NEWSROOM
Statements & Press Releases
Federal Court Strikes Down Restrictions on Voters with Disabilities in Ohio
7/23/24
COLUMBUS: Statement from Jen Miller, executive director for the League of Women Voters of Ohio, on behalf of plaintiff League of Women Voters of Ohio :
“We applaud the court for upholding the Voting Rights Act because grandkids, roommates, and other common-sense helpers should be able to assist their loved ones without fear of a felony sentence. Many Ohio voters with disabilities cannot easily travel to the one county dropbox while others may struggle to reach their mailbox or seal the ballot envelope. This is a victory for voters.”
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Voting Rights Groups File Motion for Summary Judgment in Federal Lawsuit Challenging HB 458 for Violating Americans with Disabilities Act
5/24/24
COLUMBUS: Statement from Jen Miller, executive director for the League of Women Voters of Ohio:
"Voters with disabilities face unreasonable barriers to the ballot box. Making it a felony to help your grandparent or roommate exercise their right to vote is fundamentally wrong. Ohioans with disabilities deserve to be heard, which starts by ensuring that they can freely and fairly vote,”
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Voting Rights Groups File Federal Lawsuit Challenging Ohio HB 458 for Violating Americans with Disabilities Act
COLUMBUS: Statement from Jen Miller, executive director for the League of Women Voters of Ohio:
“Ohioans with disabilities often rely on support from their communities to ensure their voices are heard in elections. To make it a crime to help your grandparent or neighbor exercise their right to vote is antithetical to democracy. The League is proud to assist voters who need assistance voting, and we will fight to ensure that voter assistance
League of Women Voters of Ohio’s Statement on the Ohio Ballot Board’s Decision
10/12/23
COLUMBUS: Statement from Jen Miller, Executive Director, League of Women Voters of Ohio, in response to the Ohio Ballot Board’s unanimous agreement today that the amendment proposal from Citizens Not Politicians contains just a single issue, clearing the way for signature collection to begin across Ohio.
“LWVO commends the Ohio Ballot Board for recognizing that the Citizens Not Politicians Amendment has one clear purpose: to give everyday people the power to draw impartial legislative districts. Very soon, our hard-working volunteers will be in communities across the Buckeye State to collect signatures and educate voters. We encourage you to join this broad diverse movement to ensure that politicians can no longer rig maps to guarantee their own re-elections and that Ohio voters finally have the fair representation they deserve.”
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League of Women Voters on Attorney General Yost’s Approval of Citizens Not Politicians’ Petition Language 10/02/23
COLUMBUS: Statement from Jen Miller, Executive Director, League of Women Voters of Ohio, in response to Attorney General Yost’s approval today of the petition summary language used by Citizens Not Politicians, as they move toward getting their constitutional amendment in front of Ohio voters in November of 2024.
“LWVO enthusiastically supports the Citizens not Politicians Amendment, because it is high time to ban politicians and lobbyists from rigging legislative maps for their own short-sighted, partisan interests. Now that the Attorney General has approved the petition summary, we look to the Ohio Ballot Board to move this process forward. Hopefully very soon, our petition volunteers will be in communities across with the Buckeye State to collect signatures. We are steadfast in defending the right of Ohio voters to have fair statehouse and congressional districts.”
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Equal and Fair Districts Coalitions statement on adopted statehouse maps, calls for constitutional change: Politicians stack the deck for political pals by cheating voters out of fair districts. 09/26/23
COLUMBUS - Tonight, the GOP-controlled Ohio Redistricting Commission voted to adopt statehouse district maps that tip the scales for Republican candidates and solidify GOP majorities in both chambers. The two coalitions, Equal Districts and Fair Districts condemn the latest political power-grab by both the Republican and Democratic members of the commission.
Link to full statement here.
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League of Women Voters of Ohio in the News
Ohio law at center of suit over who can help voters with disabilities cast absentee ballots
USA TODAY, 5/20/24
"There are commonsense helpers who are excluded explicitly from helping," said Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio. "We believe that grandchildren, roommates, significant others and caregivers should all be able to help a voter."
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Frank LaRose’s office flags 137 potential cases of voter activity by non-citizens. That would be .002% of Ohio voters.
Cleveland Plain Dealer, 5/15/24
Jen Miller of the League of Women Voters, in an interview, said most people flagged by the Ohio secretary of state’s office as potential non-citizen voters in the past have turned out to be citizens, as state officials were relying on outdated data about their citizenship status.”
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Inactive Voters To Be 'Purged' in Key Swing State
Newsweek, 5/7/24
"We applaud any effort that would allow Ohioans to know if they're at risk for being removed before they are removed from the voting rolls," Jen Miller, executive director for the League of Women Voters of Ohio, told The Columbus Dispatch. "But we believe there are far better ways to have accurate voter rolls, including automated voter registration and being part of the ERIC [Election Registration Information Center, a database that allows states to keep accurate voter roles that LaRose removed Ohio from last year] network where states communicate about their voter registration lists."
