Group wants slots issue to go before Ohio voters

COLUMBUS (AP) — A conservative group says Ohio’s chief elections official has no right to turn away its efforts to put racetrack slots before voters.

LetOhioVote.org argued in an Ohio Supreme Court filing today that Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner should be forced to accept petition signatures it submitted to get lottery-run slots on the ballot this fall. The group said voters should have the chance to decide the issue because most Ohio laws are subject to voter approval.

Brunner has argued that she has no legal duty to accept the signatures because the Legislature contained the slots plan in the budget and explicitly stated the slots weren’t subject to voter approval.

Such appropriations are not subject to voter approval. But LetOhioVote.org argues that the slots are more than an appropriation — they’re a radical shift in Ohio gambling law.