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Apr 24: Forbes agrees to reprimand

CLEVELAND -- "Cleveland NAACP President George Forbes has agreed to a reprimand from the Ohio Supreme Court. The potential mark on his law license stems from the longtime Cleveland political figure's conviction on ethics charges in the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation investment scandal last year. A disciplinary panel and the full court still have to sign off on the deal reached between Forbes and its disciplinary counsel, Jonathan Coughlin. Forbes last summer pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor ethics charges that said he failed to disclose gifts in his annual reports to the Ohio Ethic Commission. He also pleaded no contest to and was found guilty of two other misdemeanor charges that said he violated a conflict-of-interest law by accepting gifts from two investment brokers while he served on the BWC's oversight committee. Forbes was fined $6,000, ordered to pay $6,000 in restitution to the BWC and ordered to perform 60 hours of community service when he was sentenced in Franklin County Municipal Court last July," Mark Rollenhagen, Cleveland Plain Dealer.

CLEVELAND -- BWC figure ready to take reprimand, Mark Niquette, Columbus Dispatch.


Apr 23: Revised energy bill has support
House approves plan to put PUCO in charge; Senate OK likely today

COLUMBUS -- "A stalemate between Gov. Ted Strickland and Republican legislative leaders over electricity regulation ended yesterday with a deal that leaves the rates for American Electric Power customers with a state commission. After months of talk, hours of committee testimony, more than 20 rewrites and untold thousands of dollars spent on a truckload of lobbyists, the House voted 93-1 for Senate Bill 221. The Senate is expected to concur today. Lobbying on the bill has been intense, so much so that Husted called members into the House chamber yesterday and had them wait a good 30 minutes while the final draft of the bill was completed. Lobbyists are not allowed in the chamber, except for on the balcony. 'There was just no end to the amount of things people wanted to change about the bill,' Husted said," Jim Siegel, Columbus Dispatch.


Apr 23: Cuyahoga elections board overcharged cities and schools by $1.25 million

CLEVELAND -- "Discovery of a $1.25 million mistake will lead to refunds for Cuyahoga County cities and school districts overcharged for last year's elections. The board of elections wants the county auditor's office to quickly send refund checks. A new state law allows the board to charge cities for temporary workers hired for elections. The law took effect in September, but the board charged cities and school districts for all of 2007. The board discovered its error during a review following complaints," Joe Guillen, Cleveland Plain Dealer.


Apr 23: Editorial: Legislators protect payday lenders' interest rates at expense of constituents
Legislators who protect short-term lenders' interest rates display a lack of interest in what's best for their constituents

CLEVELAND -- "Two legislators discount Ohioans' intelli gence by acting confused about the perils of payday loans to the voters they represent. Or it could be that Reps. Christopher R. Widener, a Springfield Republican, and Sandra Williams, Cleveland Democrat, just listen too closely to payday lenders' lobbyists. Widener chairs the House Financial Institutions, Real Estate and Securities Committee. He's sitting on the 36 percent solution, and last week brazenly defended the 391 percent APR. 'I have not heard anyone say that it's not fair,' Widener told the Columbus Dispatch. Widener must hear some people better than others. In January, his campaign accepted a $1,000 donation from a political action committee of Texas-based Cash America International, a pawnshop chain whose Cashland payday-loan storefronts pepper Ohio. Widener's campaign also accepted $2,000 from the Cash America PAC last summer; $1,000 in 2006; and $500 in 2005. Cash America reported 2007 revenue of $929 million, 34 percent better than it did in 2006. So much for the myth of payday loans' tiny profits. Then there's Cleveland's Williams. The Ohio Manufacturers' Association, using census data, ranks Ohio's 99 House districts by median household income. Ranking 99th - dead last - was Williams' district (at $21,450). Williams needs to consider instead whether an APR higher than 36 percent just hands borrowers a shovel to dig themselves in deeper rather than a ladder to climb out of the hole," Cleveland Plain Dealer.


Apr 21: Election ideas
Collaboration is a better way for secretary of state to gain support for voting changes

COLUMBUS -- "The state's chief elections officer continues to challenge the status quo, but she appears to be taking a softer line. Several months ago, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner called for a massive overhaul to rid Ohio of electronic voting machines. The proposal, which would have been traumatic for county elections boards that had just transitioned to electronic voting, was handed down like a commandment, provoking stiff resistance from some elections officials... Now she's floating other ideas, such as mail-only voting, and seeking feedback from lawmakers and county officials. The tone is noticeably more collaborative, and that is likely to get better results," editorial, Columbus Dispatch. Published April 20.


Apr 19: Counties at work to improve voting

COLUMBUS -- "As president of the Ohio Association of Election Officials, a bipartisan organization representing Ohio's 88 county boards of elections, I thank The Dispatch for the insightful Forum column, 'Ohio primary was smooth overall, but glitches are a worry,' April 6, by Public Affairs Editor Darrel Rowland. While election officials across the state are proud of the fine primary that was held in March, we realize that much remains to be done before November's presidential election. Voters should rest assured that their local boards of elections are working around the clock to make certain that every vote cast in accordance with the law will be counted this fall," Shannon Leininger, letter to the editor, Columbus Dispatch.


Apr 18: Commissioners not fans of voting by mail

COLUMBUS -- "The County Commissioners' Association of Ohio is not supporting a proposal by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to give counties the ability to choose whether to conduct future elections by mail. Brunner wants the legislature to give counties the authority to put a vote-by-mail issue on the ballot, arguing it could be more convenient and less expensive for some counties than opening up the polls on Election Day," Columbus Dispatch.


Apr 18: Court's foster-care ruling is sound

CINCINNATI -- "The Ohio Supreme Court's unanimous decision Thursday ordering the release of some foster parents' names to The Enquirer is a win both for the public's right to know and for the media's ability to hold public agencies accountable for protecting children. The Enquirer sought the names from the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services in September 2006, shortly after the murder of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel by his foster parents. It became apparent that agencies involved in foster care had failed in their oversight - for example, in checking the backgrounds of foster parents, some of whom had criminal records," editorial, Cincinnati Enquirer.


Apr 17: Court: Make foster names public

COLUMBUS -- "The public has a right to know the names of foster parents who care for the state’s 10,000 plus foster children, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday. The decision comes 20 months after the death of Marcus Fiesel, who was killed by his foster parents in Clermont County in August, 2006. The Fiesel case raised concerns about how Ohio’s 88 counties check the backgrounds of foster parents because both Liz and David Carroll Jr., had criminal records yet were still allowed to care for Marcus," Eileen Kelley and John Craig, Cincinnati Enquirer.


Apr 16: Fear racks state agency
Audit of Industrial Commission cites rampant retaliation

fearCOLUMBUS -- "A 'climate of fear' grips the state agency responsible for handling appeals of Bureau of Workers' Compensation cases, according to an outside audit released yesterday.  More than 90 percent of employees of the Ohio Industrial Commission complained about retaliation and other management issues when interviewed by officials from the Ohio Department of Administrative Services as part of an investigation into the commission's handling of employee complaints. Two of the Industrial Commission employees were 'visibly shaking and trembling' when interviewed, the report said. Another cried. Seven were 'very hesitant to speak.' The report was strongly critical of the management of the 500-employee agency, which hears appeals of Bureau of Workers' Compensation decisions and all cases involving compensation for permanent disabilities," James Nash , Columbus Dispatch.


Apr 16: Governor's ethics disclosure looks squeaky clean

COLUMBUS -- "Gov. Ted Strickland had $7,353 in state travel expenses last year and accepted no gifts other than food, travel and other costs related to supporting Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and other political activity, records show. Yesterday was the deadline for elected officeholders and other state officials to send financial-disclosure statements to the Ohio Ethics Commission for activity during 2007. Strickland has adopted an ethics policy that all gifts except from family members and friends who aren't lobbyists or state vendors must be declined, except token gestures such as T-shirts or meals valued at less than $20. Thus, the only gifts Strickland reported were undisclosed food, travel and other expenses paid by Clinton's campaign, the Democratic Governors Association and the Ohio Democratic Party related to political activity by the governor," Mark Niquette, Columbus Dispatch.


Apr 15: Brunner proposes mail-only elections

COLUMBUS -- "Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner wants every Ohio county to have the option of asking voters whether they want to conduct elections entirely by mail. The legislature first would have to give counties the authority to put a vote-by-mail issue on the ballot, and Brunner said she doesn't expect overwhelming support. House Speaker Jon Husted said yesterday that although he hasn't seen the details, he's concerned about the ramifications of some counties but not others voting by mail. But Brunner said she thinks some counties would find voting by mail more convenient and less expensive than opening polls on Election Day, and she wants the idea debated," Mark Niquette, Columbus Dispatch.


Apr 14: Dann won't release e-mails
Communication between attorney general and his scheduler deemed private

COLUMBUS -- "Attorney General Marc Dann, who campaigned on a pledge to uphold transparency in government, is refusing to turn over e-mail messages between him and his scheduler. Dann in the past has said e-mails are public records and also has sought troves of messages from public offices when he was a state senator and the Democratic candidate for Ohio's top legal office. One of Dann's first acts as attorney general was to order his staff to retain e-mail messages for 180 days. 'Good government is open government, and we cannot be responsive to citizen requests for information if the information is routinely destroyed, including electronic communication such as e-mails,' Dann said at the time. Dann's office said the request for all written correspondence between Dann and Utovich in September, October and November would not be granted because it is 'overbroad.' Dann's office also denied The Dispatch request on the basis that e-mail is not a public record. Earlier, Dann repeatedly said that e-mail messages are public records when they deal with the functions of the office. He has prodded legislators to retain e-mail messages and even treat messages on private e-mail accounts as public if they deal with public business," James Nash, Columbus Dispatch. Published April 13.


