Democratic News

COLUMBUS— State Representative Bride Rose Sweeney (D - Cleveland) released the below statement in response to Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s just-released directive limiting boards of elections to having drop boxes only at their Board of Elections sites and not throughout the county. Rep. Sweeney is watching to see what happens today in a federal court on the drop box and ballot collection issue. 

COLUMBUS – House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) today issued a statement following a tweet from President Donald Trump that he and the First Lady have tested positive for COVID-19. Leader Sykes attended the presidential debate in Cleveland on Tuesday evening and was in the same room as the President and his team, including Hope Hicks. Many in the President’s entourage were not wearing masks.

COLUMBUS- Today, Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes (D-Akron), Assistant Minority Leader Kristin Boggs (D-Columbus), Minority Whip Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo), and Assistant Minority Whip Richard Brown (D-Canal Winchester) sent a letter* to Speaker of the House Bob Cupp (R-Lima), asking him to assure Ohioans that their votes will be the final determinant of which candidate Ohio’s 18 electoral college votes will be allocated to, and that the legislature will not intervene to overturn the will of the voters.

COLUMBUS – House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) and House Democrats Monday announced the approval of funds by the Controlling Board to further aid the state’s response to the health and economic hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding was also approved for voter education efforts and to support women-owned and veteran friendly businesses.

COLUMBUS— State Representative Bride Rose Sweeney (D - Cleveland) announced the discovery of a major flaw in the Secretary of State’s Online Voter Registration system. News reports last week of Ohio college students facing obstacles led her to examine the site. Student addresses are being rejected and the website misleads students into believing they’ve registered to vote when they click “Submit Voter Registration” when, in fact, they often must submit a paper form.

COLUMBUS— State Representative Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) responded today to national news outlet ProPublica’s revelations that the office of Secretary of State Frank LaRose sought direction from notorious national vote suppressor Hans von Spakovsky before issuing an order banning more than one drop box per county.

COLUMBUS – House Democrats areonce again pulling back the curtain on the legislative tricks being used by House Republicans to circumvent the democratic process and prevent the repeal of the tainted House Bill (HB) 6 – the bill at the center of the largest bribery scandal in Ohio’s history and allegedly orchestrated by former Republican Speaker of the House Larry Householder.

COLUMBUS— State Representative Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) responded today to an announcement by Governor Mike DeWine that state agencies have not been meeting their federally mandated duty to offer voter registration to Ohioans when those Ohioans interact with government offices. Roughly 59,000 voters were affected at one agency.

COLUMBUS –House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) today recognized National Voter Registration Day as an opportunity to encourage participation in this November’s election despite challenges caused by the pandemic and a failure by Republican state leaders to make this unprecedented election more accessible.

COLUMBUS — Rep. Stephanie Howse (D-Cleveland) issued a statement today following the informal hearing of Senate Bill (SB) 357, which appropriates the remaining $650 million local government Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds.