February 19, 2013

COLUMBUS, Ohio: In the state of Ohio, legislators are considered full-time. While the 2013 state legislative session is in full swing, no proposals have made the 2013 fall ballot.

However, this may change given the lawmaking body’s history in past odd-numbered years.

In 2011, Issue 1 was placed on the ballot, which would have raised the age of those occupying judicial office from 70 to 76. The measure was debated on during 2011 state legislative session. The measure was sent to the ballot before the end of that year’s session. The proposal was rejected by voters.

In 2009, two statewide issues sent by the legislature appeared on the ballot. One measure authorized the state of Ohio to borrow and spend $200 million to “provide compensation to Ohio veterans of the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts, and to pay for the administration of the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts Compensation Bond Retirement Fund and the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts Compensation Fund.”

The second measure created a 13-member Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board for the purpose of establishing standards governing the care of livestock and poultry.

January 31, 2013

By Tyler King

COLUMBUS, Ohio: For the second year in a row, Governor John Kasich‘s request to move the State of the State speech away from the capital has been approved by the State Legisalture. The move was approved by the Senate with a 24-9 vote and House with a 80-16 vote on Wednesday. Kasich plans on giving this year’s speech in Lima, a rebounding Rust Belt city in northwest Ohio. The speech is set to take place on February 19 at the Veteran’s Memorial Civic Center.^[1]

State Rep. Ron Gerberry asked fellow lawmakers to keep the speech to the Concord, fearing they are destroying a historic tradition. He said, “Let’s stop the parading of the State of the State and bring it back home.”^[1]

By Ballotpedia’s Congressional team

MADISON, Wisconsin: Ohio had 16 U.S. House seats on the ballot in 2012. Of the 16 districts, 12 incumbents sought re-election on November 6, 2012. All 12 of those incumbents won re-election in their designated districts. Due to redistricting, some incumbents changed districts, and two districts were removed from the state. The partisan split in the state remained the same as the two districts which were removed were one Democratic and one Republican district.

Here are the candidates who won election in Ohio.

District	General Election Candidates	Incumbent	2012 Winner	Partisan Switch?
1st	Jeff Sinnard  Steve Chabot  Rich Stevenson  Jim Berns	Steve Chabot	Steve Chabot	No
2nd	William R. Smith  Brad Wenstrup	Jean Schmidt	Brad Wenstrup	No
3rd	Joyce Beatty  Chris Long  Bob Fitrakis  Richard Ehrbar III	Michael R. Turner	Joyce Beatty	Yes
4th	Jim Slone  Jim Jordan  Chris Kalla	Jim Jordan	Jim Jordan	No
5th	Angela Zimmann  Bob Latta  Eric Eberly	Robert E. Latta	Bob Latta	No
6th	Charlie Wilson  Bill Johnson	Bill Johnson	Bill Johnson	No
7th	Joyce Healy-Abrams  Bob Gibbs	Steve Austria	Bob Gibbs	No
8th	John Boehner	John A. Boehner	John A. Boehner	No
9th	Marcy Kaptur  Samuel Wurzelbacher  Sean Stipe	Marcy Kaptur	Marcy Kaptur	No
10th	Sharen Swartz Neuhardt  Mike Turner  David Harlow	Dennis J. Kucinich	Mike Turner	Yes
11th	Marcia L. Fudge	Marcia L. Fudge	Marcia L. Fudge	No
12th	James Reese  Patrick J. Tiberi	Patrick J. Tiberi	Patrick J. Tiberi	No
13th	Tim Ryan  Marisha Agana	Betty Sutton	Tim Ryan	No
14th	Dale Virgil Blanchard  David Joyce  Elaine R. Mastromatteo  David Macko	Steven C. LaTourette	David Joyce	No
15th	Pat Lang  Steve Stivers	Steve Stivers	Steve Stivers	No
16th	Betty Sutton Jim Renacci	James B. Renacci	Jim Renacci	No
17th	District Removed in Redistricting	Tim Ryan (Ohio)	N/A	N/A
18th	District Removed in Redistricting	Bob Gibbs	N/A	N/A

National picture

Both chambers of the United States Congress remain split after the November 6, 2012 election. Democrats increased their majority in the U.S. Senate while cutting into the Republicans majority in theU.S. House. Of the 435 candidates who won election to the U.S. House, 85 of them were challengers, which represents 19.5 percent of U.S. House members. Of those 85, 50 are Democratic and 35 are Republican. A total of 27 incumbents were defeated — 10 Democratic and 17 Republican.

