What yes or no vote really means for Ohio Issue 2 in May election
If passed, Issue 2 would allow the state to give out up to $250 million in bonds annually, or $2.5 billion over the next decade, to fund local infrastructure projects, like building roads, bridges, landfills, water supply systems and more. It's a funding program dating back to 1987, and Ohio voters have renewed it three times since — in 1995 with 62% of the vote, in 2005 with 54%, and in 2014 with 65%.
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The amendment's passage would mark an increase in the program's spending, as the current cycle is capped at issuing $200 million annually. However, because the amendment is a bond program, it's repaid using existing revenue and will not raise taxes.
A 'yes' vote would be in support of the program and extending it for another 10 years, while a 'no' vote would be in favor of ending the program after the current cycle's projects wrap up.
Issue 2 has bipartisan support from most Statehouse lawmakers and is backed by the Strong Ohio Communities Coalition, a group of stakeholders like the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and the Ohio Contractors Association. The coalition noted that the program has funded more than 19,000 projects since 1987, and its renewal would create an estimated 35,000 construction jobs.
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'[The program] has a long and proven track record of success — funding vital roadway improvements and critical water safety projects across all 88 counties,' said Logan County Engineer Scott Coleman. 'Issue 2's broad support from local elected officials, business leaders, and labor groups mirrors the nearly unanimous bipartisan support the General Assembly gave inagreeing to place the renewal issue before voters on the May 6 ballot.'
A few Republican legislators said they are voting against Issue 2, and those opponents are backed by The Grassroots Freedom Initiative. One of those lawmakers is Rep. Ron Ferguson (R-Wintersville), who argues not all Ohio communities are benefiting from the program and that the state needs to find a better way to fund these infrastructure projects.
'I do think it's outdated, and it continues to grow,' Ferguson previously told NBC4. 'We're in this time where we should be making tax dollars stretch as far as possible to provide as many good, solid services for people as possible and I don't think this is the most efficient way to do that.'
Those in Ohio wishing to use mail-in voting must first submit a request form for an absentee ballot, available here, and return it by mail or in person to their county board of elections. While Ohio began mailing absentee ballots on April 8 to those who submitted a request, the deadline to request a ballot is seven days before the election on April 29.
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After receiving and completing their ballot, Ohioans must ensure their ballot is postmarked by the day before the election, May 5, in order to be counted. Voters can also return their absentee ballot in person to their county board of elections before the polls close at 7:30 p.m. on May 6.
Early in-person voting started on April 8. Voters can cast ballots at county boards of elections most days leading up to the weekend before special election day, so long as they come with photo identification. Here's when you can vote early:
April 14-18: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
April 21-25: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
April 28: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
April 29: 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
April 30 – May 2: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
May 3: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
May 4: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Ohio requires in-person voters to have a form of photo identification in order to vote. That includes an Ohio driver's license, an Ohio ID card, a U.S. passport or passport card, a U.S. military ID, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ID, or an Ohio National Guard ID.
All identification must have an expiration date that has not passed, a photograph of the voter, and the voter's name, which must substantially conform to the voter's name as it appears in the poll list.
There are many resources on the Secretary of State's website, that will make your trip to the polls easier:
View your sample ballot here.
Find your May 6 polling location here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Newsweek
27 minutes ago
- Newsweek
DNC Takes Swipe at Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Outside His Iowa Speech
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Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk added to the tension, using his social media platform to criticize party leaders and amplify divisions over the bill, even pledging to support primary challengers to Republicans who vote in favor of the legislation. This is not the first time Democrats have used billboards or aerial banners to target Trump and his allies over policy. In April, Democrats launched a "Qatar-a-Lago" banner near Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate on Palm Beach in Florida after backlash over a luxury plane gifted to the U.S. by the Middle Eastern nation. The Democratic National Committee is set to place this billboard outside the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, where President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak on Thursday. (Photo from the DNC) The Democratic National Committee is set to place this billboard outside the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, where President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak on Thursday. 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"Make no mistake: Regardless of what Trump or Ernst think, gutting Medicaid is a life or death matter for many Americans — and Republicans are making it crystal clear that they do not care," the DNC said in a release to Newsweek. "Now, as Trump visits the Iowa state fairgrounds, on the drive in, Iowans will be reminded about how Trump and Ernst don't give a damn about them." The president is set to speak at "A New Era of American Greatness: America250's Kick-Off Celebration" in Des Moines around 7:30 p.m. CT Thursday. "I am thrilled to announce that I will be traveling to one of my favorite places in the World, beautiful Iowa, on Thursday, July 3rd, to kick off the very beginning of our exciting Celebration of America's 250th Anniversary," the president said on Truth Social Monday. "Iowa voted for me THREE TIMES, because they love my Policies for our Wonderful Farmers and Small Businesses, and they LOVE AMERICA! This will be a very special event, honoring our Great Country, and our Brave Heroes who fought to keep us FREE. You can RSVP to join me here — See you there! I'll also tell you some of the GREAT things I've already done on Trade, especially as it relates to Farmers. You are going to be very happy with what I say — Should be a BIG Crowd," the president concluded in his post. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn before boarding Marine One and departing the White House on July 1 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by) President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn before boarding Marine One and departing the White House on July 1 in Washington, D.C. 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Ernst, in a statement on Tuesday after the Senate passed the bill: "President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill delivers on what Iowans voted for in November, keeping more money in hardworking folks' pockets, real border security, and a safer America." The Iowa senator added: "In addition to the largest tax cut in history for our families, farmers, and small businesses, the bill strengthens the integrity of Medicaid and prioritizes those who truly need help by eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse. I am proud to have fought to save $100 million for taxpayers over the next decade and eliminated unfair practices in the FAFSA [Free Application for Federal Student Aid] process that held back farm families from investing in their child's education. I will always fight to improve Iowans' lives and continue to lead the charge in Washington to reduce reckless spending and put taxpayers first." 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Chicago Tribune
