MAJOR VICTORY FOR OHIO! Governor DeWine has VETOED (rejected) HB 472!

This obvious voter suppression bill would have “ended vote-by-mail as we know it” in our state.

Governor DeWine did not mince words when he announced his veto. He said, “House Bill 472 would not discourage fraud, would not add any real security, and would create an additional and significant burden for Ohioans who vote by mail.”

The governor also reminded Statehouse Republicans that the bill is not needed, “because Ohio does an excellent job running elections.”

THANK YOU to everyone who called, emailed, posted, and rallied to stop this terrible bill.

Your actions matter. And your VOTE matters. If it didn’t, they wouldn’t try so hard to take it away.

(Infuriatingly, the governor also signed an awful bill that will speed up and expand fracking in Ohio’s state parks, but I’m choosing to focus on joy for a few minutes)

Earlier this month, Ohio’s Republican-dominated legislature passed a series of terrible bills before heading out on a long Summer break (must be nice). Two of those bills are now sitting on Governor DeWine’s desk.

The governor is running out of time to make a decision on these two dangerous bills. The people of Ohio need him to VETO (reject) them both.

HB 472

HB 472 started out as a good, bipartisan bill that would waive ID and birth certificate fees for homeless Ohioans. Then, just as it was about to pass, Statehouse Republicans hijacked HB 472 and added language making it incredibly difficult to vote by mail in Ohio.

HB 472 would now require photo ID for all mail-in ballots. Many Ohioans would need to:

• Find a scanner/printer

• Learn how to use a scanner/printer

• Make sure there’s ink in the printer

• Potentially pay to scan and print their ID

• Trust the mail enough to mail a copy of their photo ID to their county Board of Elections along with their ballot

• Risk their unredacted photo ID information falling into the hands of scammers and/or facial recognition companies

This bill will hurt older Ohioans and rural Ohioans the most.

In fact, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio says this bill would “end vote-by-mail as we know it.”

The Ohio Voter Rights Coalition (OVRC) warns that it would also “introduce new identity theft and privacy concerns for voters.” It’s truly just a terrible idea. Read more about HB 472 here and here.

TAKE ACTION — Tell Governor DeWine (and his top staff) to VETO HB 472: https://bit.ly/MikeDeWine

• Sample script #1:

  • Hello — My name is [name]. I am an Ohio voter. My zip code is [zip code].

  • I [strongly / passionately / sincerely / etc.] urge Governor DeWine to VETO HB 472.

  • When the governor signed HB 458 in 2023, he said that was the last “election integrity” bill he intended to sign as governor. If his word means anything, he’ll VETO this newest attack on voting rights.

  • Even Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is against HB 472. He says there will be “unintended consequences” to passing a massive voter bill so quickly. He also says this bill comes with major costs that the legislature failed to consider.

  • Do the right thing. VETO HB 472.

• Sample script #1:

  • Hello — My name is [name]. I am an Ohio voter. My zip code is [zip code].

  • I [strongly / passionately / sincerely / etc.] urge Governor DeWine to VETO HB 472.

  • HB 472 would require photo ID for all mail-in ballots. It would force many Ohioans to find a scanner/printer, learn how to use a scanner/printer, make sure there’s ink in the printer, potentially pay to scan and print their ID, trust the mail enough to mail a copy of their photo ID to their county Board of Elections along with their ballot….and many more completely unnecessary steps.

  • On top of all that, forcing people to send unredacted copies of their driver’s licenses through the mail would be a dream come true for scammers and facial recognition companies.

  • This bill will hurt older Ohioans and rural Ohioans more than anyone else.

  • Ohio already has the most restrictive voter ID law in the country. HB 472 is completely unnecessary. Please VETO it.

SB 219

SB 219 would speed up every step of the process to frack Ohio’s state parks and public lands. Yes, you read that correctly.

This sickening bill:

• Allows drilling inside Ohio parks for the first time

• Strips ODNR of its ability to regulate injection wells and orphan wells

• Prevents the state from fining companies that cause spills or break the rules

• Full analysis here

TAKE ACTION:

• Tell Governor DeWine (and his top staff) to VETO SB 219: https://bit.ly/MikeDeWine

• Action alert from Save Ohio Parks

WHAT TO SAY:

• Governor DeWine already vetoed these same provisions in last year’s state budget. SB 219 is a sneaky, underhanded attempt to push them through again.

• This bill would allow fracking inside Ohio’s state parks and wildlife areas for the first time.

• This bill would prevent ODNR from fining oil and gas companies that break the rules or cause environmental damage.

• Governor DeWine already vetoed numerous provisions in the bill when they were put into the state budget.

