State ex rel. White v. Franklin County Board of Elections

Summary

The Supreme Court of Ohio denied Tiffany M. White’s petition for a writ of mandamus seeking to compel the Franklin County Board of Elections to place her name on the March 17, 2020 primary ballot. The court held that White failed to establish by clear and convincing evidence that disputed petition signatures were genuine or that the board abused its discretion in rejecting them. The court also denied White’s motion to strike an amicus curiae brief.

Holdings

1. White failed to establish by clear and convincing evidence that the disputed petition signatures were genuine or that the board abused its discretion in rejecting them; therefore, she did not establish a clear legal right to placement on the ballot or a clear legal duty requiring the board to certify her.
2. A printed signature is not invalid merely because it is printed rather than cursive, but White failed to prove that the board rejected Harmon's signature on that impermissible basis rather than because of a print-versus-cursive mismatch with the voter-registration signature.
3. The motion to strike was denied because an amicus curiae may file a merit brief in an original action without leave of court, and White identified no authority supporting striking the brief on the other grounds asserted.

Questions Presented

1. Whether White established a clear legal right to placement on the ballot and a corresponding clear legal duty by the board to certify her name based on unsworn statements concerning three disputed petition signatures.
2. Whether the board abused its discretion by rejecting Harmon’s petition signature because it was printed rather than written in cursive.
3. Whether the court should strike the amicus curiae merit brief.

Disposition

writ_denied