The morning newsletter of the Ohio Capital Journal
Reporting for the People
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By David DeWitt | Editor in Chief
Good morning Ohio!
With Social Security recipients facing automatic 22% cuts in six years, Ohioans could scarcely be more unified in their demand that it be fixed, according to a poll a nonpartisan foundation is calling attention to.
Getty Images.
By Marty Schladen
Due to decades of congressional inaction, the Social Security Trust Fund is now expected to become insolvent in six years. The shortfall will trigger an average monthly cut in Ohio of $487, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget reports.
By Morgan Trau, WEWS
Affordability is a top concern in Ohio’s competitive governor’s race. The candidates have different ways to provide relief.
By Doug Oplinger
Ohio voter registrations are down as the state faces what may be one of the most consequential midterm elections in modern history. The decline follows four years of new laws passed by the Republican legislature making it harder to register and harder to vote.
By Susan Tebben
Ohio voters will decide who the newest state attorney general will be in an open race to decide the state’s chief law enforcement officer and legal counsel.
STATELINE
The big challenges and policy issues that cross state lines.
By Elisha Brown
Student leaders around the country are pushing to make voting more accessible to college students. Students have protested against laws that they say could make casting ballots harder, including off-campus polling sites and bans on student IDs when voting.
By Anna Claire Vollers
Costs are soaring for people who care for their older parents and other family members, according to a new study.
By Amanda Watford
A half-dozen states enacted laws this year changing voting rules for people with felony convictions, including when their rights can be restored and how they can register to vote — affecting voters in next week’s elections.
THE RUNDOWN
News from other states
By Alixel Cabrera
New felony charges against Kalshi and a new federal lawsuit against Utah joined the litigation maze between the prediction market platform and the state this week.
NATIONAL NEWS
By Jonathan Shorman
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is unlawfully scrutinizing naturalized U.S. citizens and placing them at risk of disenfranchisement, civil rights groups alleged in a lawsuit Wednesday, less than a week before Election Day.
By Jonathan Shorman
A federal judge on Wednesday denied a U.S. Department of Justice request that would have forced California to not count the ballots of 20,000 voters the Trump administration alleges are likely noncitizens.
SCIENCE FRIDAY
AI companies know they are being held hostage by each other, and that they need to take action to self-regulate before they suffer major reputational and legal consequences. There is a blueprint on how they can do it. Read more from Livescience
CATCHING OUR EYE
Healthcare costs. Ideastream’s Ida Lieszkovszky reports, “'Out of control' healthcare costs and too few solutions worry Northeast Ohio voters.”
Nationwide, healthcare coverage has been getting more expensive. Small group coverage rates are expected to rise by 14% for next year. Prices on the healthcare marketplace are anticipated to jump 15%, on top of steep premium hikes coupled with the loss of federal subsidies. Even private insurance is set to increase by more than 8% on average.
Then there’s Medicaid. New work requirements will kick in at the start of the year, which means some people may no longer qualify for coverage. One study estimates that as many as 356,000 Ohioans could drop off the Medicaid rolls in 2027. But some voters say what they’re hearing from the candidates does not reflect the increases they’re seeing on their healthcare bills.Caregiving costs. NPR reports, “What's gone up even faster than gas or rent? The cost of caregiving.”
As prices have ticked up in recent years, the cost to caregivers has skyrocketed. A study, released Wednesday by AARP and shared first with NPR, finds that family caregivers — people helping out disabled, chronically ill or elderly adults — now spend an average $11,508 out of pocket each year. That's roughly 60% more than just five years ago, and adds up to 31% of a caregiver's income, on average.
The increase during those years is more than twice the overall rate of inflation of 24%, as measured by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index. What's driving the ramp-up? Food, housing and medical expenses are the biggest chunk, finds the study, which queried 2,538 family caregivers.Electricity costs. TIME reports, “Ohio’s Data-Center Revolt Is Upending the Midterms.”
The fervor against data centers is spreading across the state. Ohio has some 200 data centers, making it one of the biggest hubs in the country. In a former swing state that went red in the Trump era, Republicans admit the groundswell of political opposition to data centers has created a political opening for Ohio Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections…
A national Gallup poll published in May found that more than 70% of voters oppose building an AI data center in their area. In Ohio, where the average household’s electric bill climbed some 15% in the past year and more than 66% over the past decade, the sentiment is even more negative. A September survey by Bowling Green State University found that nearly 80% of Ohioans support a moratorium on data centers. More than 100 local governments in Ohio have reportedly enacted data-center moratoriums; in November, at least 10 will vote on adding a data-center ban to their charters, while two others will decide whether to recall mayors who cut data-center deals. In the eyes of opponents, the facilities—and the powerful AI industry that backs them—have come to represent an attack on their safety, jobs, pocketbooks, and quality of life.Data centers on the ballot. WLWT’s Giacomo Luca reports, “Ohioans will decide on most data center ballot issues in America.”
Ohio voters will decide on 21 local data center ballot issues this November, more than any other state in the nation. Buckeye voters are considering bans, regulations, and zoning changes related to data center infrastructure in 18 communities and 16 counties across the state.
THE POD
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, FOLKS.
Mahalo!
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