• Ohioans are counting on him to protect our parks and veto this bill.

Hopefully Governor DeWine has a shred of decency left after all these years in politics. If he does, he will veto both of these bills.

ALERT — Ohio Statehouse Republicans plan to pass a new bill THIS WEEK that could kill mail-in voting in our state.

Until today, HB 472 was a good, bipartisan bill that would waive ID and birth certificate fees for homeless Ohioans.

The NEW, SUBSTITUTE VERSION OF HB 472 would require photo ID for all mail-in ballots.

Many Ohioans would need to:

• Find a scanner

• Learn how to use a scanner

• Likely pay to scan and print a copy of their ID

• Trust the mail enough to mail a copy of their photo ID to their county Board of Elections along with their ballot

We’re hearing that bill sponsor Christine Cockley is furious. She was about to pass a bipartisan bill through the house that would make life just a little bit easier for homeless Ohioans. Then Statehouse Republicans hijacked her bill at the last minute without her permission.

This new bill also fails to protect Ohioans in the Safe At Home address confidentiality program. They are exempted from providing their address, but their address will be listed on the copy of their ID that they’re forced to upload and/or send through the mail….

This bill has nothing to do with “securing our elections.” Ohio voters are already required to include identifying information such as their license number on all mail-in ballots. This is literally just blatant voter suppression.

People won't be able to scan and print a copy of their ID, so they won't be able to vote by mail.

Or they wont trust the idea of sending a copy of their ID in the mail, so they won't vote by mail.

The intent here is blatantly obvious for anyone willing to admit it.

The substitute bill is expected to be added to HB 472 TOMORROW (TUESDAY 6/9/26) in the Ohio Senate General Government Committee. We need opponents to testify!!

• WHEN: Tomorrow, Tuesday (6/9/26) at 2:00 pm

• WHERE: Ohio Statehouse — North Hearing Room

• HOW TO TESTIFY (in-person or written-only): Use this template to guide you. Because of the late notice, the 24-hour testimony submission requirement has been waived. Testimony is due by 2:00 pm Tuesday (It's due when the committee begins)

Don’t worry if you don’t know details about the bill. No one does. It’s 121 pages long, and we received it tonight. It’s not even posted on the Statehouse website anyplace yet. That alone is a damn good reason not to pass it.

This post is Part 2 in a series. Read Part 1 here.

The deadliest bill in Ohio just got worse.

HB 795 would devastate Ohio’s Medicaid program. It would directly cause many Ohioans to die and force many others into institutions, because at-home care would no longer be an option.

Now Statehouse Republicans have introduced a new version of the bill that would also ban all family members from serving as caregivers for their loved ones.

I cannot properly express how horrific this is. How terrifying this must be for families of children with disabilities.

On top of the family caregiver ban, this bill would force Ohio to establish time limits for common home care services. Do most patient baths take 20 minutes? That means ALL patient baths better take 20 minutes. Otherwise, providers could get flagged for fraud.

So, not only will trusted relatives be banned from caring for their loved ones, the companies you hire will be on a tight clock when they rush in to bathe and change your mom or your husband or your daughter.

The inhumanity of this bill is staggering.

Ready for more? HB 795 will create citizen bounty hunters who seek out disabled and elderly Ohioans to destroy for a profit. The bill allows the state auditor to issue “an award for reporting fraud of up to 10% of the amount of the fraud recovery.”

And I haven’t even gotten to the main pieces of this deadly MAGA Medicaid bill yet!

Most of the bill is focused around letting AI kick in-home care providers and medical transporters out of the system because of small technicalities with no real shot at a remedy.

Here’s how it will work:

You’re a home care provider. AI flags you for a technicality. You’re removed from the system. There’s no ability to appeal. So you can no longer bill for services. So you have to stop providing services. Who suffers? People who need in-home care.

And if you’re a provider in a rural area where there’s already a dangerous lack of providers? Your patients won’t even have the option to look for new care providers when you’re randomly locked out. There won’t be any.

Republican politicians are screaming that this is all about tackling “fraud” within the Medicaid system. But Statehouse Democrats have been introducing bills to tackle fraud since 2008. Republicans have blocked every bill.

If Statehouse Republicans ACTUALLY cared about fraud, they would pass Democrats’ SB 72, the False Claims Act.

Democrats introduced SB 72 in over a year ago, and they’ve introduced similar versions at least 5 times since 2008

• It’s modeled on the federal False Claims Act, and a lot of states have similar laws

• It does everything Statehouse Republicans claim they want to do

So why won’t Republicans pass SB 72? BECAUSE THIS IS NOT REALLY ABOUT FRAUD. It’s about conning you into thinking immigrants are committing fraud.

