The Ohio Senate on Friday signed two bills aimed at ensuring President Joe Biden’s participation in Ohio’s vote and criminalizing foreign influence in statewide ballot campaigns. The tightening has drawn pointed criticism from Democrats, who say Republicans are using access to the presidential ballot for future statewide initiatives on kneecaps.
They add that Democrats are already planning a virtual convention and that the precipitating crisis has been averted and there is no need to rush legislation.
After the Senate adjourned, Senate President Matt Huffman said some members of his caucus had “heartburn” over Biden’s confirmation to the ballot.
“But we also understood that firstly, this is the right decision, secondly, it will happen anyway, and thirdly, we should have control over this decision,” he said.
Ohio House of Representatives sends foreign influence to Senate, Biden ballot improvement bill
When the bill was passed by the House yesterday, several dozen Republicans voted against the measure that would clear the way for Biden to vote.
The entire exercise began with Secretary of State Frank LaRose reminding officials in April that Ohio’s presidential nomination deadline was before the scheduled Democratic National Convention. In the past, lawmakers have approved transient amendments to extend the deadline. But this year, Senate GOP leaders decided not to waste the opportunity and tied the deadline change to a proposal to ban foreign influence in citizen initiative campaigns.
The House objected. The governor called a special session.
Since Tuesday, lawmakers have been haggling over what will land on the governor’s desk. They largely hit where the Senate wanted them, combining the voting amendment with foreign influence legislation. But the House made some concessions.
As Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, described, the penalty for a first offense will be a first-degree misdemeanor, not a fifth-degree felony. The bill also leaves local ballot issues out of its scope and does not impose penalties on campaign treasurers – they manage rather than solicit funds, Seitz argued.
Yet another concession was withdrawn to the floor of the House. Instead of going by the federal definition of “alien,” House lawmakers opted to employ a more sweeping definition that includes lawful eternal residents — green card holders. The change is consistent with the intention of the Senate negotiators.
Senate debate
When the Senate session began, lawmakers first had to suspend rules requiring several days of hearings on legislation.
Senator Bill DeMora of Columbus tried to change this solution in the form of a simplified ban on foreign contributions. He claimed that he was “doing what the majority wanted and the minority was never opposed.” Sen. Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, criticized the lack of penalties and the amendment was defeated.
Echoing Rep. Seitz’s criticism, Sen. Niraj Antani, R-Miamisburg, warned that applying campaign spending bans to green card holders would make the measure vulnerable to a court challenge. He set up a straightforward equation: The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that money is speech and has ruled that legal eternal residents have the right to free speech.
“It will be brought up under this bill,” Antani argued, “and the whole thing will be invalidated because we in the Legislature overreached.”
Sen. Catherine Ingram, D-Cincinnati, proposed removing a provision authorizing the Attorney General to investigate and prosecute any potential incidents involving foreign influence. Democrats in both chambers have bristled at wanting to give a political actor more power over campaigns. They argue that power should be vested in the Ohio Board of Elections, made up of three Republicans, three Democrats and one independent.
In a statement, Attorney General Dave Yost himself said: “I did not ask for authority for this bill, and I don’t care whether it’s my office or someone else doing this work – but the work must get done.”
McColley rejected Ingram’s amendment, arguing that the Attorney General’s office was better equipped to handle complicated cases.
“These cases are inherently complex,” McColley argued. “These matters are international in nature. These matters, by their nature, will require an awful lot of time and difficulty and will require the full strength and effectiveness of the state government behind them.
The Ingram Amendment failed.
Then the Senate dealt with a bill extending the deadline for parties to nominate presidential candidates. McColley revisited the bill’s introduction and argued that “Ohioans deserve to have a choice in this election.”
DeMora proposed an amendment to make the changes eternal. He noted that the presidential races and the Summer Olympics take place on the same four-year cycle, which means political conventions compete for restricted television airtime.
“Instead of worrying about this every four years,” he argued, “why don’t we just fix it permanently, why don’t we just make it so that 60 or three days have passed since the end of the presidential party’s term”? convention of nominees, whichever comes next, and solve this problem once and for all?”
Unlike changes related to foreign influence, McColley urged patience when changing the ballot. Lawmakers shouldn’t rush to adopt radical policies without a “more thoughtful deliberation process” that includes input from the Secretary of State’s office.
DeMora’s amendment failed and the Senate voted to adopt a one-time change of date.
Aftermath
Speaking to reporters after the fact, Huffman dismissed concerns about including green card holders in the definition of foreign nationals. Like other lawmakers, he pointed to a 2022 ballot measure barring non-citizens from voting, which passed with nearly 77% support.
“A few years ago, Ohioans were very clear on this issue that these people cannot vote,” Huffman said, “which is, of course, a fundamental participation in the political system. So I don’t think it contradicts that at all.”
He admitted that a lawsuit would probably come, but argued that it would happen anyway.
As for meeting the deadline despite plans for a virtual convention, Huffman argued that it was a viable fallback scenario. “Sometimes people say they’re going to do something and then they don’t do it,” he said. He added that it is always possible that someone could challenge the virtual convention.
“We just want to get that question answered and move on,” he said. Echoing McColley, he said a eternal solution was a good idea, but not without input from the Secretary of State.
Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio described the rescheduling as a safeguard, but couldn’t say whether the party would cancel its virtual convention. Regarding the argument put forward by Antani that the definition of foreign citizenship would lead to a court action, she stated that he “might be right” and that the measure was “questionable – absolutely.”
Follow the OCJ reporter Nick Evans on Twitter.
