League of Women Voters of the Akron Area

06/11/2026

On June 10, Ohio's legislature voted in favor of House Bill 472, a bill originally intended to provide needed ID free of charge for the homeless, but was weaponized to include convoluted new voter ID requirements for voting by mail.
☎ Please call Gov. Mike DeWine and urge him to veto House Bill 472!
Call (614) 644-4357, or (614) 466-3555, and let him know that:
▪️ The legislation was rushed and didn’t provide an opportunity for a thorough review. There are likely to be unintended consequences.
▪️ The procedures for providing copies of IDs through the mail or via an online portal leaves Ohioans’ personal information vulnerable.
▪️ This is an unfunded and complicated mandate for boards of elections.
▪️ There are already bipartisan election procedures in place to confirm the identity of those voting by mail.

06/11/2026

Based on research from school finance expert, Howard Fleeter, the Plain Dealer‘s Anna Staver traces a persistent decline in Ohio's state investment in public education:
“In fiscal year 1999, the state covered about 47% of the base cost of education, according to the Ohio Education Policy Institute. This fiscal year, the state will cover 38%. By FY 2027, that share is projected to drop to 32%. As the state steps back, more of the responsibility for funding schools shifts onto local homeowners—through their property tax bills."

By Jan Resseger

Congress passed the nation’s enormous public education law, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, in 1965 as the centerpiece of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. The goal…

06/11/2026

Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, called it an unfunded mandate that would result in voter confusion and disenfranchisement of older and disabled voters.

“Given the inherent complexity of election law, such a major change should not be made hastily. Doing so risks triggering a cascade of complications and unintended consequences,” Miller said.

by Andrew Tobias

The law is a companion to a Republican measure asking Ohio voters to add existing photo ID requirements for voters to the state constitution.

06/10/2026

Update 👇👇👇

The Ohio Senate just passed Sub. HB 472, a bill that started out as a bipartisan effort to make getting government ID easier for Ohioans without a permanent address but overnight—literally—was turned into a very complicated election law bill.

And despite more than 90 people submitting testimony to oppose the bill in just a few hours, including elections officials who spoke about how voters would be hurt if 472 was passed, including people representing organizations who had initially supported the bill, lawmakers passed it less than 48 hours after it was made public.

We know this: rushing any legislation is bad. Rushing election law? Really, really bad.

The bill now goes back to the Ohio House.

Read more here: statenews.org/government-politics/2026-06-10/bipartisan-measure-on-ids-for-poor-ohioans-morphs-into-mail-in-voting-bill

06/09/2026

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06/06/2026

TAKE ACTION: Thank Ohio Senators for Voting to Protect Survivors' Access to Voting | Take a moment to thank your Ohio Senator for supporting SB 225 and helping ensure that all eligible Ohioans can safely participate in our democracy.

06/04/2026

06/04/2026

❤️🖤💚 Juneteenth Stronger Together 2026 is coming to Akron!

Join us June 17, 19 & 20 for community, culture, conversations, fireworks, live entertainment, food, vendors, family activities, and celebration across the city.

Let’s honor the past while building the future — together. ✨