Justia Ohio Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

On August 18, 2015, the Ohio Ballot Board adopted ballot language for State Issue 3, a proposed constitutional amendment to Article XV of the Ohio Constitution. Secretary of State Jon Husted issued the ballot title one week later. On August 27, 2015, Relators, the signature-gathering organization ResponsibleOhio and others, commenced this action seeking a writ of mandamus compelling the Ballot Board to replace the ballot language drafted and approved to accompany Issue 3 on the November 2015 ballot. Relators also sought a writ of mandamus against Husted in connection with Issue 3’s ballot title. The Supreme Court granted a writ of mandamus with respect to four specific paragraphs of the ballot language and denied a writ of mandamus as to the title. View "State ex rel. ResponsibleOhio v. Ohio Ballot Bd." on Justia Law

Electors in the counties of Medina, Fulton, and Athens filed petitions to adopt charters their their respective counties. Secretary of State Jon Husted sustained protests against the three petitions, invalidated the petitions, and ordered that the charter proposals shall not appear on the ballots for the November 3, 2015 general election. Relators commenced this expedited election case seeking a writ of mandamus to compel Husted to reverse his decision and compel placement of the charter measures on the November ballots. The Supreme Court denied the writ, holding (1) Husted lacked the authority to reject the petitions on the ground that the charters unconstitutionally interfered with the State’s exclusive authority to regulate oil and gas operations; but (2) Husted’s alternative basis for invalidating the charter petitions, namely that the charters did not satisfy the threshold requirements that define a charter initiative, was within his discretion. View "State ex rel. Walker v. Husted" on Justia Law

On November 20, 2014, the city council of Fremont, Ohio passed an ordinance authorizing the mayor to proceed with the process of removing the Ballville Dam. A referendum petition was delivered to Paul Grahl, Fremont’s city auditor, but Grahl did not transmit the referendum petition to the board of elections. Appellants sought a writ of mandamus in the Court of Appeals seeking to compel Grahl to transmit a certified copy of the ordinance, along with the petitions, to the board of elections. The appellate court denied the writ, concluding that the ordinance was not subject to referendum. The Supreme Court reversed and granted the writ, holding that the ordinance was subject to referendum. View "State ex rel. Szymanowski v. Grahl" on Justia Law

On May 4, 2015, Bernabei resigned as treasurer for three Democratic campaigns and filed his statement of candidacy and nominating petitions with the Stark County Board of Elections declaring his independent candidacy for Mayor of Canton. Nine protestors filed a protest against Bernabei’s candidacy. The Board of Elections members deadlocked on the protest. Secretary of State Jon Husted broke the tie in favor of certifying Bernabei’s independent candidacy for the November 2015 ballot. Relator, one of the protestors, filed the present suit for a writ of prohibition, asserting that Bernabei was not a genuine resident of Canton on the date he filed his nominating petitions and that he did not actually disaffiliate from the Democratic Party before filing his petitions. The Supreme Court denied the writ, holding (1) Relator was not entitled to a writ of prohibition based on an alleged residency defect; and (2) Realtor failed to demonstrate that he presented clear and convincing evidence on the disaffiliation question, that Husted abused his discretion, or that Husted acted in clear disregard of applicable law. View "State ex rel. Morris v. Stark County Bd. of Elections" on Justia Law

On May 4, 2015, Francis H. Cicchinelli Jr., who had a long history as a Democratic Party candidate and officeholder in the city of Massillon, filed a statement of candidacy and nominating petitions with the Stark County Board of Elections declaring his independent candidacy for Mayor of Massillon in the November 2015 election. Four protestors filed a protest of Cicchinelli’s candidacy. The Board of Elections members deadlocked on the protest. Secretary of State Jon Husted broke the tie in favor of certifying Cicchinelli’s independent candidacy for the November ballot. Relators, two of the protestors, filed suit in the Supreme Court for a writ of prohibition to prevent Husted and the Board of Elections from placing Cicchinelli’s name on the ballot, arguing that Cicchinelli’s claim of independence could not have been made in good faith. The Supreme Court denied the writ, holding that Relators failed to present any evidence that the declaration was not made in good faith. View "State ex rel. Richards v. Stark County Bd. of Elections" on Justia Law

