Summary
The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed a writ of prohibition preventing removal of Jennifer Brady’s name from the election ballot. The court held that the secretary of state failed to submit sufficient evidentiary proof that the assistant secretary was properly delegated authority to break a county board of elections tie vote under R.C. 111.04 and R.C. 3501.11(X). The court declined to address additional statutory issues because doing so would have resulted in an advisory opinion.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the secretary of state submitted sufficient evidence to establish that he properly delegated authority under R.C. 111.04 to Assistant Secretary of State Monty Lobb to cast the tie-breaking vote under R.C. 3501.11(X).
- Whether Brady was entitled to a writ of prohibition preventing the secretary of state and the board of elections from removing her name from the ballot.
Holdings
- The secretary of state failed to prove by appropriate evidence that he had properly delegated authority under R.C. 111.04 to Assistant Secretary Lobb to cast the board of elections' tie-breaking vote.
- Brady was entitled to a writ of prohibition preventing the secretary of state and the board of elections from removing her name from the ballot because Lobb's exercise of the tie-breaking authority was unauthorized.
Key quotations
“The secretary of state was given the opportunity to present appropriate evidence establishing a proper delegation of authority pursuant to R.C. 111.04. The court of appeals did not err in concluding that the secretary failed to prove that the assistant secretary of state had authority under the applicable statutes to cast the tie-breaking vote on the protests challenging Brady’s candidacy.” (112 Ohio St. 3d at 16)
“Lobb’s exercise of such power was thus unauthorized, and Brady was entitled to the requested writ of prohibition to prevent the secretary and the board of elections from removing her name from the ballot.” (112 Ohio St. 3d at 16)
Factual background
Michael J. O'Shea won the Democratic primary for state representative in Ohio's 16th House District but later withdrew. Democratic Party district committee members selected Jennifer Brady as his replacement, and the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections certified her as the Democratic candidate. After written protests challenged the validity of her replacement nomination, the board deadlocked. Assistant Secretary of State Monty Lobb purported to break the tie on behalf of Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, but Blackwell later failed to provide sworn or otherwise sufficient evidence establishing that he had properly delegated that authority to Lobb.
Procedural history
After the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections deadlocked on protests challenging Brady's candidacy, Assistant Secretary of State Monty Lobb purported to cast the tie-breaking vote on behalf of Secretary of State Blackwell. The court of appeals granted Brady a writ of prohibition, and this court initially reversed and remanded for evidence concerning Lobb's authority. On remand, the court of appeals again granted the writ after finding that Blackwell had failed to submit sufficient evidence of a proper delegation. The Supreme Court of Ohio affirmed.