November 6, 2012

Edited by Kristen Horn

COLUMBUS, Ohio: Ohio’s Issues 1 and Issues 2 ballot measures were on the Ohio 2012 ballot on November 6, with voters casting their decisions on the issue.

Out of the 2 measures on the ballot, both were defeated.

Below is a breakdown of each measure:

Issue 1

Issue 1, the Ohio Constitutional Convention Question, appeared on the November 6, 2012 ballot in the state of Ohio to address constitutional convention.

This automatic ballot referral proposed to create a convention to revise, alter or amend the state constitution.

According to the Ohio’s Secretary of State’s website this measure has been defeated in the November 6, 2012 elections with 31.72% voting yes and 68.28% voting no. Election results are not yet official, as a canvassing of the results will not be done until later this month.

Issue 2

Issue 2, an Ohio Redistricting Amendment, appeared on the November 6, 2012 ballot in the state of Ohio to address redistricting.

This initiated constitutional amendment proposed to create a 12-person citizen commission to draw legislative and congressional district maps instead of the current Ohio Legislature, who redraws district maps every ten years from population shifts. Supporters report that the commission would create districts that would reflect the state’s geographic, racial, ethnic and political diversity and also bar lobbyists and elected officials from joining the commission.

According to the Ohio’s Secretary of State’s website this measure has been defeated in the November 6, 2012, elections with 36.55% voting yes and 63.45% voting no. Election results are not yet official, as a canvassing of the results will not be done until later this month.

Stay tuned for more developments on Ballotpedia’s Ballotpedia’s page for Ohio 2012 ballot measures.

October 24, 2012

Florida. Ohio. Colorado. New Hampshire. You’ve no doubt heard a lot of talk about the presidential swing states. With just two weeks left until the general election, political reporters across the country consider anywhere from 3 to 10 states to be toss-ups in the race for the presidency. Here at the Lucy Burns Institute, our election analysts have focused on nine of those states with significant non-presidential races to present a full picture of the 2012 elections in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Whether it’s a congressional race pitting two incumbents against each other, a state legislative chamber that is one seat away from switching from a Democratic to a Republican majority, or a judicial election that will decide the balance of a state Supreme Court, the teams at Ballotpedia and Judgepedia have a breakdown of everything you’ll want to watch in these key states.

Colorado

Colorado voters will decide an important ballot measure this year; Amendment 64, on the November 6, 2012 ballot as an initiated constitutional amendment, which would legalize recreational marijuana in the state. The measure will ask whether or not to legalize the use and possession of, at most, an ounce of marijuana for residents who are 21 and older. President Barack Obama‘s and Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s stance regarding marijuana legalization, regulation and taxation like alcohol is expected to influence the young voter population in Colorado.

After redistricting, two Congressional districts are considered to be up for grabs: the 6th district where incumbent Republican Mike Coffman is facing current state representative Joe Miklosi (D). The other seat that could swing is in the 3rd district, where freshman GOP representative Scott Tipton will attempt to hold off a challenge from Democratic state representative Sal Pace.

In the state House and state Senate, 32 incumbents are not seeking re-election – 16 from each party. One seat to pay close attention to is House District 47, from which Keith Swerdfeger (R) is retiring, leaving a seat for Democrats to potentially pick up. Netto Charles Rodosevich (D) will face Clarice Navarro-Ratzlaff (R) in the general election.

Florida

In 2010, the Florida Supreme Court upheld three lower court rulings that struck three legislatively referred ballot measures from appearing on the statewide ballot that year. This year, the Florida Legislature passed a measure to the 2012 general election ballot that would revise provisions relating to repeal of court rules, limit readoption of repealed court rule and stipulate that all appointments to the Florida Supreme Court be subject to confirmation by the Florida State Senate. The proposed legislation also grants the state House access to investigate files of the Judicial Qualifications Commission. Although the measure, Amendment 5, is not an issue being discussed in the presidential race, any controversial or scrutinized measure in this swing state could send a rush of voters to the polls. On a related note, conservatives are leading a strong effort to oust Supreme Court Justices Barbara Pariente, Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince. The justices are under fire for various rulings in support of federal healthcare legislation, the death penalty and other controversial topics.

Florida gained two Congressional seats as a result of redistricting. Predictions vary, but as many as eight U.S. House seats could be in play. Perhaps more significant is the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Bill Nelson (D) and U.S. House Rep. Connie Mack (R). The seat leans in Nelson’s favor and he has polled out front. With the control of the Senate a toss-up, any close Senate battle is pivotal to both parties.

Iowa

An anti-retention effort against Justice David Wiggins is underway, led by conservatives who are upset with Wiggins’ participation in a unanimous 2009 ruling to overturn the state’s ban on gay marriage. The other three justices who voted in the case were not retained to their positions in 2010.

Iowa lost one Congressional seat as a result of redistricting. This has prompted an incumbent-vs-incumbent battle between Leonard Boswell (D) and Tom Latham (R) in the 3rd District. Though it’s not an incumbent match up, the race in 4th District is also expected to be very close, as incumbent Steve King (R) faces former First Lady of Iowa Christie Vilsack (D).

In the state Senate, Democrats hold a slim 26 to 24 majority, while Republicans have a 59 to 40 majority in the state House. Races to watch include Senate district 26, where incumbent Mary Jo Wilhelm (D) will face incumbent Merlin Bartz (R), and House district 13 with incumbents Chris Hall (D) and Jeremy Taylor (R) battling it out for the seat.

Maine

One of the most closely-watched ballot measures of the year comes from Maine. The state is one place in the country where the issue of gay marriage is starting to draw serious attention from both sides. Maine Question 1 would overturn a voter-approved 2009 ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage in the state.

With Republican incumbent Olympia Snowe retiring, the U.S. Senate seat in Maine is now considered a toss-up. The current frontrunner is former Governor of Maine Angus King, an Independent, who is expected to caucus with Democrats should he win the seat. King faces Cynthia Dill (D) and Charles Summers (R) in the election (along with several other third party candidates).

Republicans hold small majorities in both state legislative chambers. In Senate District 27, incumbent Douglas Thomas (R) is challenged by representative Herbert Clark (D). Clark is attacking Thomas by drawing attention to an unpopular proposed highway project that passes through the district. House district 94 will see the Assistant Democratic Leader Teresea Hayes opposed by Timothy Turner(R). Hayes narrowly kept her seat in 2012, escaping with a 2,122 – 2,012 victory.

Michigan

Though the Michigan Supreme Court race is technically non-partisan, it has been riddled with partisan conflict between the three Republican-endorsed candidates (Stephen Markman and Colleen O’Brien for the full term; Brian Zahra for the partial term) and three Democratic-endorsed candidates (Connie Marie Kelley and Bridget Mary McCormack for the full term; Shelia Johnson for the partial term). The loaded races have a total of ten candidates running for three seats on the court.

Michigan lost one congressional seat via redistricting. Of particular note is the 11th District, where incumbent Thaddeus McCotter (R) failed to qualify for the ballot and then subsequently resigned his seat. Tea Party-backed candidate Kerry Bentivolio will attempt to hold the seat for Republicans in both the regular election and a concurrent special election as well. He will face Syed Taj in the general election — and David Curson (D) in the special election.

One measure garnering attention in Michigan is Proposal 4. The initiative would place features of the Michigan Quality Community Care Council in the state constitution, in addition to providing home health care providers with limited collective bargaining. Collective bargaining rights has been an issue under much debate since 2011, when Ohio’s Senate Bill 5 took center stage.

New Hampshire

Incumbent Democratic Governor John Lynch (D) is not running for re-election. Former state senator Maggie Hassan (D) faces Ovide Lamontagne (R) in the general election. Polls are indicating a very close race for the governorship, which is one of only eleven gubernatorial races this year.

Both congressional districts in New Hampshire are in play. Currently, both seats are held by Republicans. Both races feature rematches from 2010, between Democrat Carol Shea-Porter and Frank Guinta in the 1st district and between Democrat Ann Kuster and Charlie Bass in the 2nd district.

North Carolina

After winning control of the state legislature in 2010, Republicans in North Carolina redrew the congressional redistricting map to swing in the GOP favor. Presently, seven of the 13 seats are held by Democratic incumbents, but several seats are expected to change hands in North Carolina on election night. The races of particular note are the 7th, 8th, 11th and 13th districts.

A total of 10 state executive positions are up for election this year in North Carolina. Democratic governor Bev Perdue is not running for re-election and Republican Pat McCrory is polling comfortably ahead of the Democratic nominee, current lieutenant governor Walter Dalton. The Republican Party is expected to gain a trifecta on election night by winning the governorship and maintaining control of both chambers of the legislature.

