Elections board recertifies petition signatures

CELINA - Mercer County Board of Elections members on Wednesday morning recertified questionable petitions supporting the Ohio Drug Price Relief Act.

The recertification came after 23 residents testified at a public hearing.

Secretary of State Jon Husted, citing statewide inconsistencies in the forms, had ordered county boards of elections to complete by Friday a second review of the petitions.

The local board received 17 part-petitions bearing 80 residents' signatures. County assistant prosecutor Andy Hinders found irregularities on five forms. Board members on Jan. 11 moved to subpoena just the 38 signers of those forms.

Based on their testimony in the courthouse auditorium, the board moved to validate all 38 signatures of the five part-petitions in question, deputy director Laura Bruns said.

"Every single witness that appeared today said, 'Yes, that's my signature. Yes, I signed it. No, I wasn't coerced. No, I was not bribed. It was all voluntary,' " Bruns said.

However, board members were concerned about one part-petition submitted by an out-of-state circulator but approved it nevertheless, she added.

"Because some of the people who testified today indicated that the person that approached them was a man and some indicated that the person was a woman," Bruns said. "The person who circulated (the petition) was Ashley, so it's impossible to determine based on the name."

Hinders initially expected about 30 of the 38 subpoenaed signers to show up on Wednesday morning. Some were excused due to being out of state, having medical appointments or attending college.

Twenty-three people testified, Bruns said.

"We were actually pretty pleased with the amount of people that showed up."

But three of those subpoenaed - including the only signer whose name was blacked out on a part-petition - did not attend. The woman called before the hearing saying she had a family emergency.

Board members asked Hinders to contact the absentees to convey the seriousness of not responding to the board's subpoena, Bruns said. Hinders will "make them aware that they could have been compelled to appear," Bruns said.

"We don't have time to compel them to appear," she said, noting failing to comply with a subpoena is a "serious matter."

During the public hearing - which was much like a courtroom setting, including a court stenographer - board member Del Kramer administered an oath to those called to testify while Hinders asked basic questions about the circumstances under which they had signed the petition.

Board members periodically asked brief follow-up questions.

Some witnesses said they were asked to sign the petition at the Van Wert Apple Festival in the fall.

"I thought it went very smoothly," board member Phil Long said afterward, noting no witness seemed upset or angry about having to attend.

Board of elections director Deb Sneddon said she heard one negative comment from a witness who said, " 'It makes you kind of wary to sign a petition.' "

"We don't want to discourage people from being a part of the (election) process," she said.

Witnesses will be paid $6 as set by Ohio Revised Code, Hinders said. However, they will not receive mileage reimbursement. The county in the past has reimbursed for the mileage of out-of-county people called to testify, but not for locals, he said.

Also, Bruns and Sneddon said the board will be charged at least $1,300 by the sheriff's department for having to deliver the subpoenas personally to the witnesses.

Auglaize County Board of Elections members, who chose not to hold a public hearing or issue subpoenas, on Tuesday reapproved 55 signatures on part-petitions supporting the Ohio Drug Price Relief Act.

Auglaize County officials invalidated five of the 60 signatures on the 24 part-petitions approved in the initial review in December. The 55 valid signatures were submitted to the state at that time and then recertified on Tuesday.

A statewide review found most petitions included potentially improper redactions of signatures, according to the secretary of state. Husted also alleged many discrepancies in the number of signatures on petitions compared with the number circulators reported witnessing.

Petition supporters, including the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, said they've met the state's requirements to force lawmakers to consider the Ohio Drug Price Relief Act. The proposal is aimed at keeping state entities from paying more for drugs than the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs does. They have sued seeking to have the initiative certified and sent to lawmakers.