MANSFIELD — Richland County voters will have a say on the future of large wind and solar power creation facilities in the county.
The Richland County Board of Elections on Wednesday morning approved a citizen-initiated petition to put the issue on the May 2026 ballot.
A local coalition of residents and organizations — Richland County Citizens for Property Rights and Job Development — circulated petitions in hopes of obtaining enough voter signatures to put the issue on the ballot.
Board of Elections Director Matt Finfgeld said the bipartisan board unanimously validated 3,380 signatures — 60 more than were needed to put the issue on the ballot.
A total of 3,320 voter signatures were needed, representing 8 percent of county voters who participated in the most recent gubernatorial election.
More than 4,300 signatures were collected during the drive, according to organizers, which they said was a bipartisan effort.
The group launched the drive after the county Board of Commissioners on July 17 unanimously approved a ban on”economically significant wind farms, large wind farms and large solar facilities” in 11 of the county’s 18 townships.
These 11 townships are Bloominggrove, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Mifflin, Monroe, Perry, Plymouth, Sharon, Troy and Weller. Trustees in all of those townships asked commissioners for the restriction, which is one of the reasons county commissioners cited in making the decision.
A meeting launching the petition drive was conducted July 24, led by Venita Shoulders, vice chair of the Richland County Democratic Party, who also holds a party seat on the four-member county Board of Elections; Sharon Township resident John Makley; and Brian McPeek, business manager for the IBEW 688 in Mansfield.
Makley, who works at the board of elections, helped circulate the petitions. Finfgeld said Makley was not involved in the certification of the signatures.
At the July 24 meeting, McPeek and others said the group needed to move quickly under state law.
“Our only recourse is Election Day,” said McPeek, a labor leader who has been involved in the permitting and approval process of solar factories around the state, including in Crawford, Wyandot, Morrow and Knox counties.
Makley told those in attendance at the meeting the petitions needed to be turned into the Board of Commissioners by Aug. 15, which is within 30 days of the resolution banning such projects approved by commissioners. That deadline was met.
Christina O’Millian, who co-chairs the Richland County Citizens for Property Rights and Job Development with McPeek, was in attendance Aug. 19 when commissioners reviewed the petitions before passing them to to the board of elections.
She didn’t speak at the meeting, but told Richland Source on Tuesday afternoon nearly 100 circulators helped with the process of collecting signatures.
“We have flyers and documentation to show what our messaging is,” O’Millian said. “The issue is countywide.
“I understand the commissioners keep focusing on 11 of 18 townships (where large wind and solar power facilities are currently banned), but we consider it a countywide issue.”
The organization’s messaging stated that these facilities have been banned “in most of Richland County,” she said. It also included a large focus on property owners’ rights, she said.
(Below is language on petitions circulated to put a wind/solar power referendum on the ballot in Richland County for the May 2026 primary.)
Unincorporated areas in Richland County where economically significant and large wind farms and large solar facilities remain unrestricted are Cass, Butler, Sandusky, Springfield, Madison, Washington and Worthington townships.
County restrictions do not apply to incorporated areas, which include Plymouth, Shiloh, Shelby, Crestline, Galion, Ontario, Mansfield, Lucas, Lexington, Bellville and Butler.
