Ohio Elections Commission gets 1st complaint about Twitter posts

Associated Press

CINCINNATI

The Ohio Elections Commission is handling a complaint about false statements on Twitter, apparently for the first time, its director said.

The complaint was filed Friday by Cincinnatians for Progress, which supports Cincinnati’s streetcar project, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

“We’ve had websites, we’ve had emails, or at least they’ve been part of a complaint,” said Phil Richter, executive director and attorney for the commission. “To my knowledge, this is the first time with tweets.”

The bipartisan, seven-member elections commission typically handles 800 to 1,000 complaints in a year, including 20 to 80 about false campaign statements, he told the newspaper.

The complaint filed Friday alleges that the group Citizens Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes, or COAST, knowingly lied in tweets about the effect of a November ballot measure related to the project. The measure would keep the city from spending on any streetcar or rail projects until 2021, and COAST supports the measure.

Cincinnatians for Progress said the tweets are part of a “campaign of deliberate misinformation.”

“Our goal in filing this action is to assure that city voters can cast their ballots based on accurate, authoritative information,” the group said.

It takes issue with tweets that it says imply the city took money from firefighting services to pay for the streetcar project.

The city says that hasn’t happened.

“There is no general- fund money being used to build the streetcar — period,” said Meg Olberding, spokeswoman for the city manager. “And all the money being used for the streetcar cannot be used for salaries.”

But Chris Finney of COAST told the newspaper the group stands by the tweets.

“We know this fiction the city is spinning is untrue,” Finney said. “The city could effectively use some or all of these funds to bolster police and fire protection if they so chose.”

A hearing, possibly as soon as Monday, will decide whether the complaint case proceeds, Richter said.

COAST could face a reprimand, a fine or a referral for prosecution if the commission determines it lied, the newspaper said.