Ohio Politics Explained podcast: Householder appeals and early … – The Columbus Dispatch
Ohioans started voting this week on whether they want to make it harder 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 in this week’s episode of Ohio Politics Explained. A podcast from the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau to catch you up on the state’s political news in 15 minutes or less.
This week, host Anna Staver was joined by reporter Jessie Balmert.
1) Don’t forget to vote
The countdown is on for the Aug. 8 special election, and voters are already showing up to their county boards of elections to decide whether it should be harder to change Ohio’s state constitution.
Issue 1 if passed would change the rules for enacting new constitutional amendments in Ohio. It would:
- Require 60% of voters to pass a new constitutional amendment, instead of a simple majority of 50% plus one.
- Require citizens who want to place an amendment on the ballot to collect signatures from at least 5% of voters from the last gubernatorial election in all 88 counties, instead of the current 44.
- Eliminate a 10-day cure period that allows citizens to replace any signatures deemed faulty by the secretary of state’s office.
2) Universal vouchers vs universal access
Starting in October, all Ohio students will be eligible for K-12 vouchers to help them pay for private school, but that doesn’t mean access will be universal.
Most of the state’s private schools are clustered around Ohio’s major cities, and large parts of rural Ohio don’t have any nonpublic alternatives.
Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said that means the state needs to work on improving 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 re-introduced her bill to ban hairstyle discrimination in the workplace.
Brent, who is Black, told the USA TODAY Network Ohio bureau she’s held jobs “where they told me, you need 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’s not alone. More than 20% of Black women between the ages of 25 and 34 reported being sent home from work due to their hair, according to a 2023 CROWN Workplace Research Study.
Brent wasn’t able to get the bill passed in the last legislative session, but she’s optimistic about her chances this year because she has some Republican support.
4) Householder appeals
Less than a month after being sentenced to 20 years in prison for bribery and racketeering, Householder is appealing his conviction.
The legal filings didn’t outline the arguments Householder’s attorneys will make to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, but he’s expected to challenge some of the evidence used during his trial like the audio recording of conversations with former lobbyist Neil Clark.
Householder is now an inmate at Butler County Jail while awaiting his placement at 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.
The USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau serves The Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
Source: News
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