This year’s North Carolina Supreme Court election could shift the balance of the court. Though the state’s judicial races are technically nonpartisan, the political parties have each made their positions clear. The Republican-backed incumbent, Justice Paul Martin Newby, is challenged by Democrat-endorsed Sam Ervin. Currently, the political balance favors conservatives 4-3. A number of laws passed by Republicans in the General Assembly are currently being challenged in lawsuits that could find their way to the high court — raising the stakes of this election even higher.

Ohio

With three contested races for the Ohio Supreme Court, a variety of outcomes is possible. The results won’t shift the court’s conservative composition, which is 6-1 Republican, but they could serve as a bellwether for other Ohio races. Appointed incumbent Justice Yvette McGee Brown is competing in her first race to the court. If she wins election, Brown will be the first Democrat elected to the court since 2000. A willingness for Ohio voters to elect a Democrat to the high court may signify a shift of opinions in the perennially watched state.

The redistricting process in Ohio this year didn’t come without controversy, leading to Issue 2 on the general election ballot. The measure would create a 12-person citizen commission to draw legislative and congressional district maps. According to supporters of the measure, the commission would create districts that would reflect the state’s geographic, racial, ethnic and political diversity. The initiative would also bar lobbyists and elected officials from joining the commission. Currently, the Ohio Legislature redraws district maps every ten years following U.S. Census results.

Ohio lost two congressional seats this year. In one of the tightest U.S. Senate races of the year, incumbent Sherrod Brown (D) is being challenged by current state treasurer Josh Mandel (R). Brown has maintained a slight lead in the polls as well as in fundraising. For the U.S. House, the 16th District race features an incumbent-vs-incumbent battle between Betty Sutton (D) and Jim Renacci (R). Another close race to watch is the rematch in the 6th District between incumbent Bill Johnson (R) and Charlie Wilson (D).

Pennsylvania

While the governor is not up for election, there are still three state executive elections taking place in Pennsylvania. The current attorney general, Linda Kelly, was appointed to the post by Gov. Tom Corbett and will not seek election to a full term. Democratic candidate Kathleen Kane, who edged out Patrick Murphy, the presumptive nominee, is polling out front of David Freed (R). Since the position became an elected post in 1980, no Democrat has ever won the office in a general election.

Both chambers of the legislature have the potential to swing from Republicans to Democrats. Republicans have a nine seat advantage in the Senate and a nineteen seat advantage in the House, but all four retiring Senators are Republicans. Close races in the Senate include open seats in Districts 15 and 49, while in the House Districts 3, 5, 37, and 197 (which is currently vacant) look to be some of the most competitive.

Pennsylvania lost one congressional seat as a result of redistricting. Currently Republicans hold 13 of the 19 seats in the state. Several races are considered to be competitive, including the 6th district,7th district, 8th district and 12th district. The 12th district is of particular note because it featured an incumbent-vs-incumbent battle in the primary, where Mark Critz (D) emerged victorious over Jason Altmire. Critz faces a strong challenge from Keith Rothfus (R) in the general election. If Rothfus wins, it would mean two incumbents lost within the same district in one election cycle — an extremely rare occurrence.

September 28, 2012

By Chuck Stewart

Columbus, Ohio: The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio and the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System are expected to collect in excess of $20 million from a $2.43 billion dollar settlement with Bank of America. These groups were lead plaintiffs in a lawsuit that alleged Bank of America mislead investors during their acquisition of Merrill Lynch at the peak of the 2008 finical crisis. The Bank of America has denied any wrongdoing, and says it settled in order to quell rumors and avoid further litigation. The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio is expected to receive $9.7 million and Ohio Public Employees Retirement System is expected to receive $11.8 million. Attorney Mike DeWine was quoted in the Dispatch as stating that up to 70,000 individual investors could also stand to benefit from the lawsuit.^[1]

September 14, 2012

By Al Ortiz

COLUMBUS, Ohio: The Ohio Supreme Court ruled this past week that the wording of Issue 2, the redistricting amendment, is “defective” and “misleads voters”. As a result, the ballot language that would be placed in front of voters was ordered to be rewritten.^[1]

On September 13, the Ohio Ballot Board met to change the description in order to comply with the high court’s orders. That same day, the ballot language was doubled in length and is the language that will ultimately appear on the ballot.

The recent events stem from a lawsuit filed by the the coalition in favor of the amendment, Voters First, on August 23, 2012 that challenged the ballot wording formulated by the Ohio Ballot Board.

According to the lawsuit, the group challenged that the wording wasn’t fair or accurate. The lawsuit asked the court to reconvene the board to come up with new language or to have the high court write the language instead of the board.

