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Husted doesn’t live where he votes, Brunner decides

Senator vows to fight ruling on his residency

AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

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Staff photo by Jan Underwood Jon Husted (R), Ohio Senate, District 6, Montgomery County.

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Husted takes residency case to supreme court

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By Lynn Hulsey, Staff Writer Updated 3:24 PM Tuesday, September 22, 2009

State Sen. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, is not a resident of the Kettering home where he votes, according to a long-awaited ruling Monday night, Sept. 21, by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

Husted, who is running for Ohio secretary of state, faced two challenges to his residency for voting purposes at 148 Sherbrooke Drive, Kettering.

Husted vowed to fight Brunner’s ruling, saying he will take legal action so he can exercise his “right to vote in the November election.”

“This is another partisan, political decision that is typical of Jennifer Brunner,” Husted said. “During this dispute Jennifer Brunner failed to follow the law and exceeded her authority.”

The Montgomery County Board of Elections twice deadlocked along party lines on the residency question, sending it to Brunner to break the tie.

In a prepared statement, Chris Redfern, Ohio Democratic Party chairman, hailed Brunner’s decision.

“Overwhelming evidence, including utility records and media investigations, shows that Jon Husted does not reside at the Kettering house,” Redfern said. “Today’s ruling calls into question the legitimacy of Husted’s candidacy for Secretary of State, because someone running to be Ohio’s chief elections officer should follow Ohio elections law.”

Brunner ruled that Husted cannot be investigated for his past voting from that residence.

She said, “the question of whether he was entitled to vote there remained at issue, and he should not be thus penalized.”

Brunner’s ruling, released about 10:33 p.m., comes after Husted had asked the Ohio Supreme Court to dismiss the claims or to order her to make a decision. On Sept. 14, the court gave Brunner seven days to rule and dismissed the remainder of Husted’s claims.

Husted has contended all along that Kettering is his home, but that he stays with his wife and children in her Upper Arlington home outside Columbus because of the demands of his job in the Ohio Legislature.

He said he intends to return to Kettering when his public service ends and that the law allows him to leave that residence while he is in public service without canceling his residency or his right to vote there.

Ohio law requires that people live where they are registered to vote and that legislators live in their district. It is up to the Legislature to determine if a sitting legislator is violating that law, and Ohio Sen. President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, said in June that he believes Husted is a Kettering resident.

Two challenges of Husted’s residency were filed with the Montgomery County Board of Elections in October by ProgressOhio.org, a progressive advocacy group, and Regine Elliott, a Republican registered voter in his district.

The two Republicans on the board supported Husted’s residency claim and the two Democrats voted that he had not proved he lived in Kettering.

Brunner was asked to break the tie in February but said the board had not collected enough evidence for her to make a decision.

She gathered more from Husted and through subpoenas of documents such as utility bills, sent the matter back to the board for further consideration. In June the board deadlocked again and sent the question back to Brunner.

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