Latest news with #OhioBallotBoard
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio Ballot Board votes to split Ohio Equal Rights Amendment into two
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Petitioners of an Equal Rights Amendment cleared the hurdle to start collecting signatures to be on the November 2026 ballot Wednesday morning, but the clearance came with a catch. 'I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt, but it does feel political,' Representative Terrence Upchurch (D-Cleveland) said. 'I do believe it's political because I think that, looking at what is being proposed, it's pretty simplistic in nature. I think it is one issue. It's cut and dry.' Each time a person or a group wants to get a proposal constitutional amendment on an Ohio ballot, there are several steps to accomplish. One of them is the certification, by the Ohio Ballot Board, that the proposed amendment is only about one issue. On Wednesday morning, the board voted to split the Ohio Equal Rights Amendment into two. 'It seems apparent to me that it would be good to give [voters] those as two separate amendments,' Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R-Ohio) said. 'Is it conceivable that there are voters out there that would support one part of this but not support the other part of this?' Hot pot restaurant with robert servers closes after 1 year 'If that were the standard, then that would be true of every proposal that goes before Ohio voters,' legal counsel for Ohio Equal Rights Corey Colombo said. 'There would aspects [voters] like and don't like. But that doesn't change the fact that this is all under the same umbrella.' What are the, now, two amendments? The first would remove language from the Ohio Constitution that bans same-sex marriage. That language, though still in the state constitution, is not currently applied thanks to Obergefell v. Hodges, a U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage in 2015. Lis Regula, a leader with Ohio Equal Rights, said with the possibility that the case is reconsidered, Ohioans should act fast. 'Right now [same-sex marriage is] entirely dependent on Obergefell, that decision, if it changes, I think there's going to be a lot of people who are surprised that 'oh crap, Cousin Joe and his husband aren't married anymore, what does this mean,'' he said. 'That is a rude awakening that I don't want to see people have to struggle with.' The amendment would delete existing Ohio Constitution language that bans same sex marriage and replace it with a provision that expressly allows it. If passed, it would read: 'The State of Ohio shall issue marriage licenses to individuals the age of eighteen and above and not nearer of kin than second cousins, and the state and its political subdivisions shall recognize and treat equally all marriages regardless of race, sex, or gender identity. Religious organizations and members of clergy shall have the right to refuse to solemnize a marriage.' The second amendment would add a new part to the Ohio Constitution that prohibits discrimination based on 'race, color, creed or religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression regardless of sex assigned at birth, pregnancy status, genetic information, disease status, age, disability, recovery status, familial status, ancestry, national origin, or military and veteran status.' Backers of the amendment argued that both this provision and the same-sex marriage one fall under the same category. 'In this case, the proposal, the petition, all relates to the single general purpose of equal rights of all Ohioans,' Colombo said. But the problem Republicans took with this portion of the amendment is the portion regarding transgender Ohioans. 'What brought us to this point is seeing the number of already existing laws that infringe on people's rights here in Ohio,' Regula said. Here's a quick look-back: In January 2024, Ohio lawmakers based one bill that both bans gender affirming care for minors and bans transgenders athletes from playing on teams that align with their gender identities. In November 2024, Ohio Lawmakers passed a 'bathroom ban.' It requires both public and private K-12 schools and all Ohio universities to prohibit non-gendered bathrooms and will ban transgender students from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity. If passed, this amendment could call some of those laws, passed by the Republican supermajority at the Ohio Statehouse, into question. 'How is it the same purpose to allow biological men in the same locker room as girls, when they're not consenting, how is that the same general purpose of allowing people of the same sex, consensually, to get married?' Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) asked. Colombo said, 'There's nothing in the language that specifically discusses bathrooms,' but Gavarone took issue with the word 'accommodations.' To get on the ballot, petitioners need to gather 415,000 valid signatures for each amendment in order to get one or both on the ballot. Their goal is to put the questions in front of voters in November 2026. 'We want to be able to have time to have deep conversations with people and really talk about 'what do equal rights mean to you as an Ohioan, what does it mean to be protected from infringement on your ability to make a living for yourself, provide for your family and develop in an appropriate way,'' Regula said. With the November 2026 goal in mind, Ohio Equal Rights has until July 2026 to meet the signature requirement. On Wednesday morning, Regula said he is not sure if they will take the Ohio Ballot Board's decision to split the amendment up to court. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State leaders still think it's too easy to amend the Ohio Constitution
