State ex rel. Hill v. LaRose

Summary

The Supreme Court of Ohio dismissed Heather Hill’s original action seeking mandamus relief to compel the Secretary of State to accept a replacement lieutenant-governor candidate, certify Hill to the primary-election ballot, and count votes for her. The court held that R.C. 3513.311(C) permits replacement within 70 days of a primary election only when the former lieutenant-governor candidate has died, not when the candidate withdraws, and rejected Hill’s constitutional challenge under the Anderson-Burdick framework. The court also dismissed the declaratory-judgment and prohibitory-injunction claims for lack of original jurisdiction and denied Hill’s emergency motion.

Holdings

1. R.C. 3513.311(C) does not permit replacement of a lieutenant-governor candidate who withdraws within 70 days before a primary election; the statute applies only when the original lieutenant-governor candidate dies within the specified period.
2. Hill was not entitled to a writ of mandamus because she could not establish a clear legal right to have Barnett accepted as her replacement candidate or a clear legal duty on LaRose to accept him.
3. Hill's as-applied constitutional challenge to R.C. 3513.311(C) failed at the motion-to-dismiss stage under the Anderson-Burdick framework.
4. The Supreme Court of Ohio lacks original jurisdiction over Hill's claims seeking a declaratory judgment and a prohibitory injunction.

Questions Presented

1. Whether R.C. 3513.311(C) permits a gubernatorial candidate to replace a lieutenant-governor candidate who withdraws within 70 days before a primary election.
2. Whether R.C. 3513.311(C) is unconstitutional as applied because it permits replacement after a lieutenant-governor candidate's death but not after withdrawal.
3. Whether the Supreme Court of Ohio has original jurisdiction over Hill's claims for declaratory judgment and a prohibitory injunction.
4. Whether Hill was entitled to emergency relief and a writ of mandamus.

Disposition

dismissed