The Ohio Senate has voted to defund Planned Parenthood, but the bill won’t go into law just yet. An Ohio House task force got down to work this week analyzing the pros and cons of legalizing medical marijuana. The underdog Democratic candidate for US Senate who’s made gun laws the centerpiece of his campaign says he wants a constitutional amendment to overturn the state law that outlawed local gun bans. And Gov. John Kasich got an opening he and most of the other candidates running for the Republican nomination for president haven’t gotten in this entire campaign – a debate without Donald Trump.
Election years often means big changes in Ohio’s election laws. Ten years ago, lawmakers approved more than a month of early no-fault absentee balloting, after long lines in Ohio in the 2004 presidential election startled and concerned people around the country. And in 2014, several other election-law changes were made. This big election year project appears to be online voter registration. A bill to put online voter registration in place has passed the Senate and is waiting in a House committee. Two lawmakers from two parties from two chambers to talk about online voter registration and other possible changes coming before this fall’s big vote. Sen. Frank LaRose (R-Copley Township) is the sponsor of the online voter registration bill that passed the Senate with only one “no” vote. Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent) has sponsored six election-law and voter related bills, including her own online voter registration measure.