State ex rel. Jones v. Husted

In this mandamus action Relators sought a writ of mandamus to compel Secretary of State Jon Husted to restore more than 21,000 previously invalidated signatures in part-petitions supporting the Ohio Drug Price Relief Act. This action was a companion case to Ohio Mfrs. Ass’n v. Ohioans for Drug Price Relief Act, in which the Supreme Court found that the petition contained an insufficient number of signatures. In the instant case, the Supreme Court granted the requested writ in part and denied it in part, holding (1) the finding in Ohio Mfrs. Ass’n was based on the limited evidence before the Court in that case; (2) Husted is ordered to validate additional signatures from several counties, therefore establishing that the petition filing exceeded the minimum-signature threshold; and (3) Husted is ordered to rescind his transmission of the initiative to the General Assembly and is ordered instead to accept for verification the supplementary part-petitions, and if they are found to contain sufficient valid signatures, to place the matter on the November 2017 general-election ballot. View "State ex rel. Jones v. Husted" on Justia Law