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Ohio Sets New Maps and March Primary Date

Dec. 15 (3:52 PM) - The Ohio legislature passed H.B. 369 on December 14, 2011, by a referendum-proof margin, eliminating concerns that Ohio would hold a split primary in 2012. The bill will be effective immediately after being signed by Governor Kasich. The bill includes a congressional map slightly revised from the one proposed earlier in the fall by House Republicans. H.B. 369 also establishes a single March 6, 2012, primary and sets a December 30, 2011, filing deadline for candidates for President and Vice President, candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives, and national convention delegates. The bill voids any filing for one of these positions filed before the bill’s effective date; a candidate whose earlier petition is voided must re-file. State and local candidates and ballot issues are not affected by the bill; the filing deadline for state and local candidates (which has already passed) remains December 7, 2011. H.B. 369 also creates an eight-person Redistricting Reform Task Force, with membership to be divided equally between the two major parties. The Task Force will issue a report with recommendations for reforming the redistricting process by June 30, 2012.

Ohio Supreme Court Allows Referendum to Proceed in Redistricting Case

Oct. 18 (12:53 PM) - In an opinion released October 14, the Ohio Supreme Court granted the writ of mandamus requested by Ohioans for Fair Districts and Democratic legislators. The court's ruling compels the Ohio Secretary of State to treat recently passed redistricting legislation by the Republican-controlled General Assembly as subject to referendum. Citing its own precedent and the text of the Ohio Constitutional provisions on referendum, the court determined that the inclusion of appropriations for current state expenses, in addition to the challenged redistricting sections, did not exempt the Act from the possibility of referendum. [Read More]

Mandamus Action Filed to Subject Ohio Redistricting Act to Referendum

Sep. 30 (2:40 PM) - Ohioans for Fair Districts has filed a mandamus action in the Ohio Supreme Court challenging the Congressional redistricting legislation passed by the Republican-controlled Ohio General Assembly earlier this month. The petitioners seek a writ from the court ordering the Ohio Secretary of State to treat sections 1 and 2 of Substitute House Bill 319 as subject to referendum under the Ohio Constitution. The final section of the bill states that it is not subject to referendum. Several Democratic legislators and the chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party are members of Ohioans for Fair Districts and are parties in the action.

Summary of State Election Reform Laws

Aug. 30 (4:47 PM) - Roger Larocca and John Klemanski of Oakland University have prepared this table of election reform laws, including early and absentee voting, voter ID, and election day registration reforms.  It is posted with the authors' permission.  

Dan Tokaji Discusses Redistricing

Aug. 9 (5:25 PM) - Election Law @ Moritz Senior Fellow Daniel Tokaji discusses redistricting in this video blog entry. With the release of 2010 census data, states are going through the process of drawing up new maps to ensure the one-person-one-vote principle. But, as Tokaji explains, politics is at work behind the scenes, where decisions are made that will affect citizens' lives for the decade to come. [Read More]

From Registration to Recounts Revisited: Developments in the Election Ecosystems of Five Midwestern States Released!

Jul. 1 (1:27 PM) - We invite you to read From Registration to Recounts Revisited: Developments in the Election Ecosystems of Five Midwestern States, a retrospective review primarily of the 2008 elections in five key Midwestern states – Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. This study is a sequel to From Registration to Recounts, the widely-acclaimed comprehensive study of the election systems of these states, in which the authors set out to study how five key Midwestern states had responded to the Help America Vote Act of 2002, and to the increased attention that matters of election administration had received in the wake of the 2000 disputed presidential election. This retrospective study, like the original, makes clear that election reform remains an uncompleted task more than two full presidential election cycles after Bush v. Gore. [Read More]

S.Ct. denies stay in Ohio ballot case

Apr. 20 (2:21 PM) - The U.S. Supreme Court, without dissent, denied the application to stay the Sixth Circuit's Equal Protecting ruling that relied on Bush v. Gore.  Scotusblog has a report.  The consequence is that the case will now go back to the federal trial court for further proceedings, including fact-finding concerning the extent to which poll worker error may have affected some of the disputed ballots.  Meanwhile, the Sixth Circuit's opinion stands as an important precedent on the meaning of Equal Protection in light of Bush v. Gore. [Read More]

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