Ohio attorney general rejects voting-rights coalition’s ballot petition for a 2nd time

By JULIE CARR SMYTH
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A voting-rights coalition is vowing to fight on after Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost issued his second rejection of its petition language for a proposed constitutional amendment. The Republican on Thursday found the title of the “Ohio Voters Bill of Rights” was “highly misleading and misrepresentative.” That’s even as he acknowledged that his office had previously certified identical language. Yost said the Ohio Supreme Court recently expanded his authority regarding petition headings. Members of the voting rights coalition, which includes the NAACP, the Ohio Unity Coalition, the A. Philip Randolph Institute and the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, said they dutifully addressed his objections.