Apr 14: State demands big paper trail from Miller
Senate minority leader has 3 weeks to justify finance reports

COLUMBUS -- "In a 51-page letter, the Ohio secretary of state's office has asked Senate Minority Leader Ray Miller for a mountain of documents, explanations and justifications for his campaign activities dating to 2002. The letter is the next step in the state's effort to get Miller to file timely, accurate campaign-finance reports as required by law. The Ohio Elections Commission in late February fined Miller $1,500 for failing to file his reports for years, despite several warnings. Before the commission hearing, Miller filed several years' worth of reports, although more work remains, according to the letter sent to him this week by J. Curtis Mayhew, the campaign-finance administrator for Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's office. Miller has 21 days to provide the information requested by the letter, or he could face new elections complaints. His attorney, Donald J. McTigue, said that should be enough time," Jim Siegel, Columbus Dispatch. Published April 12.


Apr 14: Editorial: Branching out
Ohio joins national effort to help Americans understand judicial system

COLUMBUS -- "To many Americans, what goes on in courtrooms, from the local courthouse to the U.S. Supreme Court, is a mystery. Such ignorance about one of the three branches of government reduces trust in the judicial system. This ignorance follows voters to the polls. In November, Ohioans will be choosing two state Supreme Court justices, judges for a dozen state appellate districts and a slew of county judges, many of whom will be unknown to voters. The Ohio State Bar Association is trying to raise the level of public understanding of the courts, by adopting a national program that trains lawyers and judges to speak to members of the community about the judiciary. The essential point to be communicated to voters is that judges are different from other elected officials. They do not represent any group or ideology. Their job is to take the facts of a case and apply the law to produce a decision that is true to the law, regardless of how they feel about the outcome and regardless of who is helped or hurt, " Columbus Dispatch. Published April 13.


Apr 14: Voting-system change unlikely, Brunner says

COLUMBUS -- "Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said last night that she's not very optimistic the legislature will provide the $64 million needed to replace all touch-screen voting machines in the state with paper ballots by the fall election as she wants. But Brunner said she will seek more back-up paper ballots at the polls in counties with touch-screens and take other steps to ensure that the state is ready for a presidential election that she predicted could have 80 percent voter turnout. Brunner told the group last night that she doesn't have "a lot of optimism" that the funding will be available this year, so she said she is working with Strickland and the legislature on other ways to address concerns before the Nov. 4 election. They include more poll-worker training, requiring more paper ballots if the machines break down or if lines get long, and clear procedures so that voters can be diverted from a machine line to a paper-ballot line if turnout is heavy," Mark Niquette, Columbus Dispatch.


Apr 11: State office challenges Brennans' committee donations
Akron businessman, wife told to prove they didn't give aid illegally to 4 Republicans

COLUMBUS -- "The Ohio secretary of state is challenging the legality of contributions given by Akron businessman David Brennan and his wife to a pair of political action committees. Jennifer Brunner's campaign finance administrator, J. Curtis Mayhew, told the Brennans in a letter Thursday that there is evidence suggesting that the money — about $30,000 — was funneled through those committees to four Ohio Republican candidates, causing the Brennans to exceed campaign contribution limits. Mayhew is giving the Brennans and the two treasurers of the political action committees 21 days to persuade the state that they did not make illegal contributions to gubernatorial candidate Kenneth Blackwell, attorney general candidate Betty Montgomery, state representative candidate William Batchelder and state auditor candidate Mary Taylor. If the state is not satisfied with their answers, Brunner's office may file a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission," John Higgins, Akron Beacon Journal.

COLUMBUS -- Ohio probes campaign giving by charter school operator David Brennan, Mark Rollenhagen, Cleveland Plain Dealer.


Apr 11: Payday surprises
First, the revelation about Joyce Beatty. Then, the House speaker opts to accelerate needed legislation that would corral harmful lending

COLUMBUS -- "Speaker Jon Husted intends to move legislation revising payday-lending laws out of the Ohio House within two weeks. The promise of swift action comes as a welcome surprise, as does the indication that the revised legislation likely will lower interest rates on payday loans. The turn of events amounts to evidence as well of the value gained from a little sunshine in the form of disclosure. During the past year, consumer advocates have pressed hard for changes in state law that would tighten payday regulations, among other things, lowering the high interest rates lenders charge on the short-term loans. Advocates have cited the harm from business practices that trap borrowers in a cycle of debt. The drive to cap interest rates, in particular, has drawn fierce resistance from the industry, which supports proposals that do not include rate caps," Akron Beacon Journal.

COLUMBUS -- Democrats call on Husted for vote on payday bill, Jim Siegel, Columbus Dispatch.


Apr 11: Less haste, more thought

COLUMBUS -- "The wheels of government grind slowly, except, of course, when some agency has the temerity to try to protect itself from state officials looting its resources to fund other projects. Then those wheels can whirl at the speed of light, as the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation found out on Tuesday when lawmakers took less than a day to prepare, pass, and send to the governor a bill siphoning $230 million from the anti-smoking agency. When the plundering was done, Gov. Ted Strickland said the agency should be content with the $40 million he and Republican leaders in the House and Senate had left it. 'That's a lot of money, and I think if used wisely, appropriately, and judiciously, could have extended the efforts they were engaged in for a long time.' Giving that the foundation's budget...is somewhat more than $40 million per year, one suspects that more than the usual degree of wisdom may be needed for it to continue to provide these needed and effective services," Toledo Blade.

COLUMBUS -- Ohio tobacco settlement funds are put off-limits, Jim Provance, Toledo Blade.


Apr 11: GOP-Dem deal could be unraveling
County Commission seats might become races again

CINCINNATI -- "A controversial deal between Hamilton County's Democratic and Republican parties could be falling through - despite efforts by party leaders to keep it intact. Work is under way to sway the Democratic Party's Central Committee to override a deal made by its chairman, Tim Burke, by endorsing a candidate in a Hamilton County Commission race. Burke would have no power to veto the decision. Burke and then-Republican Chairman George Vincent last year made a last-minute, unprecedented deal in which they agreed that their parties would not endorse anyone to run against the opposing party's candidates in the November County Commission race, among others. All of this is important to voters because many of them were upset about the deal. They thought that the parties were taking away their choices. If the deal unravels, it could boost their confidence in the system," Jessica Brown, Cincinnati Enquirer.


Apr 10: Husted cites support for payday-loan cap
Speaker wants a bill passed in 2 weeks

COLUMBUS -- "House Speaker Jon Husted said yesterday that he senses growing support in his caucus for a lower interest-rate cap on payday lenders, and he wants a bill passed within two weeks. It's the first acknowledgement by a Republican House leader that support exists for a rate cap -- the most contentious issue in the debate over how to regulate the short-term, high-interest loan industry. Some wounds had to be healed yesterday after members learned this week that House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty's husband, Otto, has been working as a registered lobbyist in Virginia for Dublin-based CheckSmart. 'Full disclosure is very important in the legislative process, that you make your colleagues aware of the relationships that you have,' said Senate Minority Leader Ray Miller, D-Columbus, who also has been pushing for tougher payday-lending regulations. But Miller sees a possible silver lining. 'It seems like the revelations are helping to speed the passage of the bill,' he said," Jim SiegelColumbus Dispatch.

COLUMBUS -- Details still lacking in tardy reports on campaign finances, Jim Siegel, Columbus Dispatch.

COLUMBUS -- Payday lending bill will have cap: "Rep. Beatty said Wednesday that her husband 'absolutely did not' listen to discussions about payday lending," Aaron Marshall, Cleveland Plain Dealer.


Apr 10: Anti-tobacco foundation sues to prevent $230 million transfer to state

COLUMBUS -- "The group behind Ohio’s anti-smoking campaign Wednesday sued Ohio’s treasurer to prevent him from transferring $230 million of the group’s funds to help finance a proposed $1.57 billion jobs package pushed by Gov. Ted Strickland and legislative leaders. The suit is just the latest shot fired in the war over Ohio’s tobacco prevention dollars, which came from the state’s multi-billion-dollar settlement with major cigarette manufacturers like Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds. In lightning speed by legislative standards, lawmakers on Tuesday swiftly amended an unrelated bill to immediately confiscate the money before the transfer could take place. The governor signed the law, and Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray said he intended to comply with its provisions," Jim Provance, Toledo Blade.


Apr 10: Cities, schools stung by higher election costs

CLEVELAND -- "Skyrocketing election costs sent Cuyahoga County city and school officials reeling when they opened their bills earlier this month. The Board of Elections charged municipalities and school districts a total of $5.8 million for 2007 elections - about $4 million more than the last round of costs passed on to cities and school districts. Many mayors said the board gave them no warning about the higher costs. 'It's totally ridiculous,' said Parma Mayor Dean DePiero, whose city was charged $273,910. 'This has been totally mismanaged.' The city was charged $50,189 for the comparable 2005 election cycle. The increased costs are the result of a new state law that directs boards to pass along labor costs for temporary help. The 2007 charges also are higher because it is the first year costs associated with electronic voting have been passed on," Joe Guillen, Cleveland Plain Dealer.


