Time and time again, the Ohio Statehouse subverts the will of the people. And this will keep happening until we (1) vote in decent politicians or (2) get better organized.
The good news is we don't need to wait around for an election to get better organized. There are citizen-led groups working now to help us learn how to do direct democracy better.
In another case of government overreach, the Ohio Statehouse passed SB63 and the governor signed it on March 2026. The bill prohibits cities and townships the right to use Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) to elect local officials.
Emphasis on the word right. Because Ohio is a home rule state, localities have the authority to govern their own local affairs-- including deciding how the elect local officials.
Not only does the bill deny a constitutionally protect right, it also promises to punish any locality that enacts RCV. The punishment? The Statehouse will withhold Local Government Funding and divert those funds to... (take a wild guess), the state budget.
Stand by for news about certain local governments challenging the ban.