The group joins a growing list of communities pushing back against continued development in rural cities, particularly subdivisions of high-density tract housing. Similar grass roots efforts have spurred in Clayton, Brookville, and Union.
Vandalia council in March approved a rezoning request for the 85-acre Brown School Road project site, but Brown and the petition committee want voters to have the final say.
Using petition papers provided by the city of Vandalia, the group collected a total of 797 signatures, 683 of which were originally found to be valid and in excess of the 547 total votes required for the petition, election officials confirmed.
But further examination of the petition document’s language showed critical errors, including the exclusion of mandatory legal statements to which the petition’s circulator must agree.
Now, the committee is faced with a choice: commit to collecting hundreds of petition signatures again, or abandon the referendum effort altogether.
‘Wrong on so many levels’
The referendum petition forms used by the committee did not include the full, required circulator’s certification against election falsification under the penalty of law, including an attestation that all signers were qualified to sign the petition to the best of the circulator’s knowledge.
This attestation is required by Ohio election law.
“The form that was provided (to the petition committee) is not correct ... therefore, there are zero valid signatures,” Rezabek said during a board of elections meeting held Wednesday morning.
Rather than ruling the petition invalid altogether, the board voted to recommend the city of Vandalia give petitioners another 10 days to collect signatures.
Typically, the Montgomery County BOE is involved in city-based referendum petitions only so far as to provide a courtesy check of signature validity and conduct elections under the cities’ respective charters and election law.
While the BOE recognized the petitioners’ responsibility to ensure their petition documentation meets all requirements prior to submission, board members also recognized a city’s duty to provide accurate documents.
“... I think cities ought to review their petitions that they’re handing out. I just think this is wrong on so many levels,” said BOE member Thomas Routsong.
‘It’s a punch in the gut’
Brown said she is disappointed by the blunder but not fully discouraged.
“Everybody is trying to gather themselves; it’s like a punch in the gut,” she said. “But, we’ve come this far and, for me, I feel an obligation to every person that’s already signed.”
Brown plans to meet with the petition committee to determine the group’s next steps.
“I wonder if this group has it in them to try to get that many signatures in 10 days, with work and family responsibilities,” she said. “But, if I don’t get back out there and make this happen, I feel like I’ve let all those people down.”
Brown said she feels the committee should have been able to trust that the petition documents they received from the city were accurate.
“Whose documents are you supposed to use if you can’t use the cities? Are we allowed to modify the city’s paperwork?” she reflected.
Vandalia responds
City officials said Wednesday that petitioners are advised to seek legal counsel as part of the petitioning process to ensure all requirements are met.
“Whenever a citizen approaches the city regarding a potential referendum initiative, the city spells out what the city charter requires to be included in a referendum petition,” Vandalia spokesman Rich Hopkins said via email Wednesday. “They are also advised to consult legal advice to ensure the petition meets the requirements of Montgomery County and the state of Ohio.”
Hopkins did not confirm the city will grant petitioners additional time to recollect signatures, but said the city is awaiting the official letter from the BOE outlining details of the board’s recommendations.
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