Apr 9: Editorial: An appropriate fine

COLUMBUS -- "With a record $5.2 million in fines against an unregistered political action committee, the Ohio Election Commission has - finally - begun to put some real teeth in state election law. Hitherto prone to handing out comparative slap-on-the-wrist penalties, the commission last week put the big bite on a Michigan-based group called All Children Matter, which promotes charter schools and political candidates who favor them. To its credit, the panel acted on a unanimous 5-0 vote, putting a bipartisan exclamation point on its decision and snuffing any claim of partisan motives. That didn't stop the attorney for All Children Matter, William Todd, from insisting the contribution in question amounted to merely a 'technical violation' of the law and muttering darkly about 'a level of antipathy behind this that is hard to understand.' As Catherine Turcer, of the Ohio Citizen Action advocates, put it, 'This firmly says our campaign finance laws matter. Our limits are there for a reason and you can't just go to another state to circumvent the law,' " Toledo Blade.


Apr 9: Editorial: Ohio House Minority Leader Beatty's reluctance to reform payday-lending laws might be traced to her husband's client list
Revelation of husband's work for payday lender might explain Beatty's reluctance to be a reformer

COLUMBUS -- "Ohio House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty may land a chapter in the Annals of Statehouse Hypocrisy. The Plain Dealer revealed Tuesday that Beatty's husband (and House predecessor), Columbus lawyer Otto Beatty Jr., is registered to lobby in Virginia for CheckSmart, a payday lender based in suburban Columbus with 106 outlets in Ohio. Now that Columbus knows what Richmond knows, Mrs. Beatty emphasizes that she favors, as she claims she always has favored, payday-lending reform. She said her husband's CheckSmart work, which began after she initially opposed the bill, is, in effect, a coincidence. And Otto Beatty said he's not trying to influence anybody in Ohio. But even if people don't talk, money does," Cleveland Plain Dealer.

COLUMBUS -- Speaker tires of waiting on bill over payday loans, Jim Siegel, Columbus Dispatch.


Apr 9: Butler Co. votes not counted
Computer cards for 105 ballots didn't upload correctly

CINCINNATI -- "A recently discovered computer glitch caused at least 105 votes in West Chester to go missing after the March 4 primary election, Butler County election officials said. Two computer cards containing votes from touch-screen voting machines were not uploaded on election night - even though the computer reported that all cards had been read. Those votes have since been counted and were included in final, official results approved last week. 'Quite frankly, if it's off by five votes or 105 votes, I want to know what's causing it. Especially if it's a close election,' McGary said, 'If we cannot produce accurate and reliable numbers, then it throws the entire process in question, and that's not something we want to have happen,' Butler County has reported the error to the Ohio Secretary of State's office and to Premier. The Secretary of State's office is watching the investigation, said spokesman Jeff Ortega. It's unknown how widespread the problem could be," Gregory Korte, Cincinnati Enquirer.


Apr 9: Lawmakers too quick for tobacco foundation
Group tried to move funds out of Strickland's reach

COLUMBUS -- "Ohio's anti-tobacco watchdogs tried to pull a fast one last week, but they were thwarted yesterday when legislators and Gov. Ted Strickland pulled an even faster one. State leaders needed just three hours -- light speed compared with the way business is usually handled -- to introduce, approve and enact into law an emergency measure preventing the Tobacco Use Prevention Foundation from dumping its account before lawmakers can get their hands on the money. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids condemned the action. 'In 1998, Ohio's leaders made a public commitment to use a portion of the hundreds of millions of dollars the state would receive under the state tobacco settlement to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit,' the group's president, Matthew L. Myers, said in a written statement. 'Today's decision … breaks that promise.' In an attempt to stop a raid of their funds, foundation trustees voted Friday to transfer $190 million of the endowment to three health-related nonprofit organizations out of reach of Strickland and legislative leaders," Jim Siegel and James Nash, Columbus Dispatch.


Apr 8: Husband of Democratic leader State Rep. Joyce Beatty lobbies for payday lender

COLUMBUS -- "The husband of Ohio House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty is a registered lobbyist for CheckSmart, an Ohio-based payday lender with 106 outlets in the Buckeye State. Otto Beatty Jr., a former, longtime state representative whose wife was appointed to his seat in 1999, registered in mid-January as a lobbyist in Virginia with CheckSmart, based in Dublin, Ohio, near Columbus. The news about Otto Beatty, who declined to say how much he was paid by CheckSmart, comes as Ohio lawmakers consider a number of bills that would regulate Ohio's fast-growing payday lending industry. 'There is no impropriety here, nor am I trying to influence anyone about payday lending,' said Otto Beatty, who described his work on behalf of CheckSmart as legal consulting. 'I don't do that in Ohio.' Otto Beatty declined to specify what kind of legal consulting work he does for CheckSmart and said he didn't recall how he came to be working for the company," Aaron Marshall, Cleveland Plain Dealer.


Apr 8: GOP accuses Brunner of being unfair
Final brief claims Democrats now have control of elections board

COLUMBUS -- "Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner disrupted the balance of power at the Summit County elections board by taking a fellow Democrat's advice in making a Republican appointment to the board, according to a brief filed Monday with the Ohio Supreme Court. 'There is nothing "fair" about allowing a key official of one political party to manipulate the county elections board process under (state law) in a way that gives that party the ability to control the appointment of three of the four members to a county elections board,' Grendell said in the 20-page brief — the last required to be filed in the case. Assistant Attorney General Richard Coglianese, who is representing Brunner, said in a brief filed last week that it wasn't 'unreasonable' for Brunner to ask for Jones' input. He said Brunner was under a deadline for making appointments to elections boards across Ohio. Coglianese also said Brunner's actions helped 'foster bipartisan cooperation,' which she is hoping to promote at the Summit elections board. He said Brunner had reason to believe Daley wouldn't be a good appointee, while Varian would serve well," Stephanie Warsmith, Akron Beacon Journal.

Elections administration improvement recommendations from Election Law @ Moritz: "Our primary recommendation is for Ohio to establish greater bipartisan ownership of its statewide election system."


Apr 7: Editorial: Transparency matters
The Ohio Elections Commission appropriately lowers the boom

COLUMBUS -- "The Ohio Elections Commission presented a welcome surprise last week — in a unanimous, bipartisan package. The five-member body issued record fines of more than $5 million against two closely affiliated, pro-charter school political action committees. The committees, backed by Akron industrialist and charter-school operator David Brennan, were justifiably hammered for illegally funneling $870,000 to Ohio candidates in 2006. The essential point the elections commission correctly underscored with its record fines is the need for transparency in the political system. In order to make an informed judgment at the polls, Ohio voters must have access to information about the source and amounts of campaign contributions. All Children Matter left those principles behind when it arranged for a torrent of political cash to flow from Virginia to Ohio," Akron Beacon Journal.


Apr 7: Cuyahoga set to trade vote system again
State requires new equipment

CLEVELAND -- "Cuyahoga County is set to overhaul its voting system for a third straight major election. The county spent $1.5 million renting "central count" optical-scan voting equipment for the March primary, after scrapping, in December, a $21 million touch-screen system that was less than 2 years old. Cuyahoga needs different equipment for the November presidential election because state legislators have outlawed the "central count" method because it does not inform a voter at a polling location if a ballot was filled out incorrectly. The county Board of Elections wants a system that lets a voter scan a paper ballot at the polls. Scanners are a check for errors before memory cards record votes. Board officials, though, are not sure if they will rent or buy. County Administrator Dennis Madden wants a decision soon, to budget for the cost. Purchase could run between $10 million and $15 million, not including buying ballots. Rental costs are unknown," Joe Guillen, Cleveland Plain Dealer.


Apr 7: Wine shipping-ban fix won't change much

COLUMBUS -- "Ohio wine drinkers who are still fuming over a ban on out-of-state shipments from large producers will be disappointed by a Geauga County lawmaker's latest attempt to get them some relief. State lawmakers cut a behind-the-scenes deal and enacted the ban without public discussion as part of the state budget passed last June. The ban, the result of a lobbying effort by the powerful Wholesale Beer and Wine Association as well as Ohio wineries, prohibits wineries producing more than 150,000 gallons a year from shipping directly to Ohio consumers. Dolan worked to have a provision slipped into a Senate bill that would raise the cap to 250,000 gallons. 'I've been getting a lot of pushback, and it's the best that I could do,' he said," Aaron Marshall, Cleveland Plain Dealer.


Apr 4: PAC is fined 5.2 million
Ohio ethics panel says charter school group tied to Brennan illegally transferred funds

COLUMBUS -- "The Ohio Elections Commission slammed a pro-charter school political action committee with a record $5.2 million in fines for illegally funneling money to Republican candidates in 2006. The commission on Thursday fined the All Children Matter Ohio political action committee and the All Children Matter Virginia PAC $2.6 million each, said Philip Richter, the commission's executive director. The commission ruled that the Virginia PAC, which was not registered in Ohio, illegally transferred money to the Ohio PAC. Catherine Turcer, director of the Money and Politics Project for Ohio Citizen Action, was pleased and surprised by the commission's decision. She said the commission normally is 'toothless,' giving only slaps on the wrist for election law violations. 'This firmly says: "Our campaign finance laws matter. Our limits are there for a reason and you can't just go to another state to circumvent the law," ' Turcer said," John Higgins and Stephanie Warsmith, Akron Beacon Journal.

COLUMBUS -- Elections panel sets record $5.2 million fine, Jim Siegel, Columbus Dispatch.


