By the time you read this, Rep Bill Setiz will likely have introduced a bad voting bill in the Ohio House. Bad because it makes voting more difficult by eliminating the last day of early vote, only allowing drop boxes for the ten days before an election, ratcheting up ID requirements for absentee voting, and making other small but significant changes. Despite our clean elections and Trump victory, Ohio doesn't want to be left behind in the rush towards increased "election security" -- fueled of course by The Big Lie.

The U.S. Census Bureau released apportionment data and, as expected, Ohio lost one congressional seat. The rest of the data needed for official mapmakers to draw new districts won't be released until mid-August at the earliest, but that doesn't mean there isn't work to be done right away to get ready for map drawing.

Our friends and allies from Lancaster and other parts are leading a weekly event outside Portman's office: For the People Friday, 3pm Fridays, at 37 W Broad St, Columbus. 

In Columbus, the profound relief we all felt on hearing the Chauvin verdict was upended with the horrifying news of another police killing. We'll learn more in the next days and weeks, but no matter what, 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant should still be alive today.

Right now, our right to free speech in Ohio is under attack with multiple bills at the Statehouse. SB 33 that penalizes and criminalizes many forms of peaceful protest at oil and gas infrastructure sites was signed into law January 2021 and is now in effect.