The lame duck Ohio legislature accomplished little because the majority Republicans were only interested in one thing – solidifying their hold on state government.

Action further restricting abortion flamed out.

Action handing over control of public education to the governor flopped.

Action raising the percentage needed to pass a constitutional amendment to 60 percent fizzled.

The right-wingers desiring the above three issue outcomes were left at the altar. Measures passed one house only to die in the other. Republican legislative leaders could tell the constituents to whom they promised action, “Sorry, we tried. Maybe next year.”

So what big controversial measure got passed?

A bill that further suppresses voting – by Democrats -- made it through pending Governor Mike DeWine’s signature because the Republican brain trust wanted to make it even harder for Democrats to win election to the state legislature, to Congress and to statewide office.

The Republican leaders want an insurance policy against Democrats ever taking over in any of our lifetimes. They want to make sure that if races get close, enough Democrats would be caused to stay home to give the GOP continuous victories.

Democrats are not as faithful voters as Republicans. If the task is made more difficult, some will stay home. It has been said that sunny election days are good for Democratic turnout and bad weather election days are more likely to cause Democrats to stay home.

It turns out that Democrats like to vote early, so the GOP bill restricts the number of drop boxes that boards of elections can place outside their headquarters.

The bill reduces the number of days for early walk-in voting including dropping the popular day before the election.

The measure prevents the secretary of state from mailing absentee ballot requests to voters though parties can still do it.

It shortens the number of days of grace after Election Day that people can get their properly postmarked ballots to the boards of elections. This may reduce the number of military abroad able to get their ballots in on time. So much for Republican patriotism.

And the measure requires in-person voters to show their driver’s license or state ID card to identify themselves at the polls. The preponderance of people who do not have the necessary identification is -- guess who? – Democrats at lower socio-economic levels who have neither drivers’ licenses nor state ID cars and may have some legal problems.

Trial attorney Richard D. Topper wrote in Dispatch.com that the bill discriminates against Blacks, seniors, young people, students, the disabled and the poor.

The Republican rationale to impose these regulations is to prevent fraud, but voter fraud in Ohio is as rare as hens’ teeth.

Wait a minute! Did Joe Biden not win Ohio in 2020? What? Trump won. Stop the steal.

The problem in Ohio, and across the U.S, is not that people have trouble voting as much as it is that many people are making uninformed votes and many others are just not voting.

Vote-Suppressing Legislature Deserves To Be Part-Time

A legislature devoted to feathering its own nest by jamming voter suppression down the throats of Ohioans in a lame duck session in the throes of post-election unaccountability does not deserve to exist.

All the more reason to join my crusade to make the legislature part-time and cut its budget by 70 percent as I proposed in ColumbusMediaInsiderPoliticalOutsider: Rogue Legislature’s Gotta Go. It’s Time For Part-Time Reps | ColumbusFreePress.com

If you want to join my crusade for a constitutional amendment to have a part-time legislature, hit me up at columbusmediainsier@gmail.com

One would think that the Ohio Democratic Party would embrace this issue, but, alas, too many Democrats long for the days when they controlled the state bureaucracy and its perks.

Quickies

• I would not put it past John Kasich to have twisted the arms of some of the Ohio State University trustees he appointed as governor in order to force out President Kristina Johnson, thus creating an opening that Johnny Nobody has been dying to fill. Since his ill-fated presidential campaign when Donald Trump swatted him down like an errant fly, Kasich has been licking his chops to get back on the political main stage. Moralizing on an occasional CNN piece does not fulfill his ego. OSU could do worse. Not really.
• One of the cumbersome and bothersome aspects of Ohio’s election system is the necessity to pass petitions in order to run for political office. Occasionally, a petition gets thrown out for some technical violation that has nothing to do with the prospective candidate’s qualifications. While we are reforming state government, let’s throw out the necessity to gather signatures to run for office and simply allow folks to sign a statement of candidacy and make it to the primary ballot. Constitutional amendments would still require signatures, but much fewer than currently.
• Redistricting is not going way from Ohio any time soon. The Congressional districts must be revisited by the remap panel and the legislature pending court decisions. The Ohio Legislature maps may get a second look as well. Republicans still control the commission, have greater margins in the legislature and have solidified their majority on the Ohio Supreme Court, so look for even more biased and convoluted lines to be drawn for 2024.
• Want to understand Republican angst? More than 60 percent of Republican Christians believe society is discriminating against them and nearly 60 percent of Republican whites feel the same, a recent survey found.
• U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, launching his re-election campaign for 2024, says that Ohio has the most corrupt government in the country. He must expect his Republican opponent to come from state government. Could it be Gov. Mike DeWine?

(Please send your comments and suggestions for future columns to John K. Hartman, ColumbusMediaInsider@gmail.com)  

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