A press release issued by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, February 4th, 2019.
Youngstown, OH: Members of seven Ohio community groups — from the cities of Youngstown, Toledo and Columbus, as well as Portage, Medina, Athens and Meigs counties — have filed suit against their respective Boards of Elections and the Ohio Secretary of State, in the U.S. Northern District Court in Youngstown, Ohio. The complaint alleges these officials have violated the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights of freedom of speech, right of assembly, right to petition the government for redress of grievances, right to vote, right of due process, and right of local, community self-government.
The Ohio Constitution guarantees Ohioans the right to direct democracy through initiative and referendum. All of the plaintiff communities have collected signatures to place initiatives on the ballot at some point between 2015 and 2018. All the communities have been blocked from the ballot by the defendants’ unlawful actions. The complaint describes these actions as “placing unlawful blockades, insurmountable hurdles, and arbitrary and irrational procedures between the people of Ohio and their exercise and enjoyment of direct democracy.” MORE…