Important voting rights update in Ohio: for two years, Ohio's SOS has claimed he could not allow online or electronic applications for absentee ballots. Ohio law didn't permit it, he said, insisting he needed legislative approval.
We went to court to show he was wrong...
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Several weeks ago, a common pleas court agreed with us, but he (of course) appealed immediately.
This afternoon, we got our ruling on that appeal.
The disappointing news is that we did not get the relief/injunction we were seeking immediately.
The good news? ...
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Like the court below, the appeals court agreed that nothing in OH law prevents the acceptance of electronic applications of absentee ballots: "Having reviewed R.C. 3509.03, we find the plain language of the Gen'l Assembly does not prohibit qualified electors from making.."
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"... a written absentee ballot application to the county director of elections by email or fax or otherwise.”
It later said again: "Nothing in this determination should be read as limiting the secretary from, in an exercise of his reasonable discretion..."
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"...implementing R.C. 3509.03 to permit methods of delivery other than mail or in-person should the circumstances warrant it.”
The court did not agree with our effort to immediately allow such applications to be made, or that LaRose was required to do so, but our core...
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...effort was always to make clear that Ohio law currently allows applications to be sent electronically.
For two years, LaRose said he couldn't do so. And for two years, it turns out, he's been wrong.
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So as we and others have said all along, there is nothing in Ohio law right now stopping the acceptance of electronic or online applications--the only thing that's been stopping it is LaRose himself.
While we will weigh our short-term options with this case as to relief,...
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...clearing this part up is a long-term win for Ohio voters.
Bottom line: it's long past time for LaRose to stop hiding behind phantom laws for his unwillingness to do things. It's time for him to get to work.
END
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Appointing the 🦊 to guard the 🐔 house (when the 🦊 has a hen in its mouth)
A 🧵
At the risk of souring your Sunday mood, I have an update on a story from my recent visit to Athens.
It’s quick. Read on…
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The basic story I shared was that Ohio’s five-member Ohio Oil and Gas Commission voted to re-open an injection well that had been found leaking dangerous chemicals, which led to six more months of leaking.
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And I exposed how the makeup of the commission (all appointed by the Governor) which made that decision comprised a stacked deck in favor of industry.
Ohio Attorney General Yost truly thinks Ohioans have short memories, or are just plain dumb
A quick 🧵
When he was using his official position to try to scare Ohioans into voting against Issue 1 last year, Yost released a legal “analysis” to show the dramatic..
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…impact of the new right to reproductive freedom that was on the ballot
Here’s the impact he described then:
The new language would “create a new standard that goes further than Casey’s ‘undue burden’ test or Roe’s
‘strict scrutiny’ test and will make it harder for OH to maintain the kinds of laws already upheld as valid prior to…Dobbs. In other words, the Amendment would give greater protection to abortion to be free from regulation than at any time in OH history.”
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Scholarship: (n)
•“a grant-in-aid to a student” (Merriam Webster)
•“a sum of money or other aid granted to a student, because of merit, need, etc., to pursue their studies.” ()
In the height of Jim Crow Alabama, a Black voter trying to register to vote would face the form below.
Look at question 16 in particular: asking if they’d ever seen the registration form before
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What was that about?
Well, civil rights groups like the NAACP and others were working hard to help voters register across the South—which included onerous forms and literacy/character tests.
So they would prep those voters for what traps and tricks to be prepared for.
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Of course, the Jim Crow state govts who set up all those traps and tricks and tests didn’t like that groups were trying to help voters overcome them.
So question 16 was a way to get voters to reveal who was helping them.
Had they practiced? W what groups? What people? Etc.
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So, I asked AI what we could do about the crisis of corruption via regulation of dark money in Ohio. In no time at all, it provided a number of clear answers: