ELR Citation: 45 ELR 20175
No(s). 2015-Ohio-3761 (Ohio Sep 17, 2015)

The Ohio Supreme Court held that a local election board exceeded its statutory authority when it refused to certify a city's proposed ballot measure that would, among other things, ban hydraulic fracturing within city limits and create a civil cause of action for damages to be brought in the name of the natural community or ecosystems. The board enjoys a good amount of discretion in determining whether a proposed measure satisfies the statutory prerequisites to become a ballot measure. But it does not have the authority to sit as arbiters of the legality or constitutionality of a ballot measure's substantive terms. Here, the record plainly shows that the board rejected the proposed ballot measure solely because it considered the measure to be unconstitutional. In so doing, the board clearly exceeded its statutory authority and abused its discretion. The court, therefore, granted the city's writ of mandamus to compel the board to certify the proposed measure to appear on the November ballot.