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Should it become more difficult to amend the state's constitution? That's a question that has been debated at the statehouse for years and is now coming back up. Back in 2023, Ohio Republicans voted to create an August special election in order to ask voters one question: Should it take a simple majority or 60% of Ohioans to amend the state constitution? 57% of Ohio voters ultimately decided to keep the status quo, which is a simple majority. The question brought out hundreds of protesters, hours of debate, and millions of dollars were spent on the campaign on each side. Now, state leaders are bringing the conversation back up. Four inmates escape from minimum security facility in southeast Columbus The Ohio Ballot Board must certify that a proposed constitutional amendment is only about one topic before petitioners can start collecting signatures to get their question on the ballot. Since the start of the year, the board has met twice to discuss citizen-led constitutional amendments. At the most recent one, on May 14, Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R-Ohio) took a 'moment of chairman's privilege.' 'This brings to mind — the fact that we are meeting for the second time within the last month — a warning that I had a few years ago,' LaRose said. The warning, LaRose said, was that there would be 'a real uptick in people attempting to legislate by constitutional amendment.' LaRose said in his opinion, that is not a proper way to govern. 'Legislation should be done by the legislature and that's something to be discussed in this building going forward,' he said. Ohio Republican explains why he voted against Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' So, how do state leaders feel about trying to increase the threshold for a second time? 'I think it should be [increased],' Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said. 'I vote yes.' 'We will remain opposed to that,' Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) said. 'The petition process is already extremely difficult and burdensome for citizens to be able to exercise their right for direct democracy.' Right now, in order to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot, nearly half a million signatures must be collected by petitioners from 44 of Ohio's 88 counties. Russo said the process, while difficult, gives Ohioans recourse when they do not agree with what legislators are doing. '[Republicans] are not in line with where the public is on many issues and the public has pushed back,' Russo said. 'And [Republicans] don't like it when the public and the people use their power to push back.' 'As we have witnessed time after time, deep-pocketed dark money groups see the state constitution as an easy target for a constitutional amendment campaign because it can be changed with a simple majority vote,' spokesperson for Ohio Senate Republicans John Fortney said. 'Even the Ohio Democratic party had bylaws up until recently that required a 60% vote of its members to change its charter. Increasing the threshold is always a worthwhile discussion.' In order to make it more difficult to amend the state constitution, lawmakers will either need to pass a resolution to put on the ballot or Ohioans would need to petition their own amendment. Monte Carlo, longtime central Ohio Italian restaurant, to close last location Huffman said right now there are too many Ohioans looking to change the constitution, so that will create an uphill battle if they want to try and increase the passing threshold again. 'The folks who want to eliminate real estate tax in the state of Ohio, they don't want it raised to 60%, qualified immunity folks,' he said. 'I guess there may be good government folks who want it raised to 60%.' While Republicans and Democrats may be torn on the proper action to take here, they do agree that Ohioans likely will not change their minds just two years after voting the question down. 'People tend to think about what is important to them, short of everybody steps back and says, 'we really should raise the limit,' which I don't see that happening,' Huffman said. 'Undermining the ability of voters to have access to democracy through the ballot initiative process does undermine voters,' Russo said. 'The voters made it very clear back in August of 2023 that they want to protect their right to direct democracy.' A statehouse source told NBC4 there are not any current talks to increase the threshold but noted that the budget debate is taking up most of the air in the room right now. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Petition to abolish property taxes in Ohio OK'd by the state