Apr 3: Justice Maureen O'Connor says campaign money doesn't affect her

CLEVELAND -- "In 2006, the Ohio Supreme Court found itself sweating beneath the national spotlight. The New York Times had run a damning article detailing how the court routinely favors those providing hefty campaign contributions. According to the paper's research, justices ruled on behalf of donors 70 percent of the time. Some, like Terrence O'Donnell of Rocky River, sided with the money 91 percent of the time. The court, obviously, was none too happy to be called out in the national press. It's an issue that still stings today. Ask Justice Maureen O'Connor about it, and be prepared for a full frontal attack. Her tone grows sharp and defensive, flooded with annoyance. The Times numbers were inflated, she claims, and she resents the implication that she's selling her vote. 'Do you know what you're even talking about?' she demands. But there's a reason behind her hostility. O'Connor will go before voters this fall, and she has much to be defensive about," Denise Grollmus, Cleveland Scene.


Apr 3: Jim Underwood: Jefferson would embrace records access that Moyer finds disturbing

COLUMBUS -- "Tom Moyer, meet my friend Tom Jefferson. Tom Jefferson, meet the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, who wants to save us from ourselves by reducing rather than expanding Ohio's public-records law. Moyer and his band of public-records revisionists would have us believe that technology requires us to rethink what records Ohio courts should permit us to see. It seems that Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com and MySpace.com have created a dangerous world where information by citizens can be accessed in a New York minute. Dear God, the very idea that citizens should have ready access to information about their courts and government. Just what is this world coming to? It was my friend Tom Jefferson way back in 1787 who championed the idea of making information about government and government documents readily accessible to citizens. I have to believe that if he were alive today, he would rejoice at the advancement of technology that enables people to have instant access to their government with but a few key-strokes in front of a computer screen," Jim Underwood, Columbus Dispatch.


Apr 3: Now that the state can add up its overtime, where's the lid?

COLUMBUS -- "If you read Sunday's paper, you saw that overtime paid to state employees rocketed upward by 16 percent last year. The increase, which came at the same time Gov. Ted Strickland was touting the need for austerity in tight budget times, almost equaled those from the previous six years combined. What you didn't see is how big a revelation this increase was to the Strickland administration. That's because their fancy new bazillion-dollar Ohio Administrative Knowledge System, know as OAKS, couldn't tell them. Ever since the Voinovich administration, Dispatch Statehouse Reporter Alan Johnson has been requesting the payroll database of state employees, which shows how much each received the previous year in taxpayer dollars for salary, overtime, sick leave, etc. But since the state converted to OAKS last year, the data suddenly became unavailable. It took dedicated Department of Administrative Services workers several weeks to reconstruct the information. Johnson had to send them examples from the past databases The Dispatch had obtained before they could put the new report together," Darrell Rowland, Columbus Dispatch.


Apr 2: Fair Courts: Setting Recusal Standards

NEW YORK -- "The paper describes the increasing threats to the impartiality of America's state courts and argues that they have been spurred by two trends: the growing influence of money in judicial elections and the dismantling of codes of judicial ethics that once helped to preserve the distinctive character of the judiciary, even during the course of campaigns for the bench. While acknowledging that more sweeping—and controversial—measures are ultimately needed to fully address the emerging threats to impartial courts, this paper focuses on how judges, courts, legislators, and litigants can maximize the due process protection that stronger recusal rules potentially afford. Technically, there is a difference between disqualification and recusal—disqualification is mandatory, recusal is voluntary—but the difference is often blurred because in the many jurisdictions in which judges adjudicate challenges to their own qualification to sit, disqualification functions essentially as recusal. In this paper, we use the terms interchangeably but distinguish between mandatory and voluntary removal of a judge from a case," James Sample, David Pozen, and Michael Young, Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.


Apr 1: Scrutiny of 700 ballots foretells fall frustration
Elections panel joins in tedious resolutionof disputed votes

COLUMBUS -- "Members of the Franklin County Board of Elections got a glimpse yesterday of the hours of work it could take to review paper ballots after the November presidential election. The four board members inspected and determined what voters intended to mark on 700 ballots cast in the March 4 primary. The process dragged on more than five hours. The problem ballots had been set aside and left uncounted because of stray marks, water stains or other problems. Among about 325,000 ballots cast in the primary, about 100,000 were paper ballots, so the failure rate was 0.7 percent. Under the directive of Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, the four board members must vote on what they discern was the voters' intent," Jim Woods, Columbus Dispatch.


Apr 1: Cuyahoga County Board of Elections won't seek to prosecute voters who switched parties

CLEVELAND -- "The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections decided on Monday not to pursue criminal charges against voters who switched parties in the March 4 primary. The board had launched an investigation because some Republicans admitted to switching parties to benefit the GOP. Democratic board member Sandy McNair, who initiated the investigation, asked the board at Monday's meeting to subpoena a Westlake Republican who wrote 'Today Only' on his pledge card when he took a Democratic ballot. The three other board members, two Republicans and a Democrat, said they didn't want to force public testimony from the voter. Voters who switch parties in Ohio primaries must sign affidavits pledging allegiance to their new party. Lying on the forms is a fifth-degree felony punishable by six to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine," Joe Guillen, Cleveland Plain Dealer.


Apr 1: Ex-BWC adviser settles civil suit

CLEVELAND -- "The investment adviser found guilty of fraud last year in the loss of $216 million at the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation has agreed to pay $5 million to settle a civil case with the state. Mark D. Lay is not admitting wrongdoing. He is fighting to overturn the guilty verdict in the related federal criminal case but made 'a business decision' to stop contesting the state's civil lawsuit, his attorney said yesterday. 'He has to swallow hard to put this behind him because he needs to move on,' Columbus attorney Percy Squire said. A federal jury convicted Lay in October on charges of investment advisory fraud, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and two counts of mail fraud related to his handling of a hedge fund for the bureau. Lay is asking U.S. District Court Judge David D. Dowd Jr. in Akron to overturn the guilty verdicts or order a new trial. A hearing on that request is scheduled for May 5. If the request is denied, sentencing is set for May 27," Mark Niquette, Columbus Dispatch.


Mar 31: Thomas Suddes: Lobbyist-legislator-go-round makes merry with lots of money

COLUMBUS -- "Sixties-era California State Assembly Speaker Jesse "Big Daddy" Unruh said money is the mother's milk of politics. That makes the Ohio Statehouse a dairy farm. Fundraising has gone through the roof, paced by the idiocy of General Assembly term limits, which make a legislator's, not Ohio's, future preeminent. Object No. 1 of any state legislator: Get and stay elected by collecting donations from Statehouse lobbies, unions and rich people. Object No. 2: Share donations with fellow legislators of one's party so they, too, get and stay elected. That pays off in House or Senate leadership slots and committee chairmanships. Then: After swapping chambers to beat the term-limits clock, pry a plush job from the governor to pump up the ol' Public Employees Retirement System pension. These factors make fundraising as industrial as a Detroit assembly line," Thomas Suddes, Columbus Dispatch.


Mar 31: Way overtime
2007 payroll review

COLUMBUS -- "In the first year of Gov. Ted Strickland's administration, overtime shot up 16 percent and the total state payroll rose $116 million, even though there were fewer employees than in 2006. Those rolling up the big overtime payments included state troopers protecting the governor, firefighters at Air National Guard bases, medical personnel at state hospitals and prisons, and computer experts already making more than $50 an hour. Administrative Services spokesman Ron Sylvester said part of the jump resulted from the changeover in administrations, from Gov. Bob Taft to Strickland, the first Democratic governor in 16 years," Alan Johnson and Darrell Rowland, Columbus Dispatch.


Mar 28: Ohio counties vary in challenging crossover voters
There is a law against party-switching abuse, but experts say enforcement, clarity are lacking

COLUMBUS -- "Cuyahoga County elections officials challenged more than 20,000 voters in the March 4 Ohio primary who switched parties, requiring them to sign a form pledging support of their new party. Franklin County challenged none. A Dispatch review found wide discrepancies from county to county in how so-called crossover voters were treated at the polls on March 4. Officials in some counties challenged crossover voters on Election Day, but not if they voted absentee. Others, such as those in Butler County, challenged both. In Mahoning County, challenges were mandatory, but voters still got a ballot even if they refused to sign the form. Other counties' elections staffers instructed poll workers to challenge, but they suspect the directive was not carried out consistently from voting place to voting place. As a result, experts say it's time to review the state statute and decide whether Ohioans want primaries that are more open or closed. 'I think the lesson to be learned is that in Ohio, we need to figure out which model we want and then adopt a model we feel we can enforce,' said Edward B. 'Ned' Foley, director of an elections-law program at Ohio State University," Columbus Dispatch.


Mar 25: Lawyer says high court overreaching on control of court records

COLUMBUS -- "A leading open government advocate says the Ohio Supreme Court is exceeding its powers by trying to take control of state court records. Cleveland lawyer David Marburger, of the Ohio Coalition for Open Government, said a court-appointed commission drawing up rules on what court records the public should have access to does not have the constitutional authority to do so. 'When you give a small group of people, seven people, the power to decide what everyone should have access to, you have automatic mischief, maybe not intended mischief,' said Marburger, an open records attorney who represents The Plain Dealer and other Ohio newspapers. 'The court doesn't have this kind of power,' he said. 'The court is not a little legislature.' But Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger, one of the Supreme Court's seven justices and the chair of the Commission on the Rules of Superintendence for Ohio Courts, said Marburger is wrong," Reginald Fields, Cleveland Plain Dealer.

