Mayor from Ohio. (Getty image file photo.)
Each morning in the Ohio Capital Journal’s free newsletter, The Eye-Opener, we round up the news and commentary from across Ohio, the country and the world that catches our attention. We call this feature Catching Our Eye and have published it here.
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Catching our eyes
• Postal ballots. Jo Ingles of the Statehouse News Bureau reports: “Voting rights advocates are reporting problems with Ohio’s novel absentee ballot law.“
This is the first election in Ohio in which absentee ballots must be returned by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. Voting rights advocates say they are hearing from voters who are concerned that their mailed ballots will arrive on time.
Cincinnati-area voter Terry Susskind stated that she requested and received an absentee ballot on April 14. On April 29, she called the electoral commission to check.
“The ballot hasn’t arrived yet. They were very helpful,” she said. “They said they would send me another ballot, which arrived within two days, which we filled out and returned.”
• Sports betting on credit. Jeremy Pelzer of Cleveland.com reports: “Ohio bans the employ of credit cards for sports betting“
Ohioans could soon lose the ability to employ credit cards to place sports bets under a proposed rule change unveiled this week by Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration.
The rule change, which could come into effect in just a few months, is one of the reforms sought by sports betting critics who say using credit cards to place bets increases the risk of gambling addiction and financial ruin.
• Richland County voters ban solar and wind power. Jake Zuckerman of Signal Ohio reports: “MAGA-friendly Richland County voters keep wind and solar bans in place“
In the Republican-dominated district, voters narrowly supported banning utility-scale renewables in most of the county by a 53% to 47% vote. A supporter of the referendum called the result disappointing, although “meaningful.”
• The FBI is hunting down journalists. MSNOW reports: “FBI investigates leaks to journalist who wrote explosive article about Kash Patel: Sources.“
The FBI has launched an investigation into the leak, focusing on an Atlantic magazine journalist who last month wrote a highly unflattering report on CEO Kash Patel’s work habits, two people familiar with the matter told MS NOW.
Sources say the so-called insider threat investigation is highly unusual because it does not stem from the disclosure of classified information and focuses on leaks to a reporter. The agents involved are part of the Huntsville, Alabama-based Insider Threat Unit, the sources added.
Typically, leak investigations focus on government officials who may have disclosed state secrets or classified documents. Journalists who receive and publish such information are usually only involved as potential witnesses.
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