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Last Updated: May 20, 2013 at 11:43 AM

O'Farrell v. Landis

Case Information

Date Filed: December 24, 2012
State: Ohio
Issue: Election Contest
Current Court: Ohio Supreme Court (Case 12-2151)

Issue:

Whether various election irregularities occurred in Tuscarawas County requiring a recount under Ohio law of absentee and provisional ballots in certain precincts.

Status:

Petition filed 12/24/12. Motion for Hand Count and/or Inspection of Certain Ballots filed 12/28/12. Memo in Opposition filed 12/31/12. Answer filed 1/7/12. Order denying motion for hand count, visual inspection, and recount at this time and Order requiring Boards of Elections to place ballots under seal filed 1/8/13. Answer filed 1/9/13. Motion to Compel Production of Ballots filed 1/11/13. Motion to Dismiss Holmes County Board of Elections filed 1/18/13. O'Farrell's Memo in Opposition to Motion to Dismiss filed 1/22/13. Landis' Memo in Opposition to Motion to Dismiss filed 1/24/13. Answer of Holmes County Board of Elections filed 2/1/13. Evidence of Contestee Landis filed 2/4/13. O'Farrell's Merit Brief filed 2/11/13. Landis' Merit Brief filed 2/19/13. Entry Directing Clerk to file record with Ohio House of Representatives filed 2/22/13. Ohio House committee recommends that full House uphold election result, 5/7/13.

Ohio Supreme Court Documents

Petition (filed 12/24/12)
Entry Setting Schedule (filed 12/24/12)
Summons to Contestee (filed 12/26/12)
Motion to Appoint Process Server (filed 12/26/12)
Order Appointing Process Server (filed 12/26/12)
Contestor's Notice of Depositions (filed 12/27/12)
Contestor's Second Notice of Depositions (filed 12/28/12)
Motion for Order to Hand Count and/or Permit Inspection of Certain Ballots (filed 12/28/12)
Memo in Opposition to Petitioner's Motion (filed 12/31/12)
Amended Motion for Order to Hand Count Ballots (filed 1/3/13)
Order Setting Date for Contestee to Respond to Motion (filed 1/3/13)
Memo In Opposition to Petitioner's Motion for Hand Count (filed 1/7/13)
Motion for Clerk to Serve Petition and Summons (filed 1/7/13)
Answer of Contestee (filed 1/7/13)
Order Denying Motion for Hand Count, Inspection, and Recount at this time; Order Requiring Boards of Elections to Place Ballots Under Seal (filed 1/8/13)
Summons Issued to Respondents (filed 1/9/13)
Answer of Tuscarawas County Board of Elections (filed 1/9/13)
Tuscarawas County Board of Election's Response to Show Cause Order (filed 1/11/13)
O'Farrell's Response to Show Cause Order (filed 1/11/13)
O'Farrell's Motion to Compel Production of Ballots (filed 1/11/13)
Landis' Memorandum in Opposition to Motion to Compel Production of Ballots (filed 1/14/13)
Contestor's Evidence Volume 1 (filed 1/14/13)
Contestor's Evidence Volume 2 (filed 1/14/13)
Contestor's Evidence Volume 3 (filed 1/14/13)
O'Farrell's Motion to Supplement Motion to Compel (filed 1/15/13)
- Motion Denied (filed 1/16/13)
- Slip Opinion on Denial of Motion (filed 1/16/13)
Motion to Dismiss Holmes County Board of Elections as a Respondent (filed 1/18/13)
O'Farrell's Opposition to Motion to Dismiss Holmes County Board of Elections (filed 1/22/13)
Landis' Memorandum in Opposition to Motion to Dismiss Holmes County Board of Elections (filed 1/24/13)
Answer of Holmes County Board of Elections (filed 2/1/13)
Evidence of Contestee Al Landis (filed 2/4/13)
O'Farrell's Merit Brief (filed 2/11/13)
Merit Brief of Contestee Al Landis (filed 2/19/13)
- Appendix (filed 2/19/13)
Entry Directing Clerk to File Record with Ohio House of Representatives (filed 2/22/13)

Ohio House of Representatives Documents

Transcript of Select Committee Hearing (3/21/13)
Transcript of Select Committee Hearing (4/23/13)
- PowerPoint Presentation of Landis' Attorney (presented at April 23, 2013 hearing)
- Binder of Materials Presented by Attorney for Tuscarawas County Board of Elections (presented at April 23, 2013 hearing)
Transcript of Select Committee Hearing (5/7/13)
Select Committee Majority Report of Findings and Recommendations (5/7/13)
Select Committee Minority Party Member Recommendations (5/7/13)

Commentary

FAQ on social welfare organizations

Donald B. Tobin

The Frank E. and Virginia H. Bazler Designated Professor in Business Law and a senior fellow at Election Law @ Moritz explains the nuances of social welfare organizations and federal regulations related to them.

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In the News

How Did The IRS Get The Job Of Vetting Political Activity?

Professor Donald Tobin was interviewed by the Boston NPR station on its show Here & Now about the Internal Revenue Service's investigation into groups classified as social welfare organizations (marked by the 501(c)(4) tax classification). The IRS was in search of groups that are not focusing primarly on the social welfare of the country, but have a strong political advocacy facet. Political advocacy groups might want to be classified as 501(c)(4) organizations because under that classification they do not have to disclose their donors.

"The key is if you are going to be engaged in candidate-type advocacy, and if you're going to intervene in elections and engage in election advocacy, we want disclosure of who your donors are," Tobin said.

“What groups are trying to do here is avoid having to disclose,” Tobin continued. “By earning the classification of social welfare, they’re avoiding the campaign disclosure that’s required for political organizations. So that’s really the underpinning of why we have this mess of the IRS having to get in and investigate and figure out whether an organization is political or not.”

more EL@M in the news...

Info & Analysis

Ohio Secretary of State Releases Report on Voter Fraud

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted released a report today on voter fraud in Ohio during the 2012 general election. In a press release, Husted stated that while voter fraud does exist in Ohio, "it is not an epidemic." According to the report, 135 voter fraud cases have been referred to law enforcement for possible prosecution. Twenty of these cases involved voters attempting to vote in Ohio and another state. The report shows that 115 cases were referred to local Ohio county prosecutors. According to Husted as quoted in the Columbus Dispatch, most of these cases involved voters attempting to vote twice within the state, and in a "majority" of instances, only one vote was counted.

more info & analysis...

Major Pending Cases

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