The formal title of the court case was State ex rel. Voters First, Ann Henkener, Samuel Gresham, Jr., Ellis Jacobs, Richard Gunther, and Dan Tokaji v. The Ohio Ballot Board and Hon. Jon Husted, Ohio Secretary of State.

Ballot text will be placed on the Issue 2 ballot measure page as soon as it is made public by state election officials.

August 15, 2012

By Amanda Carey

Columbus, Ohio:

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, on Wednesday, announced uniform early voting hours throughout the state. The announcement came as a response to mounting criticism that Ohio’s uneven voting hours disenfranchises minority groups.

Under current state law, Ohio’s four-member boards of election can establish their own early voting hours. If there is a tie, the secretary of state casts the deciding vote. When Husted was forced to vote in several Democratic-leaning counties, he voted to keep voting hours from 8 a.m to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. However, two Republican-leaning counties in southwest Ohio voted to extend hours into the weekend. Watchdog groups, along with state Democrats, cried foul at the discrepancy in the early-voting schedule, claiming, among other things, that it favors Republican candidates.^[1]

The new early hours for the 35-day period will be Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the first three weeks, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the last two weeks. “The bottom line is the antagonists have made an issue about the fact that voters aren’t being treated fairly, that they aren’t being treated the same,” said Husted on Wednesday. “Today we’re treating voters everywhere the same.”^[2]

August 14, 2012

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Edited by Al Ortiz

Although certifications are slowing down, ballot measure litigation is picking up.

After a flurry of events that transpired in the past seven days, the ballot measure count across the country is now 160 ballot measures in 35 states.

The decrease in statewide proposals comes from both Nevada and Louisiana.

Two Nevada measures were taken off the ballot due to a lawsuit that left the Silver State’s ballot empty of statewide proposals. A lawsuit was filed against a citizen initiative in the state that lead to the Nevada Supreme Court striking that measure from the ballot, and therefore removing the competing measure from the 2012 ballot at the same time.

The citizen initiative that was taken off of the ballot was the sports arena initiative that would have allowed a 20,000-seat sports arena on the Las Vegas Strip. Specifically the initiative would have imposed a 0.9 cent sales tax in a taxing district near the proposed arena. The revenue would have financed bonds to construct the arena. The state supreme court ruling stated that the initiative’s petitions were invalid because they didn’t say where the arena would be built.

The competing measure would have prohibited a special tax district in the state. Also, the bill would have prohibited the creation of an area in which the sales tax was higher than other parts of the county. The measure was introduced by the Senate Revenue Committee, and if it had made the ballot along with the arena measure, the proposal that received the most votes in the 2012 general election would have been enacted.

Along with the two measures that were taken off of the ballot in Nevada, it was also found that the state of Louisiana placed 9 measures in the 2012 general election, instead of 11, as was originally reported by state media outlets. As a result, the state ballot measure count changed.

The lone addition to the Tuesday Count was in Ohio, where the redistricting amendment effort was found to have collected enough signatures to make the ballot. The measure would create a 12-person citizen commission to draw legislative and congressional district maps. According to supporters of the measure, the commission would create districts that would reflect the state’s geographic, racial, ethnic and political diversity. The initiative would also bar lobbyists and elected officials from joining the commission.

Currently, the Ohio Legislature redraws district maps every ten years due to population shifts.

[edit]Additional signatures submitted in Arkansas

The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Question may appear on the 2012 ballot after all, as supporters collected additional signatures and submitted them to the Arkansas Secretary of State on August 13.

A spokesman for the state secretary of state commented that signatures could be verified by the end of August.

Supporters of the potential statewide question were allowed 30 additional days to circulate petitions after it was found that not enough valid signatures were collected by the petition drive deadline in early July.

The measure would allow the use of marijuana by people who choose to use it for medical purposes. Those who choose to use it for medical purposes would be free from legal penalty. A group called Arkansans for Compassionate Care are sponsors of the proposed law, which is formally called, “The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act”, according to the ballot title.

According to reports, patients with possession of cards issued by the state Department of Health would be allowed to purchase and carry marijuana for medical purposes. Medical marijuana would be purchased from dispensaries or they could grow the cannabis plant themselves.

