Democratic News

COLUMBUS — State Rep. Lisa Sobecki (D-Toledo) today signed onto a concurrent resolution urging Congress to designate June 19^th a paid federal holiday. This date is to be known as Juneteenth Independence day in recognition of June 19, 1865, when news of the end of slavery reached the southwestern states two months after the end of the American Civil War.  

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 urging him to include return postage on absentee ballot application forms that will be mailed to all voters and on absentee ballots that are ultimately mailed to voters who request them. State law prohibits board of elections from making such an expenditure, but the secretary is not similarly barred. The federal CARES Act included funding to the states for unanticipated increased expenses due to COVID-19. The Controlling Board approved on Monday the state’s use of federal CARES Act funding for this year’s election. 

COLUMBUS — State Rep. Juanita Brent (D-Cleveland) today introduced a concurrent resolution urging Congress to designate June 19^th a paid federal holiday. This date is to be known as Juneteenth Independence day in recognition of June 19, 1865 when news of the end of slavery reached the southwestern states two months after the end of the American Civil War.  

Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) issued a statement following Gov. DeWine’s announced police reform recommendations Wednesday: 

COLUMBUS— Ohio Legislative Black Caucus (OLBC) President State Rep. Stephanie Howse (D-Cleveland) today revealed ignored requests dating back several years to three different Speakers of the House – Larry Householder, Ryan Smith and Cliff Rosenberger – to show the repeated attempts of the OLBC to get the Majority party to address a hostile work environment in the Ohio House.

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 Democrats announced Monday the state Controlling Board approved another round of funding to support Ohio’s efforts to control the COVID-19 outbreak and to ensure safe and secure elections this fall.

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.

COLUMBUS— State Reps. Randi Clites (D-Ravenna) and Jeff Crossman (D- Parma) today called on Statehouse leaders to protect Ohioans’ healthcare by advancing the bipartisan Pre-Existing Condition Protection Act, House Bill 390. The call comes after the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which has created more uncertainty about the future of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA), including its provision to protect healthcare access for those with pre-existing conditions. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a case challenging the ACA’s constitutionality on November 10^th of this year.