Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced special election dates for Congressional District 15 to fill the vacancy due to Steve Stivers resignation to become the president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

The dates August 3 for the special primary and November 2 for the special general election are the same as the special election to fill the vacancy in Congressional District 11 created by the departure of Marcia Fudge, who is now the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

The regularly scheduled primary election for ballot issues and municipalities remains on May 4.

Rep. Steve Stivers announced he is resigning from Congress on May 16 to become the president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

Stivers has been representing Ohio’s 15th Congressional District since 2011 and had been viewed as a potential candidate to run for the seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman.

A decision on when to hold the special election for Congressional District 15 will be made by Gov. DeWine and has not been announced.

Voters in Ohio’s 11th Congressional District will choose the successor to former Rep. Marcia Fudge in a special primary on August 3 and the special election on November 2.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced a special election for November 2 to fill the vacancy in U.S. House District 11 created by the departure of Marcia Fudge, who is now the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

The special primary election will be held August 3, whereas the regularly scheduled primary election for ballot issues and municipalities remains on May 4.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 404 into law, extending expiration dates for licenses issued by state agencies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lobbyist registrations set to expire at the end of 2020 will remain active until July 1, 2021.

Any lobbyist who does not plan to continue lobbying activity in 2021 must log in and terminate engagement in OLAC.

The new renewal registration window will open in late spring 2021.

All registered lobbyists will receive follow-up information regarding specific dates from JLEC.

This extension is limited to lobbying engagements registered prior to November 22, 2020.

New lobbyists submit registrations in the usual manner, within 10 days of engagement.

This extension does not affect the deadline for activity and expenditure reports required to be filed electronically in OLAC by Monday, February 1, 2021.

Three Republican lawmakers have introduced articles of impeachment against Gov. Mike DeWine over his COVID-19 response.

A resolution introduced by Representatives John Becker (Clermont County) and co-sponsors Nino Vitale (Champaign County) and Paul Zeltwanger (Warren County) includes 10 articles of impeachment against DeWine.

The trio allege his handling of the pandemic violated the Ohio and United States Constitution, in addition to several sections of the Ohio Revised Code.

The articles claim DeWine interfered in the primary election and violated the separation of powers by having the Department of Health issue orders outside the scope of its authority.

In order for DeWine to be removed from office, a majority of the House would need to approve the resolution, and then two-thirds of the Senate would have to vote to convict him.

Gov. Mike DeWine signed the coronavirus response bill on March 27 eliminating in-person voting for almost everyone who has not previously voted in the presidential and state primary elections.

All voting will now be replaced with extended mail-in voting.

House Bill 197 voids Directive 2020-06, issued by Secretary of State Frank LaRose, moving the Ohio presidential and state primary election to June 2.

The bill requires the Office of Secretary of State to send a postcard to every registered voter, notifying them of the procedures to obtain an application for an absentee ballot and the procedures and deadline to return it.

Registered voters who have not already cast a ballot in the March 17 primary election, or in any special election held on the day of the primary election, may vote using an absentee ballot.

In person voting is only available for certain disabled voters and voters who are unable to receive mail.

All applications must be received by April 28 or postmarked on or before April 27 and received by mail not later than May 8.

For the purpose of the campaign contribution limits, the date of the 2020 primary election is March 17.

However, the statements of contributions and expenditures required to be filed after the primary election must be filed not later than 4:00 p.m. on June 5.

The bill is effective immediately.

Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to sign a coronavirus response bill passed by legislators.

The bill includes a provision to extend absentee balloting till April 28 for the presidential and state primary elections.

The state’s Health Department postponed in-person voting originally scheduled for March 17 in response to COVID-19 concerns.

House Bill 197 cancels the rescheduled date of June 2 and instructs Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office to send a postcard to every registered voter in the state to notify them of methods to obtain an application for an absentee voter’s ballot.

The bill does not require an absentee ballot request actually be mailed to every voter.

An extremely limited group of voters will be able to vote in-person on April 28.

This includes disabled voters and those without a home address, but for most people, the option is not available.