Tjaden re-files Ohio Supreme Court case
Jul. 19—Justin Tjaden, an independent seeking to be on the ballot in the 99th Ohio House district, re-filed a petition for a writ of mandamus with the Ohio Supreme Court to compel the Geauga County Board of Elections to place his name on the November general election ballot on Wednesday.
Tjaden initially submitted 552 signatures with his petition to appear on the general election ballot, with 495 valid signatures required for an independent candidate. However, when the Ashtabula and Geauga boards of elections attempted to verify the submitted signatures, only 371 of them were valid, according to his petition for a writ of mandamus.
The Supreme Court initially rejected the request on June 27. According to a press release from Tjaden, he is able to refile the case due to a procedural rule.
The initial case was rejected due to the jurisdictional priority rule, because Tjaden filed a similar case in the Geauga County Court of Common Pleas before he filed the petition with the Supreme Court. However, earlier this month, the defendants in the case, the Ashtabula and Geauga boards of elections and the board members, sought to remove the case to federal court, because Tjaden cites the U.S. constitution and federal law in the case.
The release states there is an exception to the jurisdictional priority rule for cases in federal court, allowing Tjaden to refile his petition with the court.
"If I was just doing this for me, I would have given up a long time ago," Tjaden said in the release. "But I looked over 500 people dead in the eye and told them I would be on the ballot. I owe it to them to fight to the last breath."
The county court case Tjaden filed challenges the legality of signature requirements for independent candidates, which is significantly higher than the number of signatures required for candidates from the major parties.
