Saturday, August 30, 2003
Mahoning election officials admit a mistake was made.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Democratic candidate for city council's 6th Ward seat filed a lawsuit to get his Republican opponent kicked off the ballot.
A lawsuit filed Wednesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court against the county board of elections by Democrat Clarence Boles asks the court to order the elections board to not place Republican JoAnn Collier's name on the Nov. 4 ballot.
To keep Collier on the ballot would "cause permanent injury to plaintiff Boles for which no other adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law exists," wrote Martin E. Yavorcik, Boles' lawyer, in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that to keep Collier on the ballot would compromise the integrity of the electoral process and cause Boles to unnecessarily spend "a great amount of money and time campaigning."
Error
Mahoning County election officials acknowledge that they erred when they permitted Collier to remain on the ballot. Collier filed Jan. 21 as a Democrat for the council seat. She was informed by a board employee that her nominating petitions contained "several critical errors" that would cause her disqualification. She was given several options, but was informed that she couldn't "refile as a party candidate in this election cycle for the same office" because it would violate state law.
Collier withdrew as a Democrat, met with Mahoning Republican officials, and then refiled Feb. 20 as a Republican for the seat.
Mahoning election officials say they permitted Collier to remain on the ballot after a conversation with Pat Wolfe, the Ohio Secretary of State's director of elections, changed their minds about the state law. A secretary of state spokesman said the mistake didn't come from incorrect information provided by Wolfe.
State law doesn't permit the removal of Collier this late in the election cycle. Boles' only option was to file a lawsuit to get her off the ballot.
Michael Sciortino, Mahoning elections board director, said because the protest period has passed, the board can't remove Collier from the ballot, he said.
Attempts to reach Collier to comment on this issue have been unsuccessful.
skolnick@vindy.com