If you blame immigrants, you’ll go out and vote this November for the party promising mass deportations. See how that works?

They’re just hoping no one remembers who’s been overseeing Ohio’s Medicaid system for the past 15+ years……..

If there IS any Medicaid fraud, guess whose fault it is?

If this bill passes, people will die or be forced into institutions. This is not an exaggeration or a hyperbole. It is a fact.

Any politician who supports this bill is sentencing elderly and disabled Ohioans to death. They need to know that we’re watching.

TAKE ACTION — Tell these Ohio House Medicaid Committee members to SAVE LIVES and STOP HB 795 from moving forward: OhioHouse.gov/Committees/Medicaid (click each person’s photo to find their contact info)

Only have time to contact 1 legislator? Focus on Medicaid Committee Chair Jennifer Gross. She has the power to kill HB 795:

• 614-466-8550

• Rep45@OhioHouse.gov

Let’s see if she lives up to her name.

The most blatantly evil thing happening in Ohio right now is flying almost completely under the radar.

If you’re lucky enough to avoid far-right social media, you’ve probably missed it entirely. But it’s about to become incredibly important, so we need to discuss it.

Earlier this month, far-right blog the Daily Wire announced they had “uncovered” massive amounts of Medicaid “fraud” in Ohio, committed almost entirely by the Somali community and immigrants throughout the state (convenient, right?).

To be perfectly clear, there is absolutely NO real evidence of widespread Medicaid fraud in Ohio. There will always be some sporadic fraudsters in any large system, but Medicaid officials tell us it would be incredibly difficult to commit mass fraud because of Ohio’s current (very strict) guardrails.

The Daily Wire’s “report” is overtly, sickeningly racist. And MAGA politicians are eating it up.

Last week, Republican politicians flew the Daily Wire bloggers who wrote this “report” to Columbus to testify at the Ohio Statehouse. Then the politicians introduced a bill that will absolutely devastate Ohio’s Medicaid program in order to stop all the “fraud.”

They literally plan to kill and institutionalize people because bloggers told them to.

Even worse? (Yes, I’m sorry, it gets worse) This is all a coordinated effort to boost failing Republican campaigns in Ohio.

Vivek Ramaswamy, Jon Husted, JD Vance, and national MAGA talking heads have all come out with eerily similar messaging about how mass Medicaid fraud is an urgent issue that only they can tackle.

Dr. Oz even showed up in Ohio last week to claim he was standing in a Medicaid fraud “hotbed.”

Of course, MAGA politicians and pundits are claiming that gutting Medicaid isn’t enough.

They say the only REAL way to prevent fraud going forward is to deport all the Black and brown immigrants! Again, how convenient!

Anyone who has paid any attention to Ohio throughout the past several decades knows this is all BS.

Republicans have controlled every branch of Ohio government since 2011. And they’ve controlled NEARLY every branch of Ohio government since 1985 — before I was born.

Any fraud that has occurred has happened under their watch.

Any failure to regulate the system has been theirs alone.

They’re hoping we’re all too dumb to notice.

Are you filled with rage? Channel it into action:

Ohio Statehouse Republicans plan to pass their devastating Medicaid bill in the next 2-3 weeks (before anyone notices what they’re doing).

The bill (HB 795) will receive a public hearing this coming Wednesday (6/3/26) in the Ohio House Medicaid Committee. Public testimony will be accepted. YOU can testify (or submit written-only testimony) against it.

WHAT: Public hearing on MAGA Medicaid bill (Ohio HB 795) — opponent testimony will be accepted

WHEN: Wednesday 6/3/26 at 3:00 PM (or after House session ends)

WHERE: Ohio Statehouse — Room 121

HOW TO TESTIFY:

• Follow this simple HB 795 testimony template

• We recommend testifying in-person if possible!

• Can’t testify in-person? You can still submit written-only testimony!

• No matter how you plan to testify (in-person or written only), your testimony must be uploaded to the committee website by Tuesday 6/2/26 at 3:00 pm (24 hours before the hearing begins)

We can save lives together.

Looking for something to do this week?

There are life-altering bills moving through the Ohio Statehouse that need your attention!

Just go to TakeActionOhio.com, click on a bill that interests you (or a bill that fills you with rage), and take the actions listed.

Here’s our current list of priorities:

Pay special attention to HJR 9 / SJR 10 and HB 795. These bills are part of a coordinated effort between Statehouse Republicans and Vivek Ramaswamy to help boost his failing campaign for governor.

Both bill focus on the FALSE idea that Ohio has a massive problem with “fraud.”

