Dave Yost Ignores Democrats' Legal Rights in Ethically Questionable Proceedings on Ballot Board Lawsuit

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

"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."

"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."

In the letter, Leaders Russo and Antonio make clear 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 Rep. Upchurch's and Senator Hicks-Hudson's stance to end gerrymandering in Ohio and their vote against the deceptive and misleading Citizens Not Politicians ballot language.

"It's absurd that, as a member of the Ohio Ballot Board, my voice and the voice of the people continues to be ignored and trampled when it comes to securing the dignity of the Citizens Not Politicians amendment language," said Rep. Upchurch. "This is just the latest example of why citizens, not politicians, should have a direct voice in who is elected to represent communities across Ohio."

"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.

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

Letter to Dave Yost 8.27.24