OH: GOP candidate disqualified from Akron council race after casting Democrat ballot in May

[RandySF]

A Republican candidate for an at-large Akron City Council seat will not appear on the ballot this fall after he voted the other party's ballot in the May primary, effectively re-registering himself as a Democrat.

Democrats cannot run as Republicans, or vice versa, according to Ohio election law.

Vyrone Finney said he didn’t know he was about to disqualify himself when he was handed a ballot on May 2 at his polling location inside Buchtel Community Learning Center. He verbally requested a Republican ballot. But there was no competition among Republicans for any primary race in Akron. And the city's code of ordinances says ballots should only be printed for political parties with more candidates running than seats available, or when a non-partisan issue like a levy is on the ballot.

But there were no levies. So Finney pushed the button on the poll book that printed him a Democrat ballot.

“They clearly heard me say who I was and what I was running for,” Finney told the Beacon Journal this week.



https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/politics/2023/06/15/gop-akron-city-council-hopeful-vyrone-finney-disqualified-for-voting-in-may-democratic-primary/70322878007/

[Diamond_Dog]

1. Lol

[LakeArenal]

2. Eat your own Republicans.

[Backseat Driver]

3. SMH...but LOL!

I'm so heartbroken that he was disqualified.

[Ms. Toad]

4. This makes no sense at all.

And the city's code of ordinances says ballots should only be printed for political parties with more candidates running than seats available, or when a non-partisan issue like a levy is on the ballot.

I routinely refuse to vote for a couple of Democrats in the primary, even if they are the only candidate. One I know well, and I spent years cleaning up after the mess she left in my most recent job. I would be very unhappy if I was denied my right to express my opinion as to whether she should be the candidate for the Democratic party (even if it is inevitable she will become hte candidate).

That's only tangentially related to this situation, although it was the trigger. But anyone running for office as a should understand how Ohio determines party membership.

[Phoenix61]

5. It's only a primary if there are multiple people running for the same seat.

In other words, in an uncontested primary, they don’t print a ballot for that race as the “winner” is already known.

[LuvLoogie]

6. Are write-ins not an option?