The Democratic table is completely set now for 2014. Gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald announced this week that he’s selected State Sen. Eric Kearney of Cincinnati as his potential Lieutenant Governor. The long-awaited audit of JobsOhio is out, and Auditor David Yost is scolding Gov. John Kasich’s job creating entity for sloppy handling of ethics and conflict-of-interest procedures in its first year. The House approved a “Stand Your Ground” bill after two hours of passionate debate and a mid-session protest. It now goes on to the Senate. Later that night, the House Education Committee heard comments on a bill to repeal Common Core. And in the Senate, a measure was approved to limit where the Controlling Board can step in in the future, after last month's vote to expand Medicaid.
There is less than a year before Ohioans will vote in a critical election. And state lawmakers are working now on some bills that could affect how voting goes in that big election - those bills deal with absentee ballot applications, voting machines, the early voting window and photo ID for voters. Talking about those bills and more are two of the leading voices on voting issues in the state legislature. Sen. Bill Coley is a Republican from Cincinnati – he was the main sponsor of the absentee ballot applications bill and is a co-sponsor of the bills on early voting and voting machines. Sen. Nina Turner is a Democrat of Cleveland. She’s a candidate for Secretary of State on next year’s ballot and has criticized those bills.