27 minutes ago
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Letters: Clean energy is in the crosshairs of this administration
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Los Angeles Times
31 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
With ‘Alligator Alcatraz,' Trump and DeSantis define their immigration policy as a tragic farce
Just as you may have thought that it was finally safe to think about American politics without thinking about Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, he has slinked his way into the national news again. The occasion was a tour he hosted Tuesday for Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of what has become known as 'Alligator Alcatraz,' a detention camp hastily erected in the Everglades to hold immigration detainees in tents and within chain-link cages. (Environmental groups already have filed lawsuits about the camp's encroachment into the environmentally sensitive Everglades.) The day before the tour, DeSantis cackled over the conditions awaiting detainees in the camp located about 45 miles west of Miami amid swamps inhabited by pythons and alligators. 'Good luck getting to civilization,' he said. 'So the security is amazing — natural and otherwise.' 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The spokesperson told me by email, 'Any claim that there are subprime conditions at ICE detention centers are false.' More on that in a moment. First, a quick review of how DeSantis, like other GOP politicians, has exploited immigration and other hot-button issues for political advantage. On the national level, this began as a campaign against pandemic lockdowns and mask mandates — at one point while COVID was raging across his state, DeSantis publicly upbraided schoolchildren for wearing masks at a presentation, calling it 'COVID theater.' He progressed to questioning the safety of COVID vaccines and to trying to demonize Anthony Fauci, then the most respected public health official in the land. The ultimate harvest was one of the worst rates of COVID deaths in the nation. DeSantis' defenders explained that this was because Florida has a high proportion of seniors, but couldn't explain why its rate was worse than other states with even higher proportions of elderly residents. He pursued attacks on LGBTQ+ people through an 'anti-woke' campaign, though judges ruled against his efforts to legislate how teachers and professors did their jobs. DeSantis tried to take his show on the road via a quest for the presidential nomination, but his culture warfare didn't obscure his maladroit skills on the stump. (I once described DeSantis as having 'all the charisma of a linoleum floor,' after which The Times received an indignant letter from a reader asserting that I owed linoleum an apology.) But his policymaking has long ceased to be a laughing matter, especially when it comes to immigration. In February, DeSantis signed a law making it a felony for an undocumented immigrant to enter the state of Florida. That law was blocked in April by federal Judge Kathleen M. Williams of Miami, who subsequently found state Atty. Gen. James Uthmeier in contempt for indicating to law enforcement officers that they didn't have to comply with her order. The cruelty-for-cruelty's-sake nature of Trump's immigrant crackdown is vividly illustrated not only by his glee over the Everglades camp, but also the brutality of the ICE raids as depicted by the plaintiffs in the Los Angeles lawsuit. The plaintiffs in the class action include five individuals (among them two U.S. citizens) who were detained in the raids, the United Farm Worker and three immigrant advocacy organizations. Since early June, Southern California 'has been under siege,' the lawsuit asserts. 'Masked federal agents, sometimes dressed in military-style clothing, have conducted indiscriminate immigration operations, flooding street corners, bus stops, parking lots, agricultural sites, day laborer corners, and other places, setting up checkpoints, and entering businesses, interrogating residents as they are working, looking for work, or otherwise trying to go about their daily lives, and taking people away.' The plaintiffs ascribe this behavior to a quota of 3,000 immigration arrests per day set by presidential aide Stephen Miller. 'It is practically impossible to arrest 3,000 people per day without breaking the law flagrantly,' Mohammad Tajsar of the ACLU of Southern California, which represents the plaintiffs, told me. The lawsuit cites reporting by my colleague Rachel Uranga that, although the administration describes the raids' targets as 'the worst of the worst,' most of those nabbed had never been charged with a crime or had no criminal convictions. Of the five individual plaintiffs, three were arrested at a bus stop while waiting to be picked up for a job, one — a U.S. citizen — at an Orange County car wash and one at an auto yard where he says he was manhandled by agents even after explaining that he is a U.S. citizen. The agents' refusal to identify themselves and give detainees the reason for their arrest violates legal regulations, the lawsuit states. As the lawsuit describes the L.A. holding location, the basement of a federal building downtown, it's not designed for long-term detention. It lacks beds, showers and medical facilities. The detainees are held in rooms so overcrowded that they 'cannot sit, let alone lie down, for hours at a time.' Lawyers and families have often been prevented from seeing them the plaintiffs say. A 2010 settlement of a previous lawsuit stipulated that detainees would not be held in the facility for more than 12 hours, and that they be permitted to meet with their lawyers for at least four hours a day seven days a week. Some detainees have been held there for days. The settlement has since expired; the plaintiffs say 'the unlawful conditions that led to the settlement more than a decade ago are recurring today.' Make no mistake: None of this is accidental or unavoidable. Trump's comments during his tour of the Everglades camp, and the actions of immigration agents in L.A. — many of which have been documented by onlookers' videos — make clear that sowing fear among people trying to go about their daily lives is high among the goals of what has become a theatrical anti-immigrant farce. It's no less tragic for that.
