The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in favor of Secretary of State Jon Husted’s decision to remove the Fulton County charter government proposal from the November ballot.
“We hold that it was within Husted’s discretion to determine that the proposed charters were invalid because they did not set forth the form of government,” the majority opinion read.
The court ruled that the proposed charters do not “provide the form of government of the county” or “determine which of its officers shall be elected and the manner of their election.”
The court also ruled that Husted did not have the authority to invalidate charter petitions based on his interpretation of the legality or constitutionality of the measure, if enacted. However, the ruling that the charter did not set forth the form of government was enough to keep it off the ballot.
All justices concurred, with the exception of Paul Pfeifer concurring in judgment only and William O’Neill dissenting.
More information will be online and in the next issue of the newspaper as it becomes available.
