Pro-casino petitions filed; alleged irregularities prompt probe

By Marc Kovac

At least one of the petition circulators is a convicted felon, court documents say.

COLUMBUS — Casino backers submitted enough valid petitions to put the issue before voters in November, though Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has launched an investigation into alleged irregularities in the signature-gathering process.

Brunner’s office reported that 452,956 valid signatures were submitted by the Ohio Jobs and Growth Plan, the group pushing to allow casinos at sites in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo and Columbus. The group needed 402,275 to reach the ballot. It had submitted more than 850,000 signatures for authentication last month.

Backers say the casinos would create more than 34,000 jobs and have an $11 billion economic impact from construction-related activities and the first five years of operations. Additionally, they say the projects would provide $200 million in licensing fees and $650 million in tax revenues for the state, counties, cities and school districts.

Four previous casino issues have been rejected by voters, including one last November that would have established a location in southwestern Ohio.

A lawsuit on the new filing is pending. A Columbus-area horse-racing track filed legal action with the Ohio Supreme Court on the issue, alleging that casino-petition circulators misrepresented their identities and home addresses. At least one is a convicted felon and, thus, ineligible to collect signatures, according to court documents.

Late Monday, Brunner announced an investigation into irregularities in the petition circulation process.

In a released statement, Brunner said, “As we have examined the petitions in question when they are returned by the boards of elections, we believe it prudent to further investigate particular situations involving particular circulators to ensure that any issue that makes it to the ballot does so under conditions that are honest. While I no longer have the ability to invalidate individual signatures, I still can investigate to ensure the integrity of the process and prevent problems in the future.”

Any potential violations or fraud will be forwarded to county prosecutors and/or the state attorney general. The Ohio Supreme Court will determine whether the issue will move ahead to the November ballot.