Ohio Supreme Court finds attorney general erred in rejecting voting amendment based on title

By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press

This story published as part of a partnership between The Land and The Associated Press.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court delivered a blow to Republican Attorney General Dave Yost on Wednesday, ruling that he overstepped his authority by rejecting a voting-related amendment’s ballot petition solely because he objected to the title.

In a unanimous decision, the court sided with a coalition of civil rights organizations behind the “Ohio Voters Bill of Rights” and ordered Yost to revisit his January decision within 10 days.

Justices stopped short of ordering Yost to advance the constitutional amendment directly to the state Ballot Board, however, which is what plaintiffs had asked. Instead, they directed him to “perform his duty” and review the coalition’s summary of the issue for fairness and accuracy.

The coalition’s members, including the NAACP’s Ohio chapter, A. Philip Randolph Institute and Ohio Organizing Collaborative, had initially hoped to place the measure on this year’s ballot. The package of election law changes responded to Ohio’s enactment last year of tougher photo ID requirements, shortened windows after Election Day for returning and curing ballots and other voting changes.

The groups sued after Yost’s second rejection of their certification petition, whose title he called “highly misleading and misrepresentative” of the measure’s contents. Yost issued the decision even while acknowledging that his office had previously certified identical language. It certified a Nursing Facility Patients’ Bill of Rights in 2021 and another Ohio Voters Bill of Rights in 2014.

But he said in his rejection letter that “recent authority from the Ohio Supreme Court” had given him the ability to review petition headings, in addition to reviewing the bodies of summaries as he traditionally has. Yost pointed to the high court’s decision in a legal dispute last year over the title that appeared on petitions for a local drag ban.

The court said he has no such authority under Ohio law.