SHELBY — Shelby lawmakers have decided to let city voters determine the fate of a proposed candidate filing deadline extension.
City Council voted 4-0 in favor of sending the proposed charter amendment to the November ballot during a special meeting Friday morning.
Councilmembers Steve McLaughlin, Charlie Roub, Derrin Roberts and Eric Cutlip voted in favor of the measure. Fourth Ward Councilman Nathan Martin was absent from the meeting.
Council had a deadline of Aug. 6 to notify the Richland County Board of Elections whether or not to put the charter amendment on the Nov. 4 general election ballot.
An ordinance with arguably the same language as that passed Friday was denied last July by City Council.
What’s being voted on?
When Shelby voters head to the polls in the fall, they will see legislation which calls for an extension of the filing deadline for Shelby candidates from 75 days to 90 days.
A filing deadline is the last chance a person has — ahead of a primary election — to file a declaration of candidacy and petition and pay the fees required by Ohio Revised Code.
Currently, Shelby is the only government entity in Richland County with a 75-day candidate filing deadline.
Matt Finfgeld, director of the Richland County Board of Elections, previously explained that Shelby ballot issues — things like levies and Sunday liquor sales — have a 90-day filing deadline, which is in sync with the rest of the county.
If city candidates had a 90-day filing deadline, it would create consistency, he said in June.
Mixed opinions have been shared from members of council over the past year. Ultimately, the decision is now up to Shelby voters.
“It should not be up to us (council) to make that decision for them,” Roub said on June 16. “I trust the voters in Shelby and I trust they’ll do what they think is right for them.”
How it may impact voters’ ability to protest petitions
If passed by Shelby voters in November, an extended candidate filing deadline would also give voters more time to protest a candidate’s petition.
Ohio Revised Code Section 3513.05 gives qualified electors the ability to file a protest against “the candidacy of any person filing a declaration of candidacy for party nomination or for election to an office or position.”
“It’s not just about us (Board of Elections),” Finfgeld said previously. “Shelby voters are disenfranchised because the law reads that if you want to protest a candidate’s petition, you have to do that by the close of business of the 74th day.
“The issue comes in when your (Shelby’s) filing deadline is the 75th day and our board doesn’t meet until the following day. There is no time for Shelby residents to ever challenge a candidate’s petition.
“There’s many reasons why a petition can be challenged. It’s not a big deal until one is to be challenged and the resident doesn’t have that right to challenge that petition.”
