Summary
The Supreme Court of Ohio granted a writ of mandamus requiring the clerk of Whitehall City Council to determine that recall petitions for the mayor and two councilmembers lacked sufficient signatures and to certify the defects. The court interpreted the Whitehall Charter as requiring signatures equal to 15 percent of all electors voting at the most recent regular municipal election at which the mayor was on the ballot, rather than 15 percent of electors who voted specifically for mayor. A dissent argued that the charter required counting only electors who cast a vote for the office of mayor.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether mandamus was an appropriate remedy to compel the clerk of council to determine that the recall petitions were insufficient and to certify the particulars of their defects.
- Whether Whitehall Charter § 68 requires recall petitions to contain signatures equal to 15 percent of all electors who voted at the most recent regular municipal election at which the office of mayor was on the ballot, or only 15 percent of electors who voted for mayor.
Holdings
- Mandamus is an appropriate mechanism to compel the clerk to determine that the recall petitions are insufficient and to certify the particulars in which they are defective because the requested relief requires affirmative official action and triggers the petitioners' ten-day cure period.
- Whitehall Charter § 68 requires a recall petition to contain signatures equal to at least 15 percent of the electors who voted at the most recent regular municipal election at which the office of mayor was on the ballot, regardless of whether those electors voted for mayor.
Key quotations
“For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the charter requires that a recall petition must include a number of signatures equal to at least 15 percent of electors who voted at the last regular municipal election at which the office of mayor was on the ballot—not simply 15 percent of the electors who cast a vote for the office of mayor.” (¶ 32)
“Therefore, we issue a writ of mandamus ordering Ogg to determine that the recall petitions do not meet the signature requirements of the Whitehall Charter, and, in accordance with Section 68 of the Whitehall Charter, for each petition, “certify the particulars in which the petition is defective, deliver a copy of the certificate to the person who filed the petition, and make a record of such delivery.”” (¶ 33)
Factual background
Whitehall electors filed recall petitions against Mayor Michael Bivens and at-large councilmembers Lori Elmore and Amy Harcar. The Franklin County Board of Elections validated 444 signatures on the mayoral petition and 447 on each council petition. The clerk calculated the threshold using 15 percent of the 2,827 electors who voted for mayor in 2023, rather than 15 percent of all 3,913 electors who voted at the 2023 regular municipal election at which the mayor's office was on the ballot.
Procedural history
Whitehall electors filed recall petitions against the mayor and two at-large councilmembers. The clerk certified each petition as sufficient based on a requirement of 15 percent of the 2,827 electors who voted for mayor, resulting in a 425-signature threshold. Shannon filed an amended original mandamus complaint after the clerk's certification; while the action was pending, city council scheduled the recall election. The Supreme Court of Ohio granted the writ.
Remand instructions
The clerk must determine that each recall petition fails to meet the Whitehall Charter's signature requirement, certify the particulars in which each petition is defective, deliver a copy of each certificate to the person who filed the petition, and make a record of delivery. Under Charter § 68, petitioners then have ten days after delivery to make the petitions sufficient.