May 19—Backers of a constitutional amendment to abolish property taxes in Ohio will soon start circulating petitions in local communities to get the matter on the ballot after clearing hurdles at the state level. Their proposed amendment would add three lines of text to the Ohio Constitution to state that "no real property shall be taxed," either by law or by constitutional amendment. The petitioners behind the amendment will need to gather over 413,000 valid signatures in order to get their proposed amendment on the ballot. A simple majority of voter support would pass it. The petitioners got approval from the state after Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost determined that the petitioners' summary fairly and truthfully reflected the content of the proposal, and the Ohio Ballot Board determined that the proposal could be contained in just one constitutional amendment. One petitioner, Timberlake Mayor John Marra, told the Ohio Ballot Board that he views property taxes to be unfair, especially to seniors. "Property taxes undermines true ownership," Marra said. "When people can lose their homes over unpaid taxes, even after their mortgage is paid off, that is not freedom; it is a form of government control." On X, Ohio's Republican Attorney General Dave Yost blamed the attempted amendment squarely on the Republican legislature, which has not yet passed substantial property tax reform even as much of the state has seen skyrocketing rates. "Ohio's broken, dysfunctional property tax is forcing people out of their homes with unvoted tax hikes," Yost wrote. "The people are going to blow it up at the ballot box — and the resulting chaos will be a failure of the legislature, which knew better but would not act." ------ For more stories like this, sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It's free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening. Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio property tax repeal campaign preparing to collect signatures
Ballot petition signature collection. Photo by WEWS. In a short meeting, the Ohio Ballot Board signed off on a proposed constitutional amendment abolishing property taxes in the state. The only question before the board was whether the proposal contains one or multiple amendments. Supporters contend lawmakers have been unwilling or unable to make significant enough changes as property taxes climb. But critics warn eliminating that revenue stream could cripple important services like schools and first responders. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The day after the ballot board meeting, Beth Blackmarr described her mood as 'busy.' 'Busy, busy, busy,' she said, 'I mean, here we go — we've got to hit the ground running.' Blackmarr is part of the organization Citizens for Property Tax Reform which is leading the repeal campaign. With the ballot board's decision, the group is now able to start gathering signatures to appear on the ballot. To go before voters, they'll need 10% of the electoral turnout from the last governor's race (just shy of 415,000). Additionally, in 44 of Ohio's counties, they'll need signatures from at least 5% of the governor's race turnout. In practice, campaigns turn in hundreds of thousands more signatures than necessary to make up for any rejections. Blackmarr said they want to start collecting 'as soon as humanly possible,' and work could begin as early as next week. Asked whether they'd work with paid circulators, she just laughed. 'Many of us are youthful at heart, but senior citizens that are just really working out of our pockets,' she said. 'There's no big money backing this at all. It's all volunteer.' What would happen if Ohio abolished property taxes? Blackmarr argued Ohio's current property tax system is broken. She points to other states like New Jersey and Texas that have far more generous initiatives to keep seniors, vets and the disabled in their homes. 'You can't have senior citizens who have paid for their homes — fully paid for — having to move out because they can't afford property tax,' she insisted. Blackmarr contends those kinds of protections are low-hanging fruit. Lawmakers have had continual warnings and 'ample opportunity' to act. Instead, she argued, they've dithered with changes at the margins. 'I suspect it's because they built a wobbly tower of property tax law over these decades,' she said, 'and they're afraid to pull one of the blocks out, because they're afraid the whole thing's gonna come tumbling down.' That 'tumbling down' is exactly the concern many critics voice about the plan. The most recent annual report from the Ohio Department of Taxation puts 2023 property tax collections at about $18.5 billion. That's an enormous amount of funding to just disappear. It's roughly double the amount reported for state income taxes, and a billion more than Ohio's sales and use tax. Spread evenly, it would cost every single Ohioan more than $1,500 to make up that gap in funding. Blackmarr argued repeal will just force lawmakers 'to come up with an alternative.' But that's a big ask — particularly for Republicans allergic to tax increases. Still she's right about dramatic increases in property taxes. The same Department of Taxation report shows assessed values climbing almost 40% in five years while tax collections have risen more than 21%. In a statement following the ballot board decision, House minority leader Allison Russo said the proposal 'clearly demonstrates frustration by Ohioans on this issue' and blamed lawmakers for failing to act. 'However, this particular initiative concerns me because while it eliminates the property tax, it doesn't explain how we'll replace the funds that support police, fire departments, public education, and other critical services,' she said. Russo argued Democrats have signed on to bipartisan legislation providing direct relief but Republican leaders haven't prioritized those bills. Blackmarr acknowledged that as their campaign gains steam, pressure will grow on lawmakers to pass legislation or propose their own ballot measure to undercut their efforts. 'At the end of the day it goes to the voters,' she said. 'They have to make the decision for themselves.' And if lawmakers' intervention means voters have to choose between competing visions, that's just fine with Blackmarr. 'Wouldn't that be nice, you know?' she said. Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohioans get green light to collect signatures to get property tax issue on ballot