[edit]Quick hits

Fight for North Dakota University nickname may carry into 2014: Supporters of the “Fighting Sioux” nickname for UND sports teams have decided not to put the issue before voters again this year and are instead gearing up for a spot on the June ballot in 2014. The measure being proposed differs from the referendum voted on earlier this year in that it is a constitutional amendment and would be much more difficult to overturn if passed. To make the 2014 ballot, supporters have until December 12, 2012 to turn in 27,000 signatures to Secretary of State Al Jaeger.^[1]

Four Michigan ballot measures advance to Board of State Canvassers: Of the six measures that filed signatures with theMichigan Secretary of State, four have been confirmed as having enough names to move on to the ballot. First, however, they will have to be fully certified by the Board of State Canvassers. The board will meet tomorrow, August 15, to determine if the petitions meet requirements set out by state law. The four measures being considered relate to renewable energy, new casinos, collective bargaining, andthe unionization of home health care workers. The state is still reviewing signatures for the remaining two measures that were filed.^[2]

Primary elections today in Wisconsin and Florida

On August 14 voters in Wisconsin and Florida will vote on 13 ballot measures at the local level.

In Wisconsin, there are three school measures on the ballot. All would allow their school districts to levy additional taxes for operational and maintenance costs. The three districts that have this measure on their ballot are the Barron, Hartland-Lakeside and Oconto Falls. The levy increase would be in place for five years in the Barron and Hartland-Lakeside school districts but just in place for three years in the Oconto school district.

In Florida, Flagler and Indian River County school districts residents will decide whether to renew current levies which support school funding. In Miami-Dade County, a county ordinance measure asks if voters want to allow Pit bull dogs in the county. Currently there is a ban in place which does not allow any resident to own a Pit bull. The ban was put in place 23 years ago when a young girl was mauled by a Pit bull.

In total, eight counties in Florida will decide on 10 measures and four counties in Wisconsin will vote on three measures.

The Tuesday Count Spotlight highlights notable developments from local ballot measures across the country as well as international ballot measures.

This year, how many states are holding regularly-scheduled state executive official elections? Click to find out!

BALLOT LAW UPDATE

Arizona sales tax question heads to court: Legal briefs have been filed with the Arizona Supreme Court arguing that the measure should be kept off the ballot due to an error with petitions filed at the start of the initiative’s campaign. The error resulted in the original filing missing a full two paragraphs from the petition that was eventually circulated. According to the brief filed by the state, “Confusion has been created by virtue of the fact that one version of the proposed initiative was attached to the petition sheets while a substantially different version was simultaneously posted on the secretary’s website.”^[3]

California Proposition 32 undergoes another change of ballot title: On Monday, August 13, the Sacramento County Superior Court ordered that the language of Proposition 32 be changed following a legal challenge by supporters of the measure. The new title given by the court ruling reads as: “Prohibits unions from using payroll-deducted funds for political purposes. Applies same use prohibition to payroll deductions, if any, by corporations or government contractors. Prohibits union and corporate contributions to candidates and their committees. Prohibits government contractor contributions to elected officers or their committees.” The older title used the word “restricts” in place of “prohibits.”^[4]

A new update will be released later this month. Click here for past Ballot Law Update reports!

By Amanda Carey

Columbus, Ohio:

Ohio Rep. Steven C. LaTourette issued a broadside to his Republican colleagues on Tuesday, July 31, when he abruptly announced his resignation from Congress. A well-known moderate, LaTourette is a close friend of Speaker John A. Boehner, and has been in the U.S. House for nine terms. He had already won his primary, and was expected to sail to an easy re-election in November. The announcement immediately sparked intense speculation.^[1]

But LaTourette’s decision to delay his announcement long enough to avoid a special primary election left both parties in Ohio scrambling to find viable candidates. The Democratic Party is already moving to replace its nominee, Dale Virgil Blanchard, with a top-tier candidate. Potential Republican candidates include former state Sens. Kevin Coughlin and Tim Grendell, former State Rep. Matt Dolan, Geauga County Prosecutor David Joyce, Lake County Judge Vince Culotta and state Sen. Frank LaRose.^[2]

During a press conference, LaTourette said his decision was a result of becoming increasingly frustrated over the growing polarization in Congress. “I have reached the conclusion that the atmosphere today and the reality that exists in the House of Representatives no longer encourages the finding of common ground,” he said. LaTourette cited two specific moments of frustration that contributed to his decision: Congress’ inability to pass a transportation bill, and its gridlock over deficit reduction. He refuted rumors that his decision was brought on by disappointment over being denied the chairmanship of the Transportation and Infrastructure committee. LaTourette did say, however, in order to rise within party ranks, lawmakers must hand over “your wallet and your voting card.”^[3]