CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose ordered five county boards of elections to review the petitions of 6 potential candidates and update their ballots for the Aug. 2 special legislative election.
The order comes after a state supreme court ruling that county boards of elections must accept and review signature petitions for the six candidates. Counties will also be required to update their ballots and send supplemental ballots to overseas and military voters, for whom voting has already begun.
“Ballots have already gone out to those Ohioans living and serving overseas, but the court’s irresponsible ruling now requires county election officials to send them new ballots to accommodate candidates who filed illegal petitions,” LaRose, a Republican, said in a statement. “This ignores the rule of law, sets a terrible precedent, and causes an unnecessary disservice to Ohio voters, especially those serving in our military.”
The change in policy came about after the months-long fiasco over redistricting. Republicans, including LaRose, on the Ohio Redistricting Commission repeatedly submitted legislative district maps the state supreme court deemed unconstitutional.
Several candidates missed the original February filing deadline as there were no maps in place. Once a federal three-judge panel ruled they would implement one of the unconstitutional maps by May 3, the candidates submitted their petitions.
LaRose argued the six candidates’ petitions, all Demcorats, should not be accepted as they missed the February deadline and the May 3 date that the election was technically set was less than the 90 days required by state law to the Aug. 2 election.
The plaintiffs argued there was technically no election set then as there were technically no districts in which to run.
Ultimately, the court rejected LaRose’s argument in a 4-3 decision and ordered the six candidates to appear on the ballots while rejecting two others who filed their petitions later.
In his Sunday order, LaRose mandated the Franklin, Montgomery and Licking county boards of elections to accept the petitions of the candidates and certify them if they qualify. Those counties, along with Fairfield and Perry counties, must amend their ballots if necessary.
County boards must certify candidates no later than 9 p.m. Thursday. Protests and challenges to petitions must be filed by noon Friday, with protest hearings and rulings done by 9 p.m. July 5.
Counties must also supply overseas and military voters with supplemental ballots if their ballot is affected. Boards are required to segregate ballots from any voter who may require a supplemental ballot. Ballots cannot be remade or scanned until the 11th day after the election to allow for the return of any supplemental ballots.
Boards will also be required to have updated absentee and early in-person ballots by July 6. If they are not able to have scannable ballots by then, boards will print ballots and then remake them.
This story has been corrected to show that the secretary of state’s office will send supplemental ballots to overseas and military voters instead of provisional ballots.