If Republicans can make you believe there’s mass election “fraud,” they can convince you to sit quietly while they block thousands of legal, eligible citizens from voting.

If Republicans can make you believe the Somali community is committing mass Medicaid “fraud,” they can gut Ohio’s Medicaid program in ways that will quite literally kill people, and get you to thank them for doing it.

And, of course, if they can convince you Ohio is drowning in all types of “fraud,” they can make you believe they’re the only ones you can trust to fix it.

This part of their scheme is especially ridiculous, because every branch of Ohio government has been controlled by Republicans since 2011, and many of the years before that as well:

Thankfully, the legislature will leave for a long Summer break in 2-3 weeks. Let’s give them hell until then.

Yesterday, Vivek Ramaswamy posted an outrageously long, rambling tweet about the desperate need for voter ID laws in Ohio.

People immediately began mocking Vivek, because Ohio already has the strictest voter ID law in the country. Ohio’s Republican candidate for governor should probably know these things….

But it turns out Vivek had an ulterior motive.

Shortly after Vivek’s wild tweet, we learned that Statehouse Republicans plan to propose a new constitutional amendment tomorrow morning.

Their proposed amendment has two goals:

GOAL #1 — Bring Ohioans out to vote for Republicans in November.

In 2004, Republicans placed initiatives banning gay marriage on the ballot in several key swing states, including Ohio.

They hoped conservatives would show up to ban gay marriage — and vote for George Bush at the same time. Their plan worked.

Ohio Republicans’ new amendment seems like a very similar strategy. A huge majority of Americans support voter ID laws (even though voter ID laws are proven to stop legal, eligible Americans from voting).

Republicans are hoping to start a fight about voter ID so they can persuade more Ohioans to show up to vote for GOP candidates (like Vivek) who don’t excite them.

They’re hoping most voters don’t realize Ohio already has the strictest voter ID law in the country. They need people to think they’re showing up to protect our elections from imminent fraud.

GOAL #2 — Pave the way for Ohio to ban all voting except in-person on Election Day.

If you read Republicans’ proposed amendment, you’ll notice that most of it is already state law. That might make it seem like this amendment is not a big deal.

They’re hoping you don’t notice one little sentence right near the end.

“Nothing in this section requires the general assembly to pass laws allowing electors to vote in any location or manner other than in person at a polling place on the day of an election.”

They're paving the way for the state to ban all voting outside of in-person on Election Day.

With this amendment in our state constitution, Republican legislators could ban all early in-person voting. They could ban all absentee voting. They could force millions of Ohio voters to vote in-person on Election Day, causing massive lines. And lawsuits trying to stop them would be far more likely to fail.

Spread the word. This amendment will probably be on Ohio’s ballot this November.

They’ll tell you it’s about voter ID, but that is a lie. Ohio already has voter ID. This is about control. It’s about Republicans’ desperation to win at any cost.

We can’t let it pass.

Ohio’s Republican Statehouse supermajority plans to to give themselves a lengthy Summer break this year, so they’re trying to cram several months of evil into just a few weeks.

If you have some free time today (5/17/26) or tonight, there are many key bills that need public testimony!

Just go to TakeActionOhio.com, click on a bill that interests you, and take the actions listed.

For example, if you want to testify against the bill to ban diversity efforts in k-12 public schools(!!), click on “SB 113 and HB 155”:

You’ll be taken to a new section of the page that provides resources to help you submit testimony!

Statehouse Republicans are trying to overwhelm us by moving a lot of important bills incredibly quickly with very little advance notice.

Let’s make sure they aren’t successful.

The Ohio Statehouse is back in Session, and they’re diving in headfirst. Several important bills are scheduled for hearings on Tuesday (5/12) and Wednesday (5/13).

Do you have some free time this weekend? Pick a bill or two (or three!) from the list below and write some testimony!

Here are a few key bills that most urgently need public testimony:

HB 698 — the SB 1 Compliance Act

Remember SB 1, AKA the Higher Education Destruction Act? It’s only been in effect since last Summer, but it’s already radically altering how Ohio public colleges and universities operate.

HB 698 is a new SB 1 “compliance” bill that would force even more big government, nanny-state nonsense onto our colleges and universities.

This ridiculous legislation is based on a far-right internet conspiracy theory featuring strange, grainy videos claiming to “catch” Ohio professors saying no one is complying with SB 1.

The bill would be laughable if it weren’t so dangerous. Anyone with any real connection to higher education in Ohio knows that colleges and universities are not only complying with SB 1, they’re severely over-complying.

