Pricey pictures and other news
Posted May 02, 2012 in eNews
At what cost? A bill requiring Ohio voters to present photo identification would cost up to $7 million a year while suppressing votes, according to our photo voter ID study. The bill would make voting harder for the nearly one million Ohio citizens who currently lack government-issued photo ID cards. The bill passed the House last year and is (we hope permanently) stalled in the Senate, but similar measures have passed in 17 states. The American Legislative Exchange Council, the corporate-backed lobbying group pushing a conservative agenda, just abandoned its anti-voter and pro-gun work after the “Stand Your Ground” law the group promoted was linked to the shooting of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin. The American Prospect blog highlighted our photo voter study.
In the news – Papers from Toledo to Dayton to Cambridge to New York highlighted our work last week. A Toledo Blade editorial commended Governor Kasich for proposing a bank tax, as we did, but shared our caution about cutting tax rates for banks. The Columbia Journalism Review analyzed media coverage of the state’s job picture and quoted director Amy Hanauer lamenting the slow recovery. The Dayton Daily News quoted Hannah Halbert praising labor law enforcement for protecting law-abiding employers. Schools around the state are facing shortfalls, including the suburban Cincinnati district described in this story from the Daily Jeffersonian in Cambridge, which cited our survey of school finance officials.
Enough already – A broad national coalition is asking the U.S. Congress and the Obama administration to reduce the reliance on high-stakes testing in federal K-12 education law. You can sign onto the resolution here