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LaRose: May 3 ballot won't include House, Senate races after Ohio Supreme Court ruling

A stack of Ohio's newest "I Voted" stickers sit in a basket at the Franklin County Board of Elections office in Columbus.
Karen Kasler
/
惇蹋勛圖 News Bureau
A stack of Ohio's newest "I Voted" stickers sit in a basket at the Franklin County Board of Elections office in Columbus.

The secretary of state says, barring action from federal court, candidates for state legislative offices cannot be on the May primary ballot after the decision invalidating those district maps.

The letter from LaRose to Ohio's elected officials marked further fallout from Wednesdays late night decision by the Ohio Supreme Court to throw out House and Senate maps as unconstitutionally gerrymandered. The states top elections official says hes determined a full primary will not happen on May 3.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R-Ohio) has notified the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate and Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) that because of the courts rejection of the House and Senate maps, those races cant appear on the May 3 primary ballot.

LaRoses letter blames what he calls a cascading series of delays beyond our control such as late census data, opponent lawsuit and out of state special interests.

But LaRose, DeWine, Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) and House Speaker Bob Cupp (R-Lima) are all Republicans on the Ohio Redistricting Commission and voted for the maps that have been tossed out.

While LaRose says the legislature must come up with a new date for the legislative races, the other statewide races will go forward on May 3.

Contact Karen at 614-578-6375 or at kkasler@statehousenews.org.
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