Opinion ID: 4525281
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: O’Neill’s Candidacy

Text: {¶ 5} On November 5, 2019, O’Neill signed the declarations of candidacy on two part-petitions and began collecting signatures to run for the Democratic 2 January Term, 2020 nomination to the office of state representative for the 94th Ohio House District— which encompasses all of Athens and Meigs Counties and parts of Washington and Vinton Counties. Electors signed those part-petitions between November 5 and November 26. O’Neill signed the declaration of candidacy on a third part-petition on November 20, though no electors signed it until December 3. On December 3, O’Neill updated her voter registration to reflect her Athens County address. Thereafter, she signed the declarations of candidacy on five additional partpetitions, and electors signed those part-petitions between December 4 and December 17. {¶ 6} On December 18, O’Neill filed her petition, which consisted of eight part-petitions and contained 142 signatures. The board did not check the validity of the signatures on the part-petitions that O’Neill executed in November; it considered only the signatures on the five part-petitions that she signed after December 3—the date she changed her voter registration to Athens County. The post-December 3 part-petitions contained more than the minimum number of signatures required for O’Neill to qualify for the ballot. Accordingly, on December 20, the board unanimously certified O’Neill’s name to the primary ballot. She was the only Democratic candidate to file for that office. {¶ 7} On January 2, 2020, Keith Allen Monk, a registered Democrat and resident of the 94th House District, filed a protest against O’Neill’s candidacy. On January 14, the board held a protest hearing, after which it tied two to two on whether O’Neill was a resident of the 94th House District and eligible for the primary ballot under Article II, Section 3 of the Ohio Constitution (requiring state representatives to have resided in their districts for one year next preceding their election) and Article XV, Section 4 (requiring office holders to be qualified electors). {¶ 8} After a second hearing on January 31, the board voted unanimously in favor of the protest, ruling that (1) O’Neill was not an eligible candidate for the 3 SUPREME COURT OF OHIO Democratic nomination to the office of state representative for the 94th House District because she had not resided in the district for one year next preceding the November 3, 2020 general election and (2) O’Neill’s petition was invalid because she was not a registered voter in Athens County when she began circulating her part-petitions. O’Neill’s name remains on the primary ballot as the sole candidate for the Democratic nomination to state representative, but the board has issued notices to electors stating that votes for O’Neill will not be counted. Despite this, O’Neill has provided an affidavit from voter Herman Hill, who states that he has already submitted an absentee-ballot vote for O’Neill. {¶ 9} O’Neill asked the board for a written explanation of its ruling, but the board declined. She submitted a public-records request to the board on February 27 and received responsive records on March 4. O’Neill filed her mandamus complaint on March 6. She seeks a writ ordering the board to declare that she is an eligible candidate and to include in its official canvass of the primary election the votes cast for her.