Sometimes the system works. Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Robert Winkler rejected a request filed by Cincinnati Tea Party leader Mike Wilson, who barely lost to State Rep. Connie Pillich, to question the validity of 589 provisional ballots from Lincoln Heights, Forest Park and Woodlawn — all in predominantly black neighborhoods.
by German Lopez
08.31.2012
Posted In: 2012 Election, News, President Obama, Republicans, Democrats at 01:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Early Voting Gets Another Weekend
Judge approves in-person early voting for weekend and Monday before Election Day
In a statement on Aug. 22, Secretary of State Jon Husted
said of early voting, “The rules are set and are not going to change.”
Husted made the comment in an attempt to end discussion over in-person
early voting hours.Unfortunately for Husted, a federal judge disagrees. In a
ruling today, Judge Peter Economus said in-person early voting must be
restored for all registered voters to include the Saturday, Sunday and
Monday before Election Day. Husted will now work with county boards of
elections around the state to decide the voting hours for those days.
The ruling is the outcome of President Barack Obama’s
campaign and the Ohio Democratic Party suing Husted to extend in-person
early voting. Before the ruling, only military personnel and their
families were allowed to vote, which the Obama team and Democrats argued
was unfair to non-military voters. With the ruling, everyone —
including military personnel and their families — will be able to vote during the three days before election day.Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has vowed to appeal the ruling, but, for now, the news comes as a victory to Obama and Democrats in the ongoing struggle over early voting hours.
Recently, Republicans have tried to block any statewide expansion of
in-person early voting, citing costs and racial politics. Doug Preisse,
chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party and close adviser to
Gov. John Kasich, previously wrote to The Columbus Dispatch in an email,
“I guess I really actually feel we shouldn’t contort the voting process
to accommodate the urban — read African-American — voter-turnout
machine.”
Republicans defended Preisse’s racially insensitive comment by calling it
“background” and saying it was supposed to be off the record. But those
defenses didn’t match Preisse’s defense of his own comment, and they didn’t
deny the substance of the comment. CityBeat covered the racial politics behind early voting in this week’s issue (“Republicans Admit Racial Politics,” issue of Aug. 29).Mike Wilson, the Republican candidate for state
representative in Ohio’s 28th district, also voiced some concerns about
the lawsuit. He said extending in-person early
voting for everyone could make lines too long for military personnel and
their families.
Pillich Defends Military Service Against Smear Tactic
0 Comments · Wednesday, September 22, 2010
A favorite political tactic of some Republicans is to try to paint Democrats as weak on national security issues. The ploy mostly has gained popularity since the national Democratic Party publicly tore itself apart in spectacular fashion over disagreements about the Vietnam War in 1968. To counter the strategy, Democrats like to endorse candidates with military experience when they can, and finding such a candidate usually scares the crap out of Republicans.
Queen City Bike and the Catholic Church
3 Comments · Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The bicycling advocacy group received a $10,000 grant from the Greater Cincinnati Foundation to help launch a new program to get more people riding bicycles to more places throughout the region. The Bicycle Friendly Destinations Program will work with area employers, retailers, government agencies and arts and cultural organizations.
Born in Anger, Tea Party Starts Turning on Itself
3 Comments · Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Less than 18 months into its existence, the Tea Party movement is in the throes of an identity crisis. It began when the NAACP announced it would consider a resolution at its annual meeting that asked the Tea Party to condemn and expel its racist elements, calling them "a threat to democracy." That was enough to get the temperatures rising of some Tea Party leaders, who certainly are all too willing to dish out criticism but never seem able to take it. But what happened next really lit their fuse.
The Truth About Driehaus and Abortion
2 Comments · Wednesday, April 28, 2010
I wonder why people who often cite the Bible to justify their opposition to abortion have to knowingly distort or lie when campaigning against politicians they dislike. The latest example involves the Family Research Council and its $500,000 campaign to target 20 Democratic incumbents in Congress, including Ohio 1st District Rep. Steve Driehaus.
Tea Party: Candidates Must Be 'Civil'
Feb. 24 event showcases 101 affiliated candidates for local office
0 Comments · Monday, March 1, 2010
In an event designed to highlight the scope of its influence, the Cincinnati Tea Party hosted a press conference Feb. 24 featuring 101 candidates from precinct captain to Congressional hopefuls lining the stage of the Lakota Freshmen Campus Auditorium in West Chester. "We were very happy with the turnout," says Mike Wilson, Cincinnati Tea Party founder and a candidate for the 28th District Ohio House race, who organized the event. "We're very excited about what the party has been able to do in just a year. We've got a strong voting block."
Jon Craig and the Rev. Michael Howard
0 Comments · Wednesday, February 10, 2010
WINNER: Through good old-fashioned reporting, Enquirer statehouse reporter Jon Craig helped uncover the identity of the conduit for a shadowy contributor who funded the campaign trying to force a vote on Gov. Ted Strickland's plan to place slot machines at seven Ohio horse tracks.
