Paula Hicks-Hudson News

COLUMBUS— State Representative Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) responded today to developments in a lawsuit against Secretary of State Frank LaRose about his limiting all Ohio counties to one ballot drop box per county. Yesterday, a Franklin County judge declared LaRose’s actions “arbitrary” and “unreasonable,” but Sec. LaRose continued to instruct counties they could have no more than one drop box. The court has now ordered LaRose to answer for himself by today at 3 p.m. 

COLUMBUS – State Rep. Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) and House Democrats slammed GOP lawmakers on the Controlling Board Monday for refusing to approve funds to cover the cost of absentee ballot postage for Ohio voters ahead of the November election.

COLUMBUS –On Tuesday evening, State Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) held a virtual chat on civic engagement.

State Reps. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) and Catherine D. Ingram (D-Cincinnati) responded to the state Controlling Board refusing to hear Secretary LaRose’s late request for additional authority to pay return postage for absentee ballots in its meeting yesterday. LaRose said he will come back to the Board in mid-September, but absentee ballot applications are set to be mailed to 7.8 Million Ohio voters before that – around Labor Day – without return postage. The members have been urging LaRose for months to use existing authority of his office to pay return postage for both applications and ballots.

State Reps. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) and Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Cleveland) responded to Secretary LaRose’s announcement that he is requesting additional permission from the state Controlling Board to pay return postage for voting materials. The deadline for submitting such requests was Monday, Aug. 17 for the Board’s Aug. 24 meeting. No request from LaRose’s office appears yet on the Controlling Board’s website. It is unclear whether the late request will be added to the meeting agenda or what specifically is being requested.  

The House Democratic Caucus today sent a letter to Secretary of State Frank LaRose addressing recent major developments in Ohio’s elections. Last week, the country watched in horror as Post Office mailboxes and processing machinery were dismantled and removed across the country and in Ohio.

State Representative Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) and Catherine D. Ingram (D-Cincinnati) today sent a letter to Secretary of State Frank LaRose raising concerns about the treatment of Black voters who are being disproportionately harmed by the coronavirus pandemic. The lawmakers requested the secretary’s voter outreach plan, noting that he has undertaken an Ohio craft brewery tour without specific legal authority or funding to do so. They also requested his budget for using the $23 million in federal funds granted to the state and approved by the Controlling Board for spending on the election. 

COLUMBUS—State Representative Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) today responded to disturbing news of mail delays, hiring freezes, and questionable management changes at the U.S. Postal Service. She recently sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy urging the United States Postal Service (USPS) to address postal delays in Lucas County. Nearly 100 Lucas County residents expressed to Hicks-Hudson that they had been experiencing postal delays that result in late bill payments and other disruptions to their lives.

COLUMBUS—State Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) issued a statement today following Gov. DeWine’s executive order to require facemasks in Lucas County. The county falls within Level 3 of the state’s new Public Health Advisory System, which was unveiled July 2. Level 3 indicates very high exposure and spread of coronavirus.

State Representatives Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo), Michele Lepore-Hagan (D-Youngstown), Catherine D. Ingram (D-Cincinnati) and Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Cleveland) today sent a letter to Secretary of State Frank LaRose again urging him to include return postage on absentee ballot application forms and the absentee ballots themselves. State law prohibits boards of elections, but not the secretary, from paying return postage. COVID-19 cases have risen sharply in Ohio since the foursome last urged LaRose to take this step to encourage mail voting on June 18.