skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, April 27, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Louisiana teachers' union concerned about educators' future; Supreme Court hears arguments in Trump immunity case; court issues restraining order against fracking waste-storage facility; landmark NE agreement takes a proactive approach to CO2 pipeline risks.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Speaker Johnson accuses demonstrating students of getting support from Hamas. TikTok says it'll challenge the ban. And the Supreme Court dives into the gray area between abortion and pregnancy healthcare, and into former President Trump's broad immunity claims.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The urban-rural death divide is widening for working-age Americans, many home internet connections established for rural students during COVID have been broken, and a new federal rule aims to put the "public" back in public lands.

House Hearing Today on New Election Reform Bill in Ohio

play audio
Play

Thursday, May 20, 2021   

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A hearing will be held today on a controversial bill to overhaul Ohio's voting laws.

Supporters of House Bill 294 said the measure includes provisions requested by local election officials, as well as reforms advocated by both parties, including an online ballot request system and automated voter registration.

Kayla Griffin, Ohio Director of All Voting is Local, calls the bill a Trojan horse, explaining it also includes provisions that restrict access.

"We would think that after such a historic election where we see numbers that are off the charts, and we have to tip our hats to the elected officials, why aren't we leaning into efforts that will continue to grow our electorate as opposed to restricting them?" Griffin asked.

Voting-rights advocates are concerned about several measures, including cutting the last day of early voting and limiting county boards of elections to three drop boxes that can be used only for the 10 days before an election. The bill also prohibits the use of public funds to pay for return postage for a mailed ballot.

Collin Marozzi, policy strategist for the ACLU of Ohio, explained the measure encourages civic participation by allowing 17-year-olds to volunteer at precincts, but at the same time, he noted, it maintains the prohibition of a grandchild returning an absentee ballot on behalf of a grandparent.

"Those things may not seem related, but if we're saying 17-year-olds should have the responsibility and the privilege of working as a poll worker, they very easily should be able to drop off their grandparents' ballot," Marozzi asserted. "That's a common-sense thing to include."

The bill also moves the absentee-ballot request window from three days before Election Day to ten days, which supporters contended is needed for logistical reasons.

But Marozzi argued the data paints another picture. He explained about 450,000 absentee ballots were requested during the seven days before the deadline in 2020, and 413,000 of those were successfully returned and counted.

"And that's a return rate of over 90%, and that number suggests that Ohio's current absentee-ballot request window does not need to be significantly altered like it does in House Bill 294," Marozzi concluded.

The bill will have its first hearing before the House Government Oversight Committee.

Reporting by Ohio News Connection in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The United Nations experts also expressed concern over a Chemours application to expand PFAS production in North Carolina. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

United Nations experts are raising concerns about chemical giants DuPont and Chemours, saying they've violated human rights in North Carolina…


Social Issues

play sound

The long-delayed Farm Bill could benefit Virginia farmers by renewing funding for climate-smart investments, but it's been held up for months in …

Environment

play sound

Conservation groups say the Hawaiian Islands are on the leading edge of the fight to preserve endangered birds, since climate change and habitat loss …


Jane Kleeb is director and founder of Bold Alliance, an umbrella organization of Bold Nebraska, which was instrumental in stopping the Keystone Pipeline. Kleeb is also one of two 2023 Climate Breakthrough Awardees. (Bold Alliance)

Environment

play sound

CO2 pipelines are on the increase in the United States, and like all pipelines, they come with risks. Preparing for those risks is a major focus of …

Environment

play sound

April has been "Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month," but the pests don't know that. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it's the …

Legislation to curtail the union membership rights of about 50,000 public school educators in Lousiana has the backing of some business and national conservative groups. (wavebreak3/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Leaders of a teachers' union in Louisiana are voicing concerns about a package of bills they say would have the effect of dissolving labor unions in t…

Health and Wellness

play sound

The 2024 Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium Public Conference kicks off Saturday, where industry experts and researchers will share the latest scientific …

Environment

play sound

Environmental groups say more should be done to protect people's health from what they call toxic, radioactive sludge. A court granted a temporary …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021