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A group of Ohioans got the green light to start collecting signatures to try and abolish property taxes in a meeting that lasted about ten minutes. 'Our legislators have let us down. Okay? We needed property tax reform for decades. They've done nothing,' Mayor of the Village of Timberlake and petitioner John Marra said. Marra, along with four others from northeast Ohio, put together a proposed constitutional amendment to try and rid of the tax completely. 'We need property tax relief immediately in the state, Marra said. 'There's no question about it.' On Wednesday afternoon, the Ohio Ballot Board met to decide whether the three-line-long amendment was only one topic. The board certified that it was giving the group, that is nameless, the green light to try and collect more than 413,000 valid signatures in order to make a ballot. Ex-Congressman Ryan mulls run for Ohio governor Marra said the grassroots group is aiming for this November's ballot, which means they would need to collect those signatures by July 2. 'It's going to be a very steep climb,' Marra said. 'But it's something that we want to push through immediately.' If the group is not successful collecting signatures by the July 2 deadline for the November ballot, they will continue gathering signatures to try and make it on the May 2026 ballot instead. Lawmakers at the Ohio Statehouse have introduced dozens of bills to bring Ohioans property tax relief in the past several years. Few have actually gone through and the ones that have, only help a fraction of Ohio homeowners. 'It has not been prioritized by the Republican majority,' Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) said. 'And so, I see that reflected when the legislature doesn't respond, and the people step up.' Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman said he shares the frustration of Ohioans about the lack of relief and said property tax relief has not been stalled by the majority, but by outside groups that are largely funded through public property taxes, like schools, police and fire departments. 'Each time we try to step up and do something about this, the groups that are receiving this money say, 'this is going to be terrible; we're going to shut down, we're not going to be able to provide services' and all of that,' Huffman said. 'And it's very difficult for the legislature to move something forward in doing any of this.' While Republican and Democratic leaders are at odds about why nothing has gotten done, they do agree that something does need to happen soon. But they said abolishing the tax all together is not the way to do, claiming it would leave a funding gap of up to $19 billion for local governments across the state. The Spectrum: School issues fail; changes in state parties 'It doesn't say how we're going to replace those funds that fund police and fire in our communities, public education, many other critical services,' Russo said. 'So, as it's written, I have huge concerns.' 'How are you going to pay for those services? Well, one answer is the cost will have to go down dramatically,' Huffman said. 'There's going to be a dramatic change in how much school districts and other local entities can spend, how we replace that. It's going to be a giant a giant lift. And I guess we start working on that if it indeed happens.' But Marra said he already has ideas to make up for that lost revenue. He said his government receives 40% to 50% of revenue from property taxes. Instead, he said a system that charges for services based on number of people in a house, similar to insurance. 'There's plenty of ways to fund it,' Marra said. 'The problem is we need a more fair and equitable way. We can't put a tie to our homes where we could possibly lose our homes. That's where the problem lies.' In the Ohio Senate, leaders on both sides of the aisle also agreed that this proposal is not the proper way to go. Ohio Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) said while the legislature is to blame for the state of the current property tax system, this proposal would go too far. He said he is hopeful something gets done to address it in the state budget. Though he does not agree with the current proposal of a 30% carryover rate. Ohio House Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) said while yes, there are several bipartisan bills to get something done, the majority has stifled any progress. Antonio said if the majority said they are ready to talk about relief, the Democrats would be ready and at the table. 'Abolishing property taxes would be devastating for local communities and public schools,' Rep. Anita Somani (D-Dublin) said in a statement. 'For years, the state legislature has failed to properly fund public schools, which has put undue burden on local taxpayers to make up the difference through skyrocketing property taxes. Without real action from the legislature to address school funding, getting rid of property taxes will only force our schools into even worse financial situations, and in the end, Ohio's children will suffer.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
