Ohioans began voting this week on whether to make it more difficult to amend the state constitution. Republicans talked about what comes after universal vouchers and former House Speaker Larry Householder appealed his criminal conviction.
We break down what it all means on this week’s episode of Ohio Politics Explained. A podcast from the USA TODAY Ohio Bureau Network to catch you up on the state’s political news in 15 minutes or less.
This week, anchor Anna Staver was joined by reporter Jessie Balmert.
1) Don’t forget to vote
The countdown is on for the Special elections of August 8and voters are already going to their county election boards to decide whether it should be harder to change the Ohio state constitution.
Issue 1, if passed, would change the rules for enacting new constitutional amendments in Ohio. I would:
Require 60% of voters to approve a new constitutional amendment, rather than a simple 50% plus one majority. Require citizens who wish to introduce an amendment on the ballot to collect signatures from at least 5% of voters in the last gubernatorial election last year. the 88 counties, instead of the current 44. Eliminate a 10-day grace period that allows citizens to replace signatures deemed defective by the secretary of state.
2) Universal vouchers vs universal access
Starting in October, all Ohio students will be eligible for K-12 vouchers to help pay for private school, but that doesn’t mean access is universal.
Most of the state’s private schools are clustered around Ohio’s major cities, and large parts of rural Ohio have no non-public alternatives.
Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said that means the state must work to improve private school capacity (available seats and locations). Democrats say that does nothing to help rural school districts and could end up hurting them.
3) CROWN Act
Rep. Jaunita Brent, D-Cleveland, has reintroduced her bill to ban hairstyle discrimination in the workplace.
Brent, who is black, told the USA TODAY network’s Ohio bureau that she has had jobs “where they told me, you have to straighten your hair. And it was so normal for me to hear that. I didn’t even find that it was wrong. , because it was so systemic.”
She is not alone. More than 20% of black women between the ages of 25 and 34 reported being sent home from work because of their hair, according to a 2023 CROWN Workplace Research study.
Brent failed to pass the bill in the last legislative session, but is optimistic about its chances this year because it has some Republican support.
4) Family appeals
Less than a month after being sentenced to 20 years in prison for bribery and extortion, Householder is appealing his conviction.
The legal filings do not outline the arguments Householder’s lawyers will make to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, but he is expected to challenge some of the evidence used during his trial such as audio recording of conversations with the ‘former lobbyist Neil Clark.
The family man is now being held in the Butler County Jail while awaiting placement in a federal prison.
Listen to “Ohio Politics Explained” on Spotify, Apple, Google Podcasts and TuneIn Radio. The episode is also available by clicking the link in this article.
USA TODAY Network’s Ohio bureau serves The Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 affiliated news organizations throughout Ohio.