COLUMBUS -- Lawyer doubts court's authority over records, James Nash, Columbus Dispatch.

COLUMBUS -- Editorial: Court panel still stretching on court record rules, Cleveland Plain Dealer.


Mar 25: Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District board members violate open meetings law

CLEVELAND -- "Three trustees of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District violated Ohio's Open Meetings Act by secretly discussing the district's plans for spending hundreds of millions of taxpayers' dollars. Ohio's so-called Sunshine Law requires public bodies to notify the public and conduct business in open sessions, with the exception of some subjects like pending lawsuits. In this case, a three-member committee of the sewer district's seven-member board met privately March 4 to review and give recommendations for the district's proposed $321 million budget for 2008, according to minutes from the meeting. Fred Gittes, a Columbus civil rights lawyer and public records expert, said budget deliberations by a public body behind closed doors is a blatant violation of the law. He said the committee, just like the full board, is a public body. 'This is really a total disregard of the obligations of the open meetings law,' he said. 'They were obligated to provide notice to the public of the location, time and purpose of the meeting. And most importantly, the public should have been invited to attend,' " Michael O'Malley, Cleveland Plain Dealer.


Mar 25: Audit of vote count planned in counties

COLUMBUS -- "Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner plans a first-of-its-kind audit of votes from the March 4 presidential primaries, saying the outcome should help ensure the integrity of future elections. Brunner is calling on 11 counties to volunteer for the audit, in which at least 7 percent of the votes cast in each county would be rechecked by hand. Brunner's audit would cover both paper ballots read by optical scanners and electronic touch-screen voting machines. Brunner has proposed eliminating electronic voting before the November general election. 'During her campaign, Secretary of State Brunner talked about elections that could be audited or verified,' spokesman Jeff Ortega said. 'This is a further step toward that fulfillment.' A 2007 audit of Cuyahoga County's November 2006 election found a number of irregularities, including the loss of some ballots and others that were counted twice. Brunner praised that audit, which was ordered by the county board of elections, and suggested that other checks would be coming to ensure the accuracy of polling across Ohio," James Nash, Columbus Dispatch.


Mar 25: Lobbying expenses shot up 52 percent last year

COLUMBUS -- "Lobbyists were busy in Columbus last year as legislators and Gov. Ted Strickland hammered out the $52.3 billion two-year state budget. Overall lobbying expenditures shot up by more than 52 percent from 2006 - from $349,756 to $533,150, according to a report released last Tuesday, March 18, by the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee. The amount spend on lobbying usually goes up in budget years, said Tony Bledsoe, legislative inspector general. The top three spending groups were: the Wholesale Beer and Wine Association, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and Equality Ohio, which advocates for fair treatment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens," William Hershey, Dayton Daily News.


Mar 24: More lobbyists disclose spending

Filing-law compliance jumps as state watchdog raises risk of charges, provides training

COLUMBUS -- "Far fewer lobbyists are getting into trouble these days for failing to disclose how much they're spending on government officials. A year ago, Legislative Inspector General Tony Bledsoe was trying to coax 655 lobbyists and their employers into submitting overdue financial-disclosure statements. Today, the number is 48. 'I think this is a significant increase' in compliance, Bledsoe said. 'Is it perfect? No. But I'm very happy with the response we saw.' State law requires lobbyists -- and businesses that employ lobbyists -- to report three times a year how much money they are spending on receptions, gifts or other perks for public officials," Jim Siegel, Columbus Dispatch.

CINCINNATI -- Editorial: School district record on records lousy, Gregory Korte, Cincinnati Enquirer.


Mar 24: Commentary: Crossover voters not at fault; fix rules

COLUMBUS -- "Illinois lawmakers rejected a proposal to create open primaries in the state. But before the March 4 vote, the bill's sponsor said that open primaries 'show the people that we trust the people.' 'Let's have some faith in the voters,' continued state Rep. Raymond Poe, a Springfield Republican. The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections doesn't appear to share Poe's faith and is, unfortunately, calling for a witch hunt. Board members have ordered an investigation to determine whether any of the 16,000 Republicans in Cuyahoga County who switched parties on March 4 did so to back the Democratic candidate they presume would be weaker in a general-election race against John McCain," Ann Fisher, Columbus Dispatch.


Mar 20: Sunshine Week: Your right to know

CINCINNATI -- "Without the 'sunshine' of public records and open meetings, the stories on Sunday's front page about foreclosures in Ohio and Kentucky and the mysterious closing of the Warren County Board of Elections in 2004 would be closed to you. 'Sunshine' is the antiseptic for government corruption and bureaucratic incompetence in an open society. This week we celebrate this openness by looking at records that have an impact on the daily business of life in our community. Want to buy a house? Imagine trying to do it without being able to have your lawyer do a title search. Concerned about curriculum changes or tax levies in your local schools? You wouldn't ever find out about such things if the school board met in private or didn't publish an agenda. Without openness, we would have very little to tell you. Stories would be little more than isolated bits of fluff around the blacked-out meat of news," Cincinnati Enquirer.


Mar 19: Details still lacking in tardy reports on campaign finances

COLUMBUS -- "Questions about Senate Minority Leader Ray Miller's campaign-finance activity didn't end when the Ohio Elections Commission fined him $1,500 in late February. Though the Columbus Democrat filed years' worth of delinquent reports, many details are missing. The secretary of state's office might ask him to justify some of his campaign spending, such as the nearly $20,000 mingled with his private business interests from 2006 to 2007, including rent for an office across from the Statehouse. 'I have always conducted a lot of political activity from my business office,' Miller said. 'A few years ago, I just decided that I should be reimbursed for all of the political time that was being spent in my business office,' " Jim Siegel, Columbus Dispatch.


Mar 19: Editorial: Brunner is too fond of battles fought behind the scenes

CLEVELAND -- "When Jennifer Brunner ran for secretary of state in 2006, she said all of the right things about restoring faith in Ohio's elections machinery. She seemed to understand that the voting process must be open and transparent. The only secret at the polls should be what's on an individual's ballot. [T]he administration of elections is by definition a matter of high public interest. Thus questions about Brunner's decisions needed to be aired in public. And she needed to answer them, not refer them to an underling. The buck stops with her. Brunner promised a professional elections system, not a partisan one. Her testimony suggests that she's as unclear on that concept as she is on the public's right to know," Cleveland Plain Dealer.


Mar 19: Editorial: Shedding light on pay-to-play appraisals

CINCINNATI -- "This Thursday, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office will auction off 93 foreclosed properties worth almost $9 million at the courthouse. That much is a matter of public record, published weekly in the Cincinnati Court Index. But how does the sheriff put a price tag on these broken dreams? Sheriff Simon L. Leis Jr. would rather you not ask. The sheriff's execution officer, Sgt. Ricky Snow, will refuse to answer questions about basic aspects of the sheriff's sale process. (He'll discuss it with bankers and bidders, but sheriff's policy prohibits any deputy from talking to the press - and, therefore, the public.) So I asked for public records relating to the appraisers. Who does them? What are their qualifications? How much are they paid? The sheriff's office denied that any such records existed. The story was fleshed out by other public records: State appraiser licenses (half of the sheriff's men would be unqualified to do the work in the private sector), voter registrations (all but one are registered Republicans), and campaign finance reports (they gave a combined $20,325 to the sheriff's re-election campaign over the past four years). Without public records laws, that kind of cronyism would reach the level of a Stage IV cancer," Gregory Korte, Cincinnati Enquirer.

CLEVELAND -- Editorial: Government e-mail? The law should say it's for you, Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Mar 18: Brunner tape now public

COLUMBUS -- "The videotape that Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner tried hard to keep private is now public. The tape shows a deposition of Brunner in a lawsuit before the Ohio Supreme Court. It's a case in which the Summit County Republican Party is suing Brunner after she failed to accept the party's recommendation to appoint Brian K. Daley to the county Board of Elections. At one point, a disgusted Grendell throws down a stack of documents in front of Brunner and Coglianese quickly says for the record that Grendell 'threw the exhibits at the secretary of state.' Grendell later apologizes. At another point, Grendell is frustrated over Coglianese's objections and says, 'I don't know what law school you went to, but I'm following the procedures.' That prompts Coglianese to reply, 'Mr. Grendell, I have had enough with your insults. One more and this deposition is over,' " Mark Niquette, Columbus Dispatch.


Mar 18: Editorial: Open meetings vital to open society

CINCINNATI -- "Open government is about more than open records. This week is Sunshine Week, a national initiative by journalists, activists, librarians, historians, educators and others concerned about government secrecy. The emphasis is on public records laws - your right to know what government is doing by following the paper trail. Almost as important is the Public Records Act's less famous sibling. The Ohio Open Meetings Act requires decision-making bodies - school boards, state commissions, city councils and others - to do business in an open session anyone can attend. In Kentucky, a similar law declares that 'formation of public policy is public business and shall not be conducted in secret,' " Gregory Korte, Cincinnati Enquirer.


