prominently in some very important outcomes.

    At this point, commercials demonizing trans Ohioans are inescapable, with an estimated $120 million spent on anti-trans ads nationally.


    “They create fear and divide us as a community,” Equality Ohio said Monday in a statement.

    Although new polling data from GLAAD and Ground Media indicates that anti-trans ads from the Trump campaign have “no statistically significant impact” on likelihood to vote or candidate choice, the data also revealed that the ads are greatly eroding general support for transgender people and issues.

    So how does this all translate into getting LGBTQ+ Ohioans to actually show up and vote?

    The Buckeye Flame spoke with John Gruber, director of national campaigns at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and an Ohio native, for a quick pre-election round-up of the place LGBTQ+ Ohioans hold at the polls and the motivation needed to get them to actually vote.

    To start, sometimes there can be confusion on how the national organizations relate on the state level. Talk a little bit about how Human Rights Campaign supports Ohio.

    John Gruber: The Human Rights Campaign has made a deep investment in Ohio. We have three steering committees, which are volunteer supported structures that do community engagement, fundraising and support elected officials. They’re out knocking on doors across the state right now in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus.

    We also have thousands of members across the state. These are people who identify with the Human Rights Campaign’s mission for full lived and legal equality for all LGBTQ+ Ohioans. They signed up at Pride fairs or they go online after they see some of these crazy ads that Bernie Moreno is running. They get annoyed and they sign up with HRC and we keep them activated.

    We also do a big advocacy piece in partnership with organizations like Equality Ohio and some other grassroots groups that are closer to the local level. We work together in Columbus to figure out strategies to stop — or try at least slow down — bad legislation from passing.

    You can obviously probably see a lot of that coalition effort in our work last year on the gender-affirming care ban and trans athletes ban that we got Governor DeWine to veto and then obviously the legislature overrode. So that’s a good example of HRC’s dual commitment legislatively and politically.

    With the national perspective that the Human Rights Campaign brings to the mix, how important is Ohio’s LGBTQ+ community in this upcoming election?

    I think it’s very important. Ohio’s LGBTQ+ community knows — unfortunately more than many other places — what it’s like to be truly attacked.

    We’ve all seen those disgusting ads that Bernie Moreno is running. And we know Ohio’s been the victim of a lot of stuff this election cycle, whether it’s Springfield or whether the far right is using rumors, or fear or just attacking [LGBTQ+] people to try and score cheap political points. So the best thing the Ohio LGBTQ+ community can do is to get organized, make sure that they’re voting and make sure that their friends are voting.

    We always like to think about how the LGBTQ+ community is very strong and it’s growing. And we have allies. We have brothers, we have sisters, we have co workers and we have friends who will come out and vote for us. They will vote for our rights, and they’ll see what Bernie Moreno is saying, and they’ll see what Sherrod Brown is saying about LGBTQ+ rights, and they’ll say, “I’m with Sherrod because he’s for full lived and legal equality for all Ohioans.”

    What have you seen as effective techniques to really get people out there and vote? What messaging has worked on the LGBTQ+ community to motivate them?

    It’s interesting. I think one of the things — and it’s almost like stealing what Kamala Harris said in the debate — is just go listen. Go listen to the difference between the two candidates. Go listen to what Bernie Moreno is saying or what Sherrod Brown is saying. Bernie Moreno is trying to divide and create all of these awful stereotypes about different types of people, whether it’s him being for a total abortion ban or whether it’s him attacking gender-affirming care.

    Sherrod Brown is talking about the issues that people care about, which would be economics, railroad safety and all the things that we know that Ohioans actually care about. And he’s also for full lived and legal equality. He’s voted for the Equality Act numerous times. He gets an A+ on HRC’s congressional scorecard.

    So you can just look at them. You can listen to what they’re saying. And that’s a great motivator.

    I also think it’s a good thing to remember what’s at stake in this election. If [Democrats] lose the Senate, we cannot pass the Equality Act. We have to look at what actually happens when we pass the Equality Act. People will not be fired for being gay. They won’t face discrimination because of the healthcare that they need.

    If we can keep the Senate, win the presidency again, and win the U. S. House, we can do big things for the LGBTQ+ community, and that’s what’s at stake. When you explain to people the very real danger that a lot of the LGBTQ+ community lives in, they’ll be like, “Oh my god, yeah, I need to vote for the right candidate.”

    As an LGBTQ+ Ohioan speaking here to LGBTQ+ Ohioans, what’s the final message, John? What can get people out there to vote?

    Your rights are on the line. Vote like it.

    Originally published by The Buckeye Flame. Republished here with permission.

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    Ken Schneck, The Buckeye Flame

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