Summary
The Supreme Court of Ohio denied Erik W. Jones’s petition for a writ of mandamus seeking to require acceptance of his candidacy for the Republican Party State Central Committee and placement on the August 2, 2022 primary ballot. The court held that his claims were barred by laches because he unreasonably delayed filing suit after learning that his candidacy would not be certified, resulting in prejudice to election administration.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Jones had a clear legal right to have his declaration of candidacy and supporting petition accepted as timely after the primary election was moved from May 3 to August 2, 2022.
- Whether Jones's mandamus claim was barred by laches because he failed to act with the utmost diligence in an expedited election case.
- Whether Jones established a clear legal duty requiring the Secretary of State and the Lorain County Board of Elections to accept his candidacy and certify him for the ballot.
Holdings
- Laches may bar relief in an election matter when the relator fails to act with the utmost diligence and the delay materially prejudices the opposing election officials.
- Jones unreasonably delayed in commencing his action because he waited approximately one month after receiving notice that his candidacy would not be certified, despite the impending election.
- Jones failed to establish a valid excuse for delaying his filing.
- Jones had actual knowledge of the board's decision not to certify his candidacy.
- Jones's delay materially prejudiced the board because he filed after the deadline for finalizing UOCAVA ballots, while early voting had begun and the election was less than three weeks away.
Key quotations
“In election cases, a relator must act with the utmost diligence.” (¶ 11)
“We hold that Jones’s unreasonable delay has resulted in prejudice to the board in its administration of the election.” (¶ 16)
“For the reasons discussed herein, we deny the writ of mandamus on the ground of laches.” (¶ 17)
Factual background
Erik W. Jones filed a declaration of candidacy and supporting petition on April 27, 2022, seeking a position on the Republican Party State Central Committee ballot for the August 2 primary election. The board of elections did not certify his candidacy because Ohio Secretary of State Directive 2022-34 treated February 2, 2022, as the filing deadline. The board notified Jones of that decision on June 2, but he waited until July 1 to file his mandamus action, two weeks after the June 17 deadline for finalizing ballots under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act and shortly before the election.
Procedural history
Jones filed his declaration of candidacy and supporting petition on April 27, 2022. The Lorain County Board of Elections notified him on June 2 that his candidacy would not be certified because the filing occurred after the February 2 deadline. Jones filed this mandamus action on July 1, 2022. The Supreme Court of Ohio denied the writ because his claims were barred by laches.