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COLUMBUS, Ohio - This week's special election was one of the toughest in years for Ohio school districts.

The Ohio School Boards Association says voters approved just six of the 23 school tax requests on the ballot around the state on Tuesday. That works out to a passage rate of 26 percent, the lowest in an August election since the 14 percent approved in 2007.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The state attorney general says a group that wants to legalize medical marijuana has failed to submit enough petition signatures in its initial effort to put the issue before voters. At least 1,000 valid signatures were required before the group could proceed. Attorney General Mike DeWine says only 534 signatures were valid.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio voters opposed to a new collective bargaining law that limits public employee unions will get to vote "no" at the ballot box this fall, following a decision Wednesday by the state Ballot Board.

 The decision followed hours of negotiation by Secretary of State Jon Husted, the board's Republican chairman. It echoes years of Ohio ballot tradition, but also counts as a victory for the law's opponents. Voters against or confused by an issue tend to vote against it.

A former secretary of state who stirred up controversy in the Republican Party when he ran in 2006 seems to be interested in shaking up the GOP again. Ken Blackwell spoke to about 30 people at the Columbus Metropolitan Club today, talking about the debt ceiling crisis. Blackwell wrote on Twitter last week that Tea Party Congressman Jim Jordan of Urbana should run for the US Senate next year if his district is erased in redistricting.

 COLUMBUS, Ohio  - The Ohio Chamber of Commerce has pledged to put money and the clout of its 6,000 business members behind the state's new collective bargaining law.

The board of the state's largest business advocacy group agreed today to help defend the law against a repeal effort on the November ballot. The board members did not decide how much money to spend on the campaign.