LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

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Since 2004

Tag: second primary

  • Ohio State Legislature Primary Election TOMORROW, Aug. 2

    Ohio State Legislature Primary Election TOMORROW, Aug. 2

    Common Cause Ohio reminds Ohioans that this Tuesday, Aug. 2 is the second primary for the 2022 elections.

    Here are a few ways Ohioans can vote:

    For returning ballots:

    • Voted ballots can be returned to your County Board of Elections up until 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. Ballots returned to local precinct polling places will not be counted. Only close relatives — including step-relatives — can return a voted ballot to the board of elections, according to Ohio law.
    • If you decide to mail your ballot it must be postmarked by today, Monday, Aug. 1. 


    For Election Day voting:

    • Election Day polling places open on Tues., Aug. 2 from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Ohioans can check their polling place before they vote.
    • Because Ohio accepts several forms of ID, voters can bring their Ohio driver’s license, utility bill, cell phone bill, bank statement, government check or paycheck with their name and current address. View the full list of acceptable IDs here.
    • In Ohio, voters don’t register with a political party. Ohioans ask for the ballot they want. If a voter is an Independent, they can ask for an issues-based ballot.

    Voters can view what’s on the ballot here.

    Statement of Catherine Turcer, Common Cause Ohio Executive Director 

    “The right to vote is the foundation of our government, and elections — both generals and primaries — are a key element of that foundation.

    Tomorrow, Aug. 2, marks Ohio’s second primary election. While it is hard to go to the polls knowing that the Ohio House and Senate districts have been determined to be unconstitutional, Ohioans want to have their say.  Voters will not opt out because of these rigged voting districts.

    There may be some voter confusion because of this additional primary. On Election Day, polling places will be open from 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. You can check your polling place before you get in line, and you’re allowed to bring one of several acceptable IDs in order to vote. If you requested a mail-in ballot, it must be postmarked by TODAY, Monday, Aug. 1. Voted ballots can be returned to the County Board of Elections until 7:30pm on Election Day. 

    If you have questions or need assistance, you can call or text the Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE. The nonpartisan Election Protection program has been helping voters for more than two decades. We encourage voters to take advantage of their expertise.

    If Ohioans aren’t yet registered to vote, they can still register for the upcoming November general election.”

  • Ohio House Speaker says no primary election legislation coming soon

    Ohio House Speaker says no primary election legislation coming soon

    Speaker of the House Bob Cupp addresses the chamber.

    BY: SUSAN TEBBEN – Ohio Capital Journal

    Ohio’s House Speaker said Wednesday legislation is not coming to change the May primary date.

    Speaker Bob Cupp said the process was “in the hands of the federal court,” despite various court documents in which he argued that the election is a legislative issue and any changes should be made in the General Assembly.

    The Ohio Capital Journal asked Cupp directly to confirm the House had no plans for legislation to set a new primary date in the next two weeks.

    “That is correct, we’re not in session,” Cupp said during a gaggle after Wednesday’s House session.

    He was asked about potential changes to the election earlier in the press gathering, and he deferred the job.

    “We’ll let the federal court process proceed,” Cupp said.

    A federal lawsuit was filed by GOP voters earlier this year, claiming voters are losing their right to vote with the chaos surrounding redistricting. Originally, the plaintiffs, including Ohio Right to Life leader Michael Gonidakis, asked for the third map adopted by the Ohio Redistricting Commission to be forced into use by a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court.

    That map was rejected by the Ohio Supreme Court before the federal lawsuit was filed, but the process of adopting a fourth version of legislative districts had not come to fruition.

    The fourth map ended up being a near-copy of the third, rejected version, with Senate President Matt Huffman acknowledging as he moved for its approval that the map had “97%” similarity to the third version.

    Because the process, which started in September, has taken so long, the Secretary of State’s Office was forced to remove legislative races from ballots for the May 3 primary, all but assuring a split primary.

    Lawsuits have been filed with the Ohio Supreme Court asking for the fourth map to be invalidated for many of the same reasons the third map was, and map challengers have also asked the court to hold GOP commission members in contempt for violating court orders.

    Cupp and Senate President Matt Huffman argued in previous court filings that the power for elections and drawing maps lies solely with the redistricting commission and legislators, seemingly contrary to Cupp’s Wednesday statements.

    “It is the commission and the general assembly who solely possess the legislative authority to create legislative and congressional districts,” attorneys for the legislative leaders wrote in a court filing for lawsuits on congressional districts.

    Secretary of State Frank LaRose in more recent court filings urged the judicial system to stay out of the process. In his filing countering objections to the most recent maps, he posited that the Ohio Redistricting Commission has more time to figure out legislative maps.

    “More importantly, there is still time for the legislature to take steps to extend the time within which such a decision must be made,” LaRose said. “This court should not give up on the constitutional process even if the petitioners have.”

    The federal court has chosen twice not to intervene in the state process to give it time to come to a resolution. The first time the court withheld judgment was just before the March 28 deadline for the commission to complete new maps.

    At a hearing before Chief Judge Algenon Marbley, Judge Benjamin Beaton and Judge Amul Thapar last Wednesday, parties from the Secretary of State’s Office gave Aug. 2 as a potential date for a second primary to include the legislative races.

    The judges entertained the idea of not just the third map, but also the map drawn by independent mapmakers during the latest redistricting commission hearings, and also debated whether or not the 2010 map could be used for one more year.

    They decided to give the state until April 20 to come up with an official map and to give the state’s highest court time to make its rulings. A status conference was scheduled for April 11.

    Jake Zuckerman contributed to this report.