Mar 17: Editorial: Sunshine Week

The struggle to shed light on government is never-ending

COLUMBUS -- "National Sunshine Week, which kicks off today, is a reminder of the value of open government, which is the foundation of a free society. Fights over open government usually, but not always, pit journalists against government officials who want to shield their activities from public scrutiny. So people outside the news media might not see how this issue affects them. But it does, because journalists cannot report to the public what government is doing unless government actions are open to examination. A 2004 statewide audit of public offices carried out by news organizations found that in roughly half of the cases, officials failed to comply with state law on making data available upon request. Access to government records allows the news media and concerned citizens to root out government corruption, cover-ups, miscarriages of justice, violations of civil rights and other bad behavior. When government officials do wrong, any member of the public could become a victim. Open government protects everyone," Columbus Dispatch.

CINCINNATI -- Editorial: Leave government's doors open, Cincinnati Enquirer.


Mar 17: Editorial: Memos showed Duke energy deals

CINCINNATI -- "The information age has heralded an unprecedented level of transparency at all levels of government and society. But is there such a thing as too much disclosure? The Enron collapse, for example, wasn't so much a failure of disclosure as it was a failure of analysis. As Malcolm Gladwell wrote in the New Yorker last year, 'You can't blame Enron for covering up the existence of its side deals. It didn't; it disclosed them.' And neither was disclosure the issue with Duke Energy's $22 million in controversial payments to favored customers in exchange for an agreement not to complain to state regulators about rate hikes. All of it was there, for anyone who knew where to look, on the Web site of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. But - you had to know where to look. Too much disclosure is not a bad thing - but it still takes a vigilant press and public to connect the dots," Greg Korte, Cincinnati Enquirer.

COLUMBUS -- E-mail a challenge for archivists, Julie Carr Smyth, Cincinnati Enquirer.


Mar 17: Plans to hide court records cut back

COLUMBUS -- "Birthdays, home addresses and the last four digits of Social Security numbers of people whose names show up in court files likely will remain public information, after an Ohio Supreme Court panel yesterday backed away from plans to close off the records. With about 50 letters and e-mail messages in hand, many critical of the proposed secrecy, the court's Commission on the Rules of Superintendence discarded a few of the most controversial provisions at its meeting at the Ohio Supreme Court Building Downtown. Those included hiding information such as dates of birth and the last four digits of Social Security numbers, as well as reports from court-appointed investigators and proper names in mental-health commitment cases," James Nash, Columbus Dispatch.

COLUMBUS -- Adopting rules on access to public records constitutional, panel says, James Provance, Toledo Blade.

COLUMBUS -- The public questions the Ohio Supreme Court rules on open records, Reginald Fields, Cleveland Plain Dealer.


Mar 17: County's voting machines examined

Brunner triggers state probe by reporting that fall ballot apparently masked a name

COLUMBUS -- "When Jennifer Brunner cast her vote last fall, she is certain she saw something so odd on her touch-screen voting machine that it prompted a state criminal investigation into the Franklin County Board of Elections. At least 15 of the county's electronic machines are under double-lock at an Alum Creek warehouse. It is being treated as a crime scene. County elections officials asked the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation to seize the machines during the investigation by Attorney General Marc Dann and forensics consultants. In all, the state is expected to spend as much as $48,000 to divine what Brunner saw -- or didn't see. Investigators already have found that many of the county's voting machines weren't tested before the November election. And a function that tracked changes to the machines was purposely turned off. When she voted on Nov. 6, Brunner said she was surprised to see a gray bar and the words 'candidate withdrawn' where Democrat Jay Perez's name ought to have been," Barbara Carmen, Columbus Dispatch.


Mar 17: Editorial: A mediocre court

TOLEDO -- "When it comes to judicial innovation and prestige, don't look to the Ohio Supreme Court. That's the lesson we draw from a study out of California that ranked the legal influence of the highest courts of each state since 1940 based on how often their opinions were adopted by courts around the country. The study, described in an essay in the December issue of the law review of the University of California at Davis, puts the Ohio Supreme Court in the lower reaches of such influence - 43rd among the 50 states. California is at the top. California, like most other states rated highly in the study, employs a version of nonpartisan merit selection, in which judges are initially appointed by the governor from qualified individuals chosen by a nonpartisan nominating council. Voters later choose whether to retain them. virtually all of the top-ranked courts were in states with some form of judicial merit selection. That means their judges are likely to be chosen more for their legal scholarship and judgment and less for raw political concerns. In 1987, Ohio voters defeated a ballot measure that would have instituted a merit-selection system. It's time the issue is raised again. To his credit, Gov. Ted Strickland revived, during his first year in office, the idea of an informal nominating council for judges, although it is too early to determine how it's working. But as long as Ohio allows its judiciary to be chosen mostly on the basis of politics instead of ability, this state is unlikely to ever have a Supreme Court truly worthy of the title," Toledo Blade.


Mar 14: Brunner can't keep deposition video private

COLUMBUS -- "The Ohio Supreme Court has denied Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's request to keep private a videotape of her deposition in a lawsuit, rejecting Brunner's concerns it could be used against her in campaign ads. Yesterday's ruling was the third time this week that Brunner lost arguments before the state's highest court. Justices also denied her request to stop the deposition and to prevent it from being videotaped. The case involves a challenge by the Summit County Republican Party to Brunner's decision to reject the party's recommendation to appoint Brian K. Daley to a seat on the Summit County Board of Elections. Brunner, a Democrat, had sought unsuccessfully to block her deposition on grounds it was unnecessary and should not be required of a high-ranking government official without a compelling reason," Mark Niquette, Columbus Dispatch.


Mar 14: Editorial: Stifling dissent

Are touch-screen supporters in Brunner's sights?

COLUMBUS -- "The first statewide election on Jennifer Brunner's watch went smoothly, including voting in the 53 counties in Ohio that used electronic touch-screen machines. A tiny fraction of voters took advantage of the secretary of state's directive that paper ballots be provided as an alternative. Still, Brunner pushes for the elimination of touch screens by the fall election, substituting with paper ballots and optical scanners. Her pursuit remains an expensive and potentially disruptive proposition. Has Brunner, a Democrat, squelched dissent on this issue? In at least two situations recently examined by the Columbus Dispatch, election officials who resisted Brunner's drive to eliminate touch-screen voting got the sack," Akron Beacon Journal.


Howard Metzenbaum | 1917-2008
Mar 13: Former Ohio senator Howard Metzenbaum dies in Florida

WASHINGTON -- "Howard M. Metzenbaum, who retired in 1994 after 19 years in the Senate, died tonight at 9:15 at home in Florida. He was 90. Juanita Powe, his assistant for 45 years, said his wife and four daughters were with him. Over the past few years he had been living a quiet retirement. Before his health declined in the past year, he enjoyed tennis, swimming, travel and time with his family. Metzenbaum was one of the Senate's wealthiest members, yet he prospered in politics for more than half a century as a champion of working men and women. Metzenbaum's outlook was forged by the Depression, and his politics by Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. He achieved near-legendary status as a foe of big business, an advocate for consumer causes, and a tough infighter blocking scores of special interest bills," Cleveland Plain Dealer.

WASHINGTON -- Longtime Ohio senator dies at 90, Lee Leonard, Columbus Dispatch.


Mar 13: Record number vote absentee in primary

COLUMBUS -- "Ohio's top elections official says about 500,000 voters cast absentee ballots for last week's election, a record for a primary. The 503,601 voters who voted absentee represent about 14 percent of the total number of ballots that were cast during the March 4 election, which also had a record turnout for a primary. Officials expected an absentee record because it was the first presidential primary in which voters could vote absentee without having to give a reason," Dayton Daily News.

COLUMBUS -- Record number of voters used absentee option; few at polls asked for paper, Mark Niquette, Columbus Dispatch.


Mar 13: Ohio TV ads for Clinton, Obama cost nearly $8 million

CLEVELAND -- "Television advertising for Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama cost about $8 million in Ohio leading up to the hotly contested March 4 primary. In total, Ohio television viewers saw more than 19,000 television spots for the two Democrats in three weeks before the vote. Neither Republican candidate John McCain nor Mike Huckabee bought any ads. And, researchers said more than 20 percent of Clinton's messages had negative content, while less than 5 percent of Obama's was negative. Goldstein and others say that ads in Ohio bought by special interest groups are likely a signal of ads that will appear across the country in the general election. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) broadcast about 2,500 spots for Obama, costing a combined $1 million," V. David Sartin, Cleveland Plain Dealer.

CINCINNATI -- Primary TV ads: 3,383 here, Jessica Brown, Cincinnati Enquirer.


Mar 13: The problems with all-mail elections

COLUMBUS -- "With the Clinton and Obama camps at odds over whether to seat Florida and Michigan delegates, the idea of holding an all-mail election has emerged as a possible solution. The New York Times reports today that Democratic Party officials are "close to completing a draft plan" for a mail-in primary in Florida that would take place in early June. Proponents of all-mail voting often cite Oregon's experience in support of their arguments. If they can do it, the argument goes, why can't we? Even if one believes that all-mail voting works well in a smaller and relatively homogeneous state like Oregon, there's reason to be very cautious about exporting it to larger, more heterogeneous states. These concerns are especially acute in states such as Florida and Michigan, parts of which are covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. That means that any change to their election rules -- including an all-mail primary election -- would have to be precleared by the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. If the use of all-mail voting would have a retrogressive effect, making racial minorities worse off than they were before, then the change couldn't be made," Dan Tokaji, Election Law @ Moritz.


Mar 13: Ohio GOP: Airline paper tickets next target for Brunner?

