Source: San Hendren, WOSU

Ohio House & Senate Dems Release Voter Suppression Report

ColumbusHouse and Senate Democrats are calling on Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted to rescind his May 30, 2013 tie vote decision that ordered the Hamilton County Board of Elections to refer 39 voters who lawfully cast their ballots to prosecutors for investigation. Franklin County referred 90 lawful voters for investigation. Democrats also asked for a directive to be issued to all counties prohibiting such harassment of voters who followed the clear letter of the law when they voted in the 2012 election. According to a letter sent to Secretary Husted, these voters followed Ohio law when they cast provisional ballots on Election Day after requesting or submitting an absentee ballot. The statutes anticipate that voters could experience problems with absentee ballots and explicitly allow these voters to vote provisionally on Election Day as a failsafe, the letter said. The report found thousands of instances of voter suppression during the 2012 election, ranging from poll worker error to ballot technicalities. A report released by the Secretary of State in May claimed that Ohio experienced zero cases of voter suppression in 2012, and noted that 0.00002% of votes cast were referred to prosecutors for potential fraud. Read the full letter.

DOMA Ruling Means Greater Equality, and Comes During Pride Month
After marching in both the Columbus and Cleveland Pride Parades, Senator Turner has a new appreciation for what it means to be an ally for marriage equality and LGBT rights. This week, the Supreme Court ruled to strike down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), immediately granting eligibility for all legally married persons to apply for federal benefits. In the majority opinion, Justice Kennedy wrote that the main effect of DOMA was to identify a subset of state-sanctioned marriages and make them unequal, rendering the act unconstitutional. This decision is truly a landmark for civil rights. Public opinion is shifting rapidly on the issue of marriage equality and the majority of Americans support it," Senator Turner said. Junes designation as Pride Month made the ruling especially powerful. Additionally, the ruling dateJune 26marked the 10-year anniversary of the Courts decision on Lawrence v. Texas, another major victory against discriminatory state laws.

SCOTUS Rules on Voting Rights Act, Weakens Effect

Washington, D.C.On Tuesday, June 25, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling on the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that preserves Congress' authority to exercise regulation over state elections. The Majority Opinion found that Section 4 of the Act, which established a "coverage formula" to determine which states and localities would be subject to Section 5 requirements, is unconstitutional. "The conditions that originally justified these measures no longer characterize voting in the covered jurisdictions," the Majority opinion reads. In effect, the ruling nullifies the preclearance requirements of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Many places in the U.S. have a history of suppressing the right to vote, and the scrutiny of preclearance was intended to increase ballot access in the affected areas. Despite the ruling, the Court did affirm the effectiveness of pre-clearance and the ability of Congress to require it.

GOP Budget Leaves Women and the Poor Behind, Gives Tax Cut to Ohio's Wealthiest
ColumbusSenator Turner and the Senate Democratic Caucus voted against House Bill 59, the states twoyear budget plan, this week. The bill, which includes policy and appropriations changes, will continue to undermine access to womens health care, inadequately provide for quality K-12 instruction, and disproportionately benefit Ohios wealthiest citizens. We had the opportunity to make schools whole, yet Ohio Republicans chose to give this money awayforegoing a worthwhile investment in our states next generationto give massive tax breaks to the wealthiest Ohioans. Tax breaks that, over the last few years, have failed in creating the economic growth they promised, Senator Turner said. At a press conference on Thursday to protest the last minute anti-choice provisions added to the budget, medical professionals decried the measures as intruding on their patient-doctor relationship. Physicians are rejecting the new provisions that would undermine their medical knowledge and insert the legislature into the examination room. Doctors are offended by the attempt to regulate their patients, and should not need to fear criminal charges and fines for providing quality care to their patients, Senator Turner said. In addition, the GOP chose not to expand Medicaid in Ohio, denying over 275,000 hard -working Ohioans basic medical coverage. Senator Turner called on the Governor to veto measures that would defund family planning clinics and create burdensome regulations for abortion providers.

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