Toledo Reporter

Senate Democratic Leader Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood) and House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) today sent a letter to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost detailing his disregard for the legal rights of the minority members of the Ohio Ballot Board — Senator Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) and Rep. Terrence Upchurch (D-Cleveland) — who voted against Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s ballot summary language for the Citizens Not Politicians constitutional amendment, Issue 1.

“We are shocked by the miscarriage of justice, and the intentional and politically-motivated actions by the attorney general’s office in this matter,” said Leader Antonio. “Ohioans deserve better than this latest affront on our democracy by an artificial Republican supermajority.”

“Dave Yost and Frank LaRose do not speak for the minority members on the Ohio Ballot Board who voted against the misleading ballot language, and they certainly do not speak for the voters,” said Leader Russo. “They continue to try to deceive and defraud voters with disinformation and lies, but voters will not be fooled in November when they vote to finally remove politicians from manipulating the redistricting process.”

In the letter, Leaders Antonio and Russo highlighted potential ethical missteps by Yost in not granting legal representation or at minimum seeking input and sharing information prior to Yost’s response on their behalf to the Ohio Supreme Court.

“Not consulting with us before filing, not requesting input from us on the matter, not even providing us a copy of the complaint itself or a draft of your Answer for review, and not providing us information or consultation as is required by the rules guiding professional responsibility of all Ohio attorneys–prove our assertions even further,” stated the letter to AG Yost.

Without warning or legal consultation, a brief was recently filed that disregarded Senator Hicks-Hudson’s and Rep. Upchurch’s stance to end gerrymandering in Ohio and their vote against what they consider deceptive ballot language.

“Aside from the legal ethical considerations that lawyers face when representing multiple clients with different interests, I expected at the very least to be given an opportunity to provide input into the Attorney General’s answer,” said Senator Hicks-Hudson.

“It’s absurd that, as a member of the Ohio Ballot Board, my voice and the voice of people continues to be ignored and trampled when it comes to securing dignity for Citizens Not Politicians amendment language,” said Rep. Upchurch. “This is just another example of why citizens should have a direct voice in who represents communities across Ohio.”

Without adequate legal representation, Democratic members of the Ballot Board could be forced to directly intervene in proceedings before the Ohio Supreme Court.

Read the full letter here.