Compliance Connections

On Tuesday, November 8, 2022, Ohioans, like the rest of the country, cast ballots in the 2022 General Election. Ohioans voted on all statewide constitutional offices, one U.S. Senate seat, and several important statewide and local ballot issues. Early turnout for the 2022 General Election was greater than the previous statewide 2018 general election. For more, read the full article. 

Ohio held the state’s second Primary Election on August 2, 2022, featuring partisan primaries for State House and Senate candidates and also central committee seats for state political parties. As expected, turnout was low at only 7.93 percent according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s unofficial tallies. For more, read the full article. 

The Ohio General Assembly finished the first half of 2022 with a rush of lawmaking, appropriating billions of dollars in infrastructure spending, and making policy changes in a range of subjects. Initially, the legislature’s pace slowed on key legislation, like the capital budget, due to redistricting litigation. Ohio held its statewide and congressional primary elections on May 4, 2022, but the General Assembly maps remained unclear after maps were rejected five different times by the Ohio Supreme Court in 4-3 decisions led by Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor (R). On May 27, 2022, a three judge panel on the Sixth Circuit Southern District ordered that the election go forward using the third map and a Primary Election held on August 2, 2022, ending the impasse. Once the state legislative districts were settled, the General Assembly quickly finished work on policy priorities for the first half of 2022.

For more, read the full article. 

If you are thinking about using Venmo to accept campaign donations, you now have guidance from the Ohio Elections Commission to permissibly do so. 

The Ohio Elections Commission advised that the use of peer-to-peer payment systems such as Venmo are permissible under Ohio’s campaign finance laws. However, to comply with Ohio Revised Code §3517.10(D)(3), the peer-to-peer account needs to be specifically set up for the campaign committee and separate from the personal account of the possible beneficiary of the campaign fund.

The Ohio Elections Commission recently issued an advisory opinion addressing whether a foreign national can contribute to a ballot issue political action committee (PAC) in Ohio.

The Ohio Elections Commission determined that R.C. 3517.13 (W) prohibits a foreign national from contributing to a ballot issue PAC in Ohio. This question was raised due to a recent decision from the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), in which it dismissed the pending matter because it did not have enough linkage between an election involving a candidate that sufficiently invoked the FEC jurisdiction. However, Ohio law differs, and therefore the Ohio Elections Commission jurisdiction differs from the FEC’s jurisdiction.

After failing to meet the Ohio Supreme Court’s ordered deadline for submitting House and Senate district maps, the Ohio Redistricting Commission passed its third version of district boundaries by a 4-3 vote on February 24, 2022. Auditor of State Keith Faber (R) joined the commission’s two Democratic members opposing the maps.

For more, read the full article. 

On February 7, 2022, the Ohio Supreme Court invalidated the state House and Senate district boundaries that were recently adopted by the Ohio Redistricting Commission. The majority, in a per curiam decision, ruled that the commission’s revised maps still favored Republican candidates instead of adhering to the proportionality favored by statewide voter preferences of 54 percent Republican and 46 percent Democratic. Analysis showed the revised maps created 57-42 and 20-13 Republican majorities in the House and Senate respectively.

For more, read the full article. 

While most were watching the Bengals defeat the Titans in the NFL playoffs on January 22, 2022, the Ohio Redistricting Commission adopted new state House and Senate district boundaries. The commission faced a midnight deadline to comply with the Ohio Supreme Court’s order. The party line vote, 5-2, establishes the districts for four years. A bipartisan vote creates 10 year districts.

For more, read the full article. 

On January 14, 2022, the Ohio Supreme Court invalidated the state’s newly redrawn congressional districts. In a 4-3 vote, mirroring the earlier decision invalidating the State House and Senate Districts, Justice Michael Donnelly (D-Cleveland), writing for the majority, ruled that the maps violated the Ohio Constitution’s prohibitions on the partisan gerrymandering. Republican Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor joined in the majority opinion and again wrote a separate concurring opinion.

For more, read the full article. 

On January 12, 2022, the Ohio Supreme Court, by a vote of 4-3, found the newly drawn state House and Senate district maps did not comply with Ohio’s Constitution, specifically Article XI, Section 6, which states that no plan shall be drawn primarily to favor a political party. The court determined the Ohio Redistricting Commission did not attempt to meet the standard. Therefore, the court ordered the commission to meet and draw new maps that conform with the requirements within 10 days of the court’s decision.

For more, read the full article.