COLUMBUS -- "Today, the Ohio GOP had some fun at Brunner's expense by pointing a story in USA Today that airlines largely are eliminating paper tickets in favor of those issued electronically. The newspaper reported that by the end of this year, more than 99% of airline tickets issued by travel agents are expected to be electronic, or e-tickets. Under the heading, 'Will Jennifer Brunner go after the airlines next?' the GOP sent out an e-mail today with the USA Today report and the comment, 'Don’t tell Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner about this story – she might want to commission a study about airline e-ticket systems, demand that 10 percent of all tickets be provided on paper, then demand that we "decertify" electronic systems and return to all paper tickets,' " Mark Niquette, Columbus Dispatch.


Mar 12: The Pew Center on the States: Grading the States 2008 Report

WASHINGTON -- "When the Ohio House and Senate both passed the state budget unanimously last year, it was the first time that had happened since the 1920s. The calm in Columbus was all the more surprising because, with a newly elected Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled legislature, Ohio had a divided government for the first time in more than a decade. The universal unpopularity of former Governor Bob Taft—he left office at the end of 2006 with an approval rating in the single digits—certainly was a factor that encouraged state leaders of both parties to push for a new climate. But, to their credit, they didn’t do this by throwing out Taft’s positive management initiatives. For the ambitious Turnaround Ohio plan to have a chance at success, Ohio needs to invest in human capital planning," Pew Charitable Trusts.


WASHINGTON -- Ohio government earns B-minus on how well it runs, Jonathan Riskind, Columbus Dispatch>.


Mar 11: A conversation with Legislative Inspector General Tony Bledsoe

COLUMBUS -- On February 15, 2008, Legislative Inspector General Tony Bledsoe held a workshop for lobbyists to help improve compliance with Ohio law. Catherine Turcer, director of the Money in Politics Project spoke with him about the workshop and ideas for future changes to the system of lobbyist disclosure. The Legislative Inspector General accepts and reviews the disclosure statements required from lobbyists in the state of Ohio and any complaints filed with the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee. "People have stereotypes of lobbyists but they, in fact, represent a wide variety of interests: corporate, campaign finance reform, agriculture--which may or may not be corporate. Nearly every Ohioan is represented by lobbyists. Contrary to popular belief, ordinary people are lobbyists."


Mar 11: Editorial: Parties shouldn't require loyalty oaths at the polls

CLEVELAND -- "In theory, Ohio is an 'open' primary state. A registered voter can request a ballot for whichever party he or she chooses - regardless of previous preference. In a 'closed' primary system, a voter needs to declare a party affiliation by some pre-election deadline - only members get a ballot on Election Day. Both systems have critics and proponents. An open system encourages broader participation; loosely affiliated voters may opt for the party with the more interesting or more competitive races. A closed system gives parties some assurance that the people selecting their nominees have more than a passing allegiance. But Ohio's open system contains an odd wrinkle: Voters who switch their affiliation on Election Day are supposed to sign a statement that they support 'the principles of the political party' whose primary ballot they want. Anyone who signs this loyalty oath, but doesn't intend to honor it, can be prosecuted for 'election falsification,' a fifth-degree felony. Ohio needs to drop the Election Day loyalty oath. If nothing else, it would speed things at the polls and free election workers from what can be an awkward task. If the state's parties want a closed system, then change the law to create one. Otherwise, understand that open means open to anyone, for any reason - and even for a day," Cleveland Plain Dealer.


Mar 10: Are citizen panels equal to the task? Yes and no

COLUMBUS -- "Evaluating task forces is difficult, said Catherine Turcer of Ohio Citizen Action, a government watchdog group, 'because you genuinely cannot study away a problem.' 'Sometimes task forces can be very useful if they work on coming to a consensus and have a governing body that really works with them and listens to them,' she said. 'It makes sense to have a group of citizens and experts in the field really work through issues: What's good policy? What's bad policy? What are the options?' The problem, Turcer said, is that such groups are often ignored and used by officials to fulfill the perception that they have taken the necessary action," Martin Rozenman, Columbus Dispatch.


Mar 10: Brunner accused of punishing elections officials

COLUMBUS -- "In nearly five years on the Franklin County Common Pleas Court bench, Jennifer Brunner developed a reputation as a fair-minded judge. After a little more than a year as Ohio secretary of state, critics say, she is getting a different reputation: Oppose her plans or criticize her in public, and you'll pay the price. Brunner so far has refused to reappoint, sought to remove or fired at least eight county elections officials -- for reasons ranging from improper political activity to failure to follow the law. But critics suggest the real motivation, at least in some cases, was politics or retaliation for dissent -- especially against the changes she wants to make in state voting equipment," Mark Niquette, Columbus Dispatch.


Mar 10: Our view: Ohio's voting machines didn't disappoint yet

DAYTON -- " 'About the only thing we didn't get today were locusts,' Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner quipped on election night. She was referring to all manner of problems boards of elections had endured: power outages, including in Darke County; bomb threats in two counties; flooding in southeastern Ohio; a snow and ice storm in Cleveland; scattered ballot shortages; a few computer glitches; and orders by two courts to keep selected precincts in Cuyahoga and Sandusky counties open past closing time. Some of these problems happen every election, but last week's primary was indeed special. A record 3.5 million people voted, and most of them did so with relative ease," Dayton Daily News.


Mar 10: Ohio voter-crossover laws unevenly enforced

Some Democrats think ease of switching party affiliation undermined Obama's candidacy

DAYTON -- "Niaisha Casey, a 33-year-old Huber Heights resident and registered Democrat, said she voted for Barack Obama in the March 4 primary and is proud of it. But she's upset that the voter in front of her that day said he was a Republican but wanted to vote a Democratic ballot and was never challenged by poll workers, as state law requires. Edward B. Foley, director of the election law project at Ohio State University, said it's time for Ohio's legislators to take a closer look at the state's primary election rules after decades of looking the other way. 'If we like the current law, let's enforce it,' he said. 'If we don't, let's change it,' " Jim DeBrosse and Jessica Wehrman, Dayton Daily News.


Mar 7: Thomas J. Moyer: Wisconsin has a chance to improve faith in courts

COLUMBUS -- "Wisconsin is now grappling with a national trend -- a rise in special interest pressure on judicial races. Establishing a voluntary public financing system for races for the state's highest court would enhance public confidence in the judicial system and protect judges from both the reality and perception of undue influence. As in many other states, including my own state of Ohio, public confidence in the courts is being threatened under the weight of more aggressive, partisan and expensive judicial elections. Reform opportunities do not come along often, but Wisconsin appears to have a real chance. Late last year, partially in response to a record-breaking campaign, all seven members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court signed a letter supporting a voluntary public financing program. The people who know this problem best are asking for help," Thomas J. Moyer, Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, Capital Times.


Mar 7: At polls, paper got very few takers
Early figures revive touch-screen debate

COLUMBUS -- "Only a relative handful of voters in most counties with touch-screen voting machines took the option of marking a paper ballot, preliminary records from Tuesday's primary show. The totals submitted to the state so far range from zero paper ballots cast Tuesday in Morrow County to 1,817 in Lucas County, where all voters in at least one precinct were given paper ballots for a time because of problems with the machines. [T]he figures are sparking a debate about whether Ohioans think it's necessary to scrap touch-screens in favor of paper ballots statewide this fall, as Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner proposes," Mark Niquette, Columbus Dispatch.

AKRON -- Editorial: Votes of confidence, Akron Beacon Journal.


Mar 6: Brunner, GOP at odds on election technology's success

COLUMBUS -- "Ohio's top elections official and the Ohio Republican Party's second-in-command yesterday saw two entirely different elections. 'Paper ballots saved the day,' said Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, the Democrat presiding over her first presidential primary election. But Kevin DeWine, the state GOP's deputy chairman, countered: 'Not one electronic machine ran out of paper ballots. They don't rely on paper. It simply wasn't an issue.' After months of hand-wringing over electronic voting machines, much of the state's problems on Tuesday involved counties that don't use them," Jim Provance, Toledo Blade.

COLUMBUS -- Election largely seen as success, Brunner still committed to all-paper Nov. 4 vote, Mark Niquette, Cincinnati Enquirer.

COLUMBUS -- Brunner: Election system healthy, "When Gov. Ted Strickland was asked whether he supports Brunner's plan, he said it's a nice idea but that it would be costly. 'What is past is past and we can't go back and re-write history,' he said. 'But what we have to do now is provide a standard of common sense to how we deal with the present as we move into the future,' " Laura A. Bischoff, Dayton Daily News.

AKRON -- Dispute is paper tiger in this area, "Medina Elections Director Janet Pilat said, 'I don't think we had even one [paper ballot] (requested) per precinct, but we did have some who asked,' " John Higgins, Akron Beacon Journal.


Mar 6: Editorial: Successful voting in Cuyahoga County is worth a cheer and a sigh of relief

CLEVELAND -- "Election officials in Cuyahoga County made history on Tuesday. They con ducted a major election with a new voting system - and they did it without a major complication. Last Dec. 21, a mere 74 days before Ohio's presidential primary, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner ordered Cuyahoga County to scrap its touch-screen voting system and replace it with paper ballots counted by optical scanners. Given this county's nearly 40-year history of bungling the maiden voyages of voting systems, Brunner took a huge risk - a risk she acknowledged could impact her career. Thanks largely to the efforts of a team headed by Elections Director Jane Platten and the four-member vote board, Brunner's gamble paid off," Cleveland Plain Dealer.

CLEVELAND -- Brunner applauds Cuyahoga's handling of election, Mark Rollenhagen, Cleveland Plain Dealer.

