Ohio Republicans introduced a new resolution today that purposely makes it more difficult for citizens to amend the state Constitution. Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) put forward the “Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment,” which is “designed to help protect the Ohio Constitution from continued abuse by special interests and out-of-state activists.” There is no evidence that Ohio is being overrun by out-of-state special interest groups that are trying to capture Ohio’s Constitution.

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Despite the Ohio Supreme Court declaring maps drawn by the Ohio Republicans illegal and unconstitutional at least seven times, Ohioans just elected representatives to the state Legislature and Congress using maps illegal and unconstitutional maps. The result? Republicans dominated statehouse elections and lost two congressional seats.

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Ohio’s top Republicans – Ohio House Speaker Bob Cupp, of Lima; Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman, also of Lima; Republican state Sen. Rob McColley, of Napoleon; and Republican state Rep. Jeff LaRe, of Violet Township, Fairfield County, who assumed Cupp’s and Huffman’s positions on the redistricting commission earlier this year after Cupp and Huffman stepped away from the process – announced they are appealing the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision ruling the state’s congressional map unconstitutional to the U.S. Supreme Court. Ohio Republicans – including Governor Mike DeWine, Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Auditor Keith Faber who were also members of the commission – have literally ignored the Ohio Supreme Court’s numerous orders that all maps submitted were unconstitutional.

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Several recent polls show a statistical dead heat between Congressman Tim Ryan and J.D. Vance: Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) is leading Republican J.D. Vance by 3 percentage points, according to a new Spectrum News-Siena College poll. 46% of likely Ohio voters indicated support for Ryan, compared to 43% who said they would vote for Vance, a gap within the poll’s margin of error with 9% said they didn’t know or had no opinion. A Marist College poll shows Vance up on Ryan 46% – 45% with a 3.6% margin of error. The same Marist College poll shows Vance up on Ryan 48% – 47% among voters who plan to definitely vote. The poll also showed Ohioans have a 40% favorable view of Ryan, 25% have an unfavorable view with 35% not sure compared to 30% having a favorable view of Vance, 36% unfavorable view and 34% unsure. Ryan leads 42% – 40% among unaffiliated voters.

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Following knock-down, drag-out fights over congressional and legislative maps, Republican lawmakers are turning their attention to redrawing the state’s appellate court district lines − either this year or next legislative session.

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Our core freedoms are a stake – and the November elections will shape the future of our state. All Ohioans must vote like their rights depend on it – because they do. The ACLU of Ohio has created a candidate profile, the first-of-its-kind, for the Ohio Supreme Court races.

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The midterms will decide more than just Ohio’s races for U.S. Senate, governor and state lawmakers. The State Board of Education in Ohio has five seats open, and with education policy emerging as a topic of discussion the past year, educators are urging more people to learn why these races are important. NOTE: Erie County is located in the 2nd District for State Board of Education. Democratic Candidate is Teresa Fedor.

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DJ Swearingen should be held publicly accountable for his votes and his cowardice. He doesn’t have the political courage to tell area residents how he has voted for no permit, no training, no background checks for sensible and safe gun ownership; voted to reduce training to 12 hours for armed school employees including teachers; co-sponsored law to allow children – in particular girls – who play sports to have forced internal and external genital inspections without their parents consent; co-sponsored law to allow for more vaccine mandate exemptions for students/employees to name a few. Unfortunately, DJ won’t provide his own case to Erie Countians as he seeks re-election to the State House – 89th District. Jim Obergefell, Democratic candidate, fundamentally opposes all of this legislation.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — The battle over redistricting continues as the Ohio Supreme Court rejected a second Republican-drawn map of U.S. House (congressional) districts as gerrymandered on Tuesday, sending it back for a third attempt to meet constitutional parameters approved by Ohio voters. The deadline for the General Assembly to draw a constitutional congressional map has passed – August 18. Now the Redistricting Commission has until September 17 to draw a new congressional map.

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