Medina LGBTQ discrimination vote denied again by Ohio Supreme Court

MEDINA — Motions to reconsider a lawsuit that could force a citywide vote on Medina's ordinance outlawing numerous discriminatory practices against LGBTQ individuals were denied Thursday by the Ohio Supreme Court. In August, the court struck down a request from the Concerned Citizens of Medina City for judges to direct the Medina County Board of Elections to certify signatures that would have placed the referendum on November's general election ballot. Concerned Citizens and Marie Nauth of Medina filed the lawsuit in February against the board of elections and Medina Finance Director Keith Dirham, alleging that local officials did not act properly to ensure voters would have the right to vote on whether the legislation should exist. Medina's ordinance prohibits discriminatory conduct in housing, employment and public accommodations based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. The Concerned Citizens group is backed by Akron-based Ohio Christian Alliance. After Council passed the LBGTQ ordinance in July 2019, the group immediately circulated its petition. Organizers collected 1,173 signatures and submitted them to Dirham on July 31. He held the petitions for 10 days, as required by law, and then forwarded them to the elections board. The elections board reviewed the petitions and then issued its report that 260 petition signatures had been invalidated, bringing the total valid signatures to 939 — 44 signatures short of what is needed to place the measure on the ballot. Upon review by the citizens committee — after obtaining a public records request of the board's findings — the group contended that 59 signatures that had been disqualified for what the board termed "non-matching signatures" were valid. The citizens committee secured 47 sworn affidavits with photocopy IDs from petition signers whose signatures had been invalidated, attesting that it indeed was their signatures on the referendum petition. Nauth submitted the petition protest appeal along with the 47 sworn affidavits with proof of identity Nov. 18 to the board of elections. The board, acting on the advice of the Medina County Prosecutor's Office, took no action in response to the citizens' request for a hearing. Efforts to get the Supreme Court to hear the case have been unsuccessful. The ordinance has been enacted in Medina. Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at (330)721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com