It seems like a special August election is in the cards for Ohio. On this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown discuss the recent Ohio Supreme Court ruling that allowed the vote to go forward.
Special August Election
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled along party lines to allow the vote on changing the state constitution to go forward.
At issue was the fact that late last year lawmakers passed a bill that made most August elections illegal citing low turnout, the expense and how they undermine democracy.
Then several conservative states passed abortion rights measures with about 55% of the vote and abortion rights supporters began collecting signatures to put an amendment guaranteeing those rights on the November ballot.
Looking at those other states and looking at polls here in Ohio, abortion rights opponents rushed their own amendment to the August ballot requiring a 60% majority.
But wait. August elections are illegal. And the case landed at the Supreme Court, which ruled last week that the law that makes August elections illegal does not apply to the legislature because the constitution gives them the power to set elections, and that provision trumps the state law.
Transgender Legislation
The Ohio House approved two bills this week that target gender identity. One bill aims to prevent transgender girls and women from participating in girls' and women's school and college sports teams in Ohio. Additionally, it seeks to ban gender-affirming care for minors.
The other bill would require teachers to disclose to parents if a student identifies with a gender different from the one they are assigned at birth. It is referred to as the Parents Bill of Rights, and Representative Gary Click
(R-Vickery) sponsors it.
However, Democrats like Juanita Brent (D-Cleveland Heights) argue that this legislation is unnecessary and could harm vulnerable children.
In terms of public opinion, a recent poll suggests that this issue does not strictly align with party lines. The NPR/PBS Marist Poll reveals that 88% of Republicans believe gender identity is determined at birth. However, the country as a whole is divided. Overall, 61% of Americans believe that gender identity is determined at birth. This includes 62% of independents and 37% of Democrats.
Snollygoster of the week
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has been the subject of a report by Pro Publica. According to the report, in 2008, Justice Alito took a trip to an Alaskan resort on a private jet owned by wealthy hedge fund manager and Republican donor Paul Singer.
What raises eyebrows is that Singer's businesses were involved in cases that later appeared before the Supreme Court. Surprisingly, Justice Alito never disclosed this trip on his financial disclosure forms, nor did he recuse himself from any cases related to Singer.
In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, Justice Alito defended himself by stating that he had only spoken with Singer a few times. He claimed that any reasonable and impartial person would not question his ability to make unbiased decisions in Singer's cases. Furthermore, he argued that the seat on the plane would have remained empty if he hadn't taken it. According to him, there was no legal requirement for him to disclose the trip, since it was an expression of personal hospitality from an individual.
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