CLEVELAND -- Obama campaign's ballot complaint has Board of Elections officials upset, Joe Guillen, Cleveland Plain Dealer.


Mar 6: Timely election results not in the cards for Lucas County

TOLEDO -- "Local elections officials yesterday morning finally found more than a dozen computerized voting machine memory cards in the back of a sheriff’s van and at the county’s elections office, making Lucas County the last in the state to file its election results — again. The county’s vote totals were sent to Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s office at about 11:45 a.m. The county was Ohio’s last to file in November, 2005, when it released results about 9 a.m. the morning after Toledo’s mayoral election. Three years ago Jill Kelly, executive director of the Lucas County Board of Elections, blamed the county’s tardiness on a lack of paid volunteers. This year the culprit appears to be the misplaced memory cards used to record votes from the Diebold Accuvote-TSX machines," Joe Vardon, Toledo Blade.


Mar 5: Shortage of ballots leads to extended voting hours in Ohio

TOLEDO -- "Some Ohio voters got an extra 90 minutes to vote last night - and it wasn't because of the cold and wet weather. Jill Gross, who volunteered with the Sandusky County Board of Elections, said there was a 'huge turnout' of people wanting to vote in the Democratic presidential primary between Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois. Many registered Republicans and Independents requested Democratic ballots at the polls, she said. Lawyers for the Obama campaign asked a judge for additional time in Cuyahoga, Clermont, and Franklin coun-ties because of ballot shortages last night. A judge agreed to extend voting at 21 precincts in the city of Cleveland in Cuyahoga County, rejected the extension for Franklin County, and the Obama campaign withdrew its request in Clermont County," Steve Eder, Toledo Blade.

CINCINNATI -- Editorial: Learning to count on Election Day, Cincinnati Enquirer.

AKRON -- Election glitches few, Colette M. Jenkins, Akron Beacon Journal.

COLUMBUS -- Poll sites, voters at ease, unlike in '04, Geoff Dutton, Todd Jones, Jill Riepenhoff, and Mike Wagner, Columbus Dispatch.


Mar 4: Ohio, especially Cleveland, under scrutiny for voting problems

CLEVELAND -- "With a surprisingly large role to play in the Democratic presidential race late in the primary season, Ohio had the daunting job Tuesday of running an election with new systems in many locations, particularly trouble-prone Cleveland. In Cuyahoga County, which was ordered in December to make a fast-track switch from touch-screen voting to paper ballots, poll worker Bill Hallock in suburban Westlake said the printed ballots were easier for voters to understand, although they took a little longer to fill out. Election officials weren't predicting how long it might take to count the votes but it could last into Wednesday. Jane Platten, Cuyahoga County elections director, said she had heard of just one polling place, in suburban Richmond Heights, that had trouble opening on time. She did not have any details. Many poll workers were unprepared for electronic voting in the 2006 primary, and results were delayed five days in Cleveland amid a hand-count of absentee ballots. In November, vote totals were delayed until almost noon the day after the election because of computer problems. Cuyahoga is counting its votes in one location, a former department store warehouse, instead of at each precinct, a move that prevents voters from being alerted if their ballots are improperly filled out," Barbara Carmen, Columbus Dispatch.


Mar 4: Editorial: Lines of compromise
The Ohio House has a better idea for redistricting

AKRON -- "As Ohio's primary approached, renewed concerns about making sure every vote counts were triggered by a new study of electronic voting commissioned by Jennifer Brunner, the secretary of state, and released late last year. By November, all touch-screen voting machines will be gone. Instead, voters will get paper ballots. As this huge shift, affecting 57 counties and costing an estimated $31 million, moved ahead, Jon Husted, the House speaker, renewed another plan to achieve the same goal. Far less technical and much less costly, Husted's idea is to change the way legislative and congressional districts are redrawn. Unfortunately, sensing an upturn in their party's fortunes, Democrats have been increasingly partisan in their objections. In the end, more competitive districts would encourage a politics of the center, lawmakers driven to consider all viewpoints and find the common ground necessary to move Ohio forward on many fronts," Akron Beacon Journal.


Mar 4: Voters split on ballot preference

COLUMBUS -- "All Ohio voters in counties with touch-screens this year will get the option to mark a paper ballot, but only if they ask for one. Poll workers won't offer the option, ordered by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner after a report indicated Ohio's electronic voting machines are vulnerable to tampering and inaccuracies. Brunner said she is voting on paper. This option, she said, 'will bring a greater peace of mind, for others a greater convenience, and for others, a safety net in the face of long lines or machine failures. It's that simple,' " Barbara Carmen, Columbus Dispatch.

AKRON -- Double your money: Jennifer Brunner's increasingly expensive proposition, Akron Beacon Journal.


Mar 3: Coalition hired firm co-owned by trustee
Branding campaign cost taxpayers $940,000, according to the state

DAYTON -- "The Dayton Development Coalition, which gave a no-bid contract to the wife of a congressman it lobbies, also hired a marketing firm part-owned by one of the coalition's longtime trustees to create its 'Get Midwest' regional marketing campaign... Catherine Turcer, director of the Money in Politics project for Ohio Citizen Action, said, 'Taxpayers deserve better than this. We're talking about two really specific conflicts of interest. It's not rocket science,' " Tom Beyerlein, Dayton Daily News. Published March 1.


Mar 3: County elections board names new director
Deputy moves up to top slot; former chief will consult

COLUMBUS -- "The Franklin County Board of Elections changed leadership as expected yesterday but bucked a request to oust its top official altogether just two days before the state's presidential primary. County Republican Party Chairman Doug Preisse was voted board chairman, replacing William A. Anthony Jr., who stepped down. Dennis L. White, who was the deputy director, was named director, in charge of the board's daily operations. The former Ohio Democratic Party chairman replaces Matthew Damschroder, director since 2003. Brunner has a list of grievances against Damschroder, including allegations of sloppy voting safeguards and his attempts to torpedo her desire to return to paper ballots. The bipartisan county board, though, voted to keep Damschroder, hiring him as a consultant through the end of the year. His pay of $11,250 a month mirrors his pay as director," Jodi Andes, Columbus Dispatch.


Mar 3: Ohio's top elections official is optimistic

COLUMBUS -- "Ohio's top election official, who overhauled the troubled operation in the state's most populous county, expressed confidence yesterday in preparations for a new system that's been put in place for tomorrow's crucial presidential primary. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, toured the county's vote-counting center in a six-story warehouse and said she was impressed. Election watchdogs are worried that votes in Cuyahoga County, with more than 250,000 Democrats among its registered voters, will be lost because of the switch from electronic touch-screen voting to paper ballots and a new vote counting system," Thomas J. Sheeran, Toledo Blade.

DAYTON -- Record-setting turnout for early voting, Jessica Wehrman, Dayton Daily News.

CINCINNATI -- More than 50,000 votes cast, Cincinnati Enquirer.

TOLEDO -- 14,223 cast early ballots in Lucas County, J. C. Reindl, Toledo Blade.


Feb 29: Senate's top Dem fined for not filing

COLUMBUS -- "Senate Minority Leader Ray Miller got off with an 'extremely light' fine yesterday for failing to properly file campaign-finance reports stretching back six years, a state election official said. The Ohio Elections Commission approved the $1,500 fine after Miller's attorney, Donald J. McTigue, apologized on behalf of the Columbus Democrat, who until Wednesday night had not filed a single campaign-finance report since mid-2005. He also had problems with other reports dating to 2002. McTigue called it a fair punishment. But J. Curtis Mayhew, the Ohio secretary of state's campaign-finance administrator, strongly disagreed. 'In my opinion, the fine was extremely light, given the fact that a sitting legislator was able to not disclose for an entire election,' he said. Catherine Turcer, director of the Money in Politics Project for Ohio Citizen Action, agrees. 'This is not just about being toothless. It's about being toothless and really slow,' " Jim Siegel, Columbus Dispatch.


Feb 29: Elections panel delays charter-school PAC case

COLUMBUS -- "The question of whether a pro-charter-school political action committee violated Ohio law in 2006 by accepting and spending more than $850,000 funneled through Virginia will have to wait. The Ohio Elections Commission surprised government attorneys yesterday when, instead of hearing arguments in the case involving the group called All Children Matter, it postponed the matter until April. The move came after Bill Todd, the attorney representing the Michigan-based nonprofit group, argued that he needed an evidentiary hearing because not all facts had been agreed upon, including rules created by the secretary of state. The debate later spilled over into the commission's lobby, where Todd argued with J. Curtis Mayhew, the Ohio secretary of state's campaign-finance administrator, as he spoke to reporters. McGann stepped in and warned Todd not to talk to Mayhew, who was in attendance because Todd subpoenaed him to testify. 'You know better Bill, come on,' McGann said. 'Shut up. Don't be a baby,' Todd replied," Jim Siegel, Columbus Dispatch.


Feb 29: Ohio school sends blank utility bills to help students prove residency for voting

OBERLIN, Ohio -- "Oberlin College has come up with a creative way for students from out of state to show they reside in Ohio, so they can vote. The college in northern Ohio is sending out dummy utility bills to dorm residents. There are no charges for students to pay for their phone and high-speed Internet connections, but there's a bold-faced note at the bottom saying the statement can serve as proof of ID at a polling place. The arrangement got a blessing from the state's top election official," Columbus Dispatch.

COLUMBUS -- Youngsters can't vote, but they are tuned in, Ann Fisher, Columbus Dispatch.