A Newton Falls ordinance repealed a provision allowing residents a credit for income taxes paid to another municipality. Relator circulated petitions to place an initiative on the ballot to restore the tax credit and to mandate that the restoration of the credit be repealed only by popular vote. The Trumbull County Board of Elections (Board) certified more than the required number of valid signatures to place the measure on the ballot. Because Kathleen King, clerk of Newton Falls, had not transmitted a certified copy of the proposed initiative, along with the supporting petitions, to the Board for placement on the ballot, Relator filed this suit for a writ of mandamus to compel King to transmit the petition and certified text to the Board. The Supreme Court granted the writ and ordered King to transmit the petitions and certified text of the proposed initiative to the Board. View "State ex rel. Lange v. King" on Justia Law

The City of Delaware and Berkshire Township contracted for a proposed joint economic development district, and the Berkshire Township Board of Trustees adopted a resolution approving the contract. Colleen Mann circulated part-petitions, including part-petition Nos. 2 and 5, calling for a referendum on the resolution. The Delaware County Board of Elections (“Board”) rejected part-petitions No. 2 and 5 in their entirety, concluding that the part-petitions lacked the required number of valid signatures. Relators, Mann and two other individuals, commenced this action in mandamus against the Board and its members seeking to compel the Board to certify the referendum petition for the May 5, 2015 special-election ballot. The Supreme Court granted the writ and ordered the Board to recalculate the number of valid signatures, holding (1) there was insufficient evidence from which the Board could infer that Mann knew that two specific signatures were false; and (2) therefore, the Board abused its discretion when it rejected the two part-petitions in their entirety. View "State ex rel. Mann v. Bd. of Elections" on Justia Law

Dick Flanagan filed an action in quo warranto challenging the qualifications of David Lucas, the Belmont County sheriff, who was elected to the office and sworn in on January 7, 2013. Specifically, Flanagan claimed that Lucas did not meet the statutory qualifications for a candidate for county sheriff and that Flanagan, the only person appearing on the ballot in the November 6, 2012 election who satisfied the statutory qualifications, was entitled to the office. The Supreme Court dismissed the action for lack of standing, holding that Flanagan, as the losing candidate, had no reasonable grounds to claim entitlement to the office of sheriff and therefore lacked standing to bring this quo warranto action.View "State ex rel. Flanagan v. Lucas" on Justia Law

Appellant submitted a declaration of candidacy to run in the May 6, 2014 primary for an elected position on the Democratic Party State Central Committee and, along with the declaration, submitted a nominating petition containing nine total signatures. The Franklin County Board of Elections rejected Appellant’s declaration because, according to the Board’s judgment, Appellant did not submit five valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. After Appellant unsuccessfully appealed, Appellant filed a complaint for writ of mandamus with the court of appeals. The court denied the writ. The Supreme Court granted the writ and ordered the Board to add Appellant’s name to the May 6, 2014 primary ballot, holding that the Board abused its discretion in determining that the nominating petition did not contain five valid signatures.View "State ex rel. Scott v. Franklin County Bd. of Elections" on Justia Law

Relators circulated petitions in support of a proposed amendment to the city charter that would nullify an ordinance establishing a development plan for property in downtown Powell, Ohio. The city counsel considered the proposed ballot measure and voted unanimously not to submit the amendment to the voters, concluding that the charter amendment constituted an unlawful delegation of legislative authority into private hands. Realtors sought a writ of mandamus to compel the city council and city clerk to place their proposed charter amendment on the November 4, 2014 ballot. The Supreme Court held that the city council properly refused to place the matter on the ballot because the terms of the proposed charter initiative were unconstitutional. Relators then filed a motion for reconsideration. The Supreme Court granted the motion for reconsideration and granted a writ of mandamus, holding that the council acted unlawfully when if failed to place the amendment before the voters, as the proper time for an aggrieved party to challenge the constitutionality of the charter amendment is after the voters approve the measure. View "State ex rel. Ebersole v. Powell" on Justia Law