DAYTON — Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted's residency will be investigated by the Montgomery County Board of Elections, but the board will wait until after Election Day to begin, according to a consensus reached by three of the four board members today, Oct. 31.

After a heated discussion Democrats Dennis Lieberman and Tom Ritchie, along with Republican and board Chairman Greg Gantt, agreed by consensus that the board had an obligation to investigate. Republican Jim Nathanson disagreed. A discussion of the scope of the investigation — whether to use subpoena power or turn it over to law enforcement — will occur after the election as well.

Within hours of the board meeting, after speaking to Husted, R-Kettering, Gantt, clarified his position.

"I agree that we are going to discuss the whole topic after the election, discuss what we do, how we do it and if we do anything," said Gantt, chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Party.

He said Ohio law clearly states that an investigation is required but he wants a review of case law to see if an elected official's residency can be treated differently than the average person's residency for voting purposes.

Gantt said it is true he nodded in agreement when board member Dennis Lieberman, former chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Party, said all board members except Republican Jim Nathanson agreed that the board had an obligation to investigate Husted.

Husted is on the Nov. 4 ballot running against Centerville School Board member John Doll, a Democrat, for the 6th District Ohio Senate seat.

Husted has been dogged by questions over whether his true residence is in Kettering or the Upper Arlington home where he sometimes lives with his wife and children.

"With all the registration fraud being perpetrated by ACORN it is laughable that they would review the registration of a guy whose lived at the same home for the last 13 years," said Husted.

Asked how often he is home, Husted again refused to answer.

"That's my statement there," said Husted. "You should have come over for trick or treat last night. I was handing out candy."

Regine Elliott, a Republican who lives in Kettering, and ProgressOhio.org, a liberal non-profit group, have both formally requested a board investigation of Husted's residency. The complaints came in the wake of an Oct. 18 Dayton Daily News article that reported Husted and his wife had simultaneously claimed as "principal residences" properties in both Montgomery and Franklin counties. They each received property tax breaks for owner-occupied homes in those counties.

Husted says he lives in Kettering, where he is registered to vote. He's already voted by absentee ballot. His wife is registered to vote in Upper Arlington, a Columbus suburb.

It is illegal for a person to register and vote where he does not live, and an Ohio legislator can be forced to forfeit his seat if it is determined that he does not live in the district.

The elections board did not formally vote on the issue Friday and was told by their attorney that no vote was necessary because the law says an investigation must be done.

"The Board has asked whether it is mandated to conduct such an investigation. The sort answer is, 'yes'," said Montgomery County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Victor T. Whisman in a memo to the board.

"Under the circumstances, I would simply counsel the Board to begin its investigation as soon as is reasonably possible."

Nathanson called the residency question a political "witch hunt" and asked to delay an investigation until December.

"It's political and therefore I am opposed on purely political grounds, I admit, to prior to this election this board officially ruling one way or another on what I believe to be a politically motivated charge," Nathanson said.

He made a motion to postpone further discussion until Nov. 25, which set of a heated discussion and a fight over whether Chairman Gantt could second him. The board did not vote on the motion and will get a legal opinion on that Monday.

The board has no choice on an investigation, Ritchie and Lieberman said.

"When you don't take advice from your legal counsel, you've got a problem," Ritchie said.

Lieberman said Nathanson was making the issue political.

"This is your Republican who asked for this investigation," Lieberman said, who was the first board member to suggest waiting until after Nov. 4 to start the investigation.

"I think the idea to stall as late as you can may be politically motivated," Lieberman said.