I’ve personally spoken with students whose professors/lecturers are terrified to touch subjects such as climate change or immigration for fear of being accused of violating the new law. And I’ve personally attended peaceful protests at OSU that were surrounded by police who threatened to break up the event if anyone used amplified sound, sidewalk chalk, or any other basic protest tool banned by the university’s shameful new SB 1 policies.

HB 698 is also pretty obviously illegal. The Ohio Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled since at least 1939 that legislatures can’t force future legislatures to do anything (they can’t “obligate” future legislatures). This bill forces all future governors to include money in their proposed budgets that will only be given to Ohio’s public colleges and universities if they comply with SB 1.

The governor’s proposed budget is always introduced as a bill in the Statehouse. So HB 698 is an obvious effort to obligate future legislatures. It cannot be allowed to pass.

Ways to help stop HB 698:

1. Testify in-person on Tuesday 5/12 at 10 am. Use this template to guide you.

2. Can’t be there in-person? Use this template to submit written-only testimony against HB 698.

3. Attend the HB 698 hearing to show politicians we’re paying attention. We need as many Ohioans there as possible.

   1. WHEN: Tuesday 5/12/26 at 10:00 am

   2. WHERE: Ohio Statehouse — Room 017

SB 127 — Allow the state to close certain public schools and/or turn them into private schools

SB 127 would not only be terrible for our kids, it’s also a direct attack on parents’ rights, local control, and workers’ rights.

This bill:

• Expands reliance on problematic standardized test scores

• Expands criteria for labeling schools as “underperforming”

• Forces the “underperforming” districts to take drastic actions such as closing schools, transferring control to private operators, replacing staff, and more

• Will likely lead to mandatory school closures that squander prior investments in school buildings

• Will likely force Ohio school districts to transfer control of schools to external, private operators that have no link to the community

• Could lead to mass job losses for school staff, which would have a major impact on local communities

• Overrides collective bargaining law and local collective bargaining agreements

• Read the full bill analysis here

Ways to help stop SB 127:

1. Testify in-person on Tuesday 5/12/26 at 3:30 pm. Use this template to guide you.

2. Can’t be there in-person? Use this template to submit written-only testimony against SB 127.

3. Attend the SB 127 hearing to show politicians we’re paying attention. We need as many Ohioans there as possible.

   1. WHEN: Tuesday 5/12/26 at 3:30 pm

   2. WHERE: Ohio Statehouse — South Hearing Room

SB 160 — Ban insurance companies from forcing patients to switch medications

A good bill! A genuinely good bill!

Ohio SB 160 is a bipartisan bill that would ban insurance companies from forcing patients to switch medications in the middle of the year without a medical reason.

What the bill does:

• Bans health insurers from taking certain actions with respect to drugs during a health benefit plan year, including:

  • Increasing cost-sharing

  • Reducing coverage

  • Forcing patients to switch medications by removing drugs from plan formularies

• Full bill analysis here

Ways to support SB 160:

1. Testify in-person on Tuesday 5/12/26 at 4:00 pm. Use this template to guide you.

2. Can’t be there in-person? Use this template to submit written-only testimony in support of SB 160.

SB 163 — Require AI watermarks, ban AI child porn, ban AI-based identity fraud

It’s true! ANOTHER good bill!

Ohio SB 163 needs to become law as soon as possible. This crucial bill would:

• Ban child pornography made using artificial intelligence (AI)

• Ban identity fraud using an AI replica of a person’s persona

• Require content generated by AI to have a watermark. That way, you wouldn’t always have to wonder whether images you see online are real or AI fakes.

• Read more here

Ways to support SB 163:

1. Testify in-person on Wednesday 5/13/26 at 9:45 AM. Use this template to guide you.

2. Can’t be there in-person? Use this template to submit written-only testimony in support of SB 163.

Check out TakeActionOhio.com for lots more key bills that need testimony and phone calls!

Have you heard about Ohio HB 486, the “Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act”?

This bill is moving quickly through the Statehouse and may move again next week.

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HB…

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At 8:06 am EST this morning, Donald Trump posted that “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”

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On Friday morning, GasBuddy shared a list of states with the biggest recent rise in gas prices. Ohio was #3 on the list. Today we’re #2…

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Today we learned that Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State, Frank LaRose, “has turned over the voter registration data of nearly 8 million Ohioans to the U.S. Department of Justice.”

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Last night, while most Americans slept, Donald Trump illegally bombed Iran without congressional approval. At least 100 school children were murdered in the attack. Many others died as well.

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Yesterday, the Ohio House passed SB 63, which will ban Ranked Choice Voting in Ohio and punish communities that try to use it.

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Rep Creech represents Ohio House District 40, which includes all of Preble County and parts of Montgomery and Butler Counties.

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