Ohio news from The Daily Signal, covering state politics, voting law battles, industrial policy, and the Buckeye State’s pivotal role in national elections and conservative strategy.
COLUMBUS—Thousands of pro-life activists marched in downtown Columbus, Ohio, on Friday, calling for protections for the unborn and urging their fellow Ohioans to vote against an upcoming pro-abortion ballot measure. Ohio Issue 1, the Right to Make Reproductive Decisions Including Abortion Initiative, would ban the state from interfering with “reproductive decisions,” including abortion—effectively enshrining the…
In the 2017 movie “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” the character Mildred Hayes, played by the always-gripping Frances McDormand, is a driven mother seeking justice for her slain daughter. Feeling ignored, and with no arrests after seven months, Mildred puts up three roadside signs to prod Ebbing’s police chief to find her daughter’s killer. As…
Senate Democrats on Thursday opposed a request from Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, for floor consideration of his bill banning federal COVID-19 mask mandates. The motion was blocked by Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who claimed the legislation would "hamstring public health experts who guided our nation out of the pandemic." Markey has a history of supporting…
Abortion advocates have their sights set on Ohio this fall. On Nov. 7, Ohioans will vote on the “Right to Make Reproductive Decisions Including Abortion” Initiative to amend the state’s constitution. The key word in the title of this proposal is “including,” because it is about much more than abortion. Its backers hope that the focus…
President Joe Biden has forgotten about the residents of East Palestine, a town in that pesky, blue-collar state of Ohio, and he wants you to forget as well. If you’re a resident of Maui, Hawaii, and hoping for the Biden administration to save you in your time of need, then I regret to inform you…
I recently spent a weekend with dear friends and their newborn baby boy. At only 2 weeks old, their son can’t do much, except eat, sleep, and move his arms and legs around. As a new mom, my friend said she has watched her son make movements that she recognizes are the same movements she…
There's a new frontier for pro-abortion activists post-Roe v. Wade: constitutional amendments that can circumvent state laws and flout even the most pro-life of governors. And with some of the weakest requirements in the country for passing constitutional amendments, Ohio has become the latest battleground. In just a week, on Aug. 8, Ohioans will vote…
An amendment to enshrine abortion access until the moment of birth without parental consent has received enough signatures to be added to Ohio’s ballot this November. The ACLU-drafted amendment would strip parents of their right to be notified or give consent to their minor children getting abortions or irreversible sex-change operations. It would also create…
Ohio college students should thank Jerry Cirino. The Republican state senator has written a bill designed to spare those students instruction in the type of sordid thinking that sees all of life in terms of group power dynamics, cancels opposing views, preaches color consciousness, and discourages merit. In other words, Cirino wants to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion, or…
Pro-life activists in Ohio are working to prevent approval of a ballot question that would enshrine abortion in the Buckeye State’s Constitution. Cincinnati Right to Life members Margaret DeBlase and John Giroux filed a lawsuit with the state's highest court to prevent the proposed constitutional amendment from appearing on the ballot in November, arguing that…
The Environmental Protection Agency is blocking release of public information about the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which created an ecological disaster, alleges a lawsuit from The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project. The push for more information comes as the EPA faces additional questions about a derailment Thursday in Minnesota of a 22-car…
OXON HILL, Md.—Top Republican state election officials are opposing President Joe Biden’s executive order putting the power of the federal government behind voter turnout efforts. “As a group, the Republican secretaries of state have been vocally opposing this,” Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, vice chairman of the Republican Secretaries of State Committee, told The…
The massive train derailment near East Palestine, Ohio, created one of the worst ecological disasters on U.S. soil in decades. On top of that, it exposed the looming, pervasive incompetence and callousness of the woke ruling class. A 50-car train operated by Norfolk Southern derailed Feb. 3 near the small town of East Palestine. It…
Abortion proponents in Ohio submitted language for a radical new ballot initiative on Tuesday—one that would enshrine abortion into the red state's constitution. Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, the groups behind The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety amendment, said in a release that they hope…
Ohio voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a state constitutional amendment, Issue 2, to ban noncitizens from voting. It was one of many ballot initiatives dealing with election integrity in this year’s elections. The Columbus Dispatch reported that Issue 2 had passed with 77.1% support from Ohioans with more than 92% of the vote counted. The…
Republican candidate JD Vance has defeated Democrat Tim Ryan in Ohio’s Senate race. Multiple outlets, including Decision Desk and NBC News, projected Tuesday evening that Vance had won the race. Vance campaigned on issues including curbing government spending, restoring America’s manufacturing base, solving the border crisis, putting America first, and ending abortion. He quickly earned…
Recently, the Akron Roundtable of Ohio invited me to give a presentation on the issue of election integrity as part of a recurring series it calls “Point/Counterpoint.” As I told the audience, the sponsors of the Roundtable, which includes the Kiwanis Club, the Greater Akron Chamber, and the Akron Beacon Journal, were to be applauded…
“There’s an old saying. When the law is on your side, pound the law. When the facts are on your side, pound the facts. If neither the facts or law are on your side, pound the table.” So Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., summarized a quip that has been evolving for at least a century. And so the Democrats did in the…
A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Ohio may enforce its ban on abortions based on a diagnosis of Down syndrome. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 9-7 decision that Ohio’s law was “valid in all conceivable cases” and that it did not substantially block a woman’s ability to get an abortion. The law prohibits a…
The bill known as HR 1, or the For the People Act, should be called “the Federal Takeover of Elections Act,” Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose says. LaRose, who oversees Ohio’s elections, joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain why HR 1, a bill the political left touts as positive election reform, is an…