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Hand-counted ballots, voter ID rules: How GOP lawmakers want to change Ohio elections
Columbus Dispatch, 4/22/24
"Hand-counting has been upheld by people who are perpetrating disinformation as a more accurate way to run elections," said Nazek Hapasha, policy affairs manager for the League of Women Voters of Ohio.
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Ending gerrymandering? Ohio redistricting reform supporters outline problem and proposal in panel
Ohio Capital Journal, 3/19/24
“The biggest thing I get as a concern is once again the court would not have the power, or concern that there would still be loopholes,” Miller said. “I’m proud to say that a lot of brilliant folks designed this policy to make sure that we have lots of guardrails, so that we can truly end gerrymandering.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger headlines rally for Ohio redistricting ballot initiative
WOSU, 3/4/24
“Signature gathering is going very, very well. Our accuracy rates are high,” Miller said before the event. “We have thousands of volunteers in every congressional district, every Senate district, every House district out there.”
Story here
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Ohio Republicans use taxpayer funds to boost "absolutely false" anti-abortion claims ahead of vote
Salon, 11/06/23
The proposed amendment would, "in practical terms, go back to how abortion worked under Roe v. Wade," allowing the state to prohibit abortion care after viability at about 22-24 weeks unless a patient's life or health is at risk, added Miller, whose organization has been combatting misinformation through public webinars with neutral legal and medical experts and disseminating Issue 1 fact cards in Ohio neighborhoods.
Ohio purged 26,000 voters days before abortion referendum deadline
The Guardian, 11/03/23
Voting rights advocates also say the office did not follow its established – although not obligatory – practice of alerting voting rights groups ahead of the purge. The office would typically give “the entire list to groups like ours so that we could, one, make sure the list was accurate and two, contact voters”, said Jen Miller, executive director of Ohio’s League of Women Voters.
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Voting experts YOUR questions about early voting and next week's #Election2023, especially in light of recent voting ID law changes.
Sound of Ideas, 11/01/23
Ohio canceled over 26,000 inactive voter registrations. Here's what you need to know
Columbus Dispatch, 10/27/23
Miller said better notice ensures the League and other groups can help people re-register, if needed.
"We also know there can be a lot of mistakes made," Miller said. "We would like to see the secretary be incredibly transparent about who is being removed from the voter rolls simply for not voting because we are concerned that voter registration vendors could make mistakes and people could wrongfully be removed."
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Ohio 2023 Election: Voters need photo ID to cast in-person ballots for Nov. 7 election
The Independent, 10/23/23
“The evidence is showing us that there are still a lot of people who don’t understand or don’t know that you need a valid photo ID," said Nazek Hapasha, policy affairs manager for the League of Women Voters of Ohio.
Story here
Changes in Ohio voting laws mean new challenges for college and university students
WYSU, 10/23/23
Nazek Hapasha, the policy affairs manager for the League of Women Voters of Ohio, pointed out that many students, especially college freshman, are not permitted to have a car on campus — which makes it harder for them to get to the BMV to obtain an Ohio ID.
"If a student wants to vote on Election Day, securing a driver's license or a photo ID is a cumbersome process for many of them," Hapasha said.
The new law can create even more misunderstanding for young voters who are less likely to vote anyway, she said.
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How efforts to restrict democracy in Ohio also make it harder to fight climate change
Ohio Capital Journal, 10/09/23
Gerrymandering rigs outcomes. “Gerrymandering is manipulating district lines to secure outcomes for some candidates and some political parties,” said Jen Miller, who heads the League of Women Voters of Ohio. The new redistricting maps give Republicans veto-proof majorities of nearly 62% in the House and 70% in the Senate. Fair maps would have roughly a 55% to 45% split between Republicans and Democrats.
What's next for Ohio voters after approval of gerrymandered district maps?
WOSU, 10/04/23
Roundtable with:
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Jo Ingles, politics and government reporter, Statehouse News Bureau
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Nickie Antonio, Senate Minority Leader, Ohio Senate
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Frank Strigari, Columbus attorney, former chief legal counsel for the Ohio Senate
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Jen Miller, Executive Director, League of Women Voters of Ohio
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Bipartisan legislative redistricting deal doesn't stop push for citizens-led plan
WSYX, 09/28/23
Jen Miller, executive director of the Ohio League of Women Voters, harshly criticized the Ohio Redistricting Commission’s compromise maps -- in part because they were prepared behind closed doors and approved before the general public could see them, much less react.
For media inquiries or to arrange an interview, message us at press@lwvohio.org or contact Elisabeth Warner,