COLUMBUS – Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted issued another round of subpoenas to leaders of ResponsibleOhio, the group pursuing passage of State Issue 3 on the November ballot. The following may be attributed to Secretary Husted.
“There is reason to believe elections fraud was committed by proponents of State Issue 3 in the process of qualifying their issue for the ballot. I have both a statutory duty and a responsibility to the people of Ohio to investigate these allegations in an effort to protect the integrity of Ohio elections.
“By reissuing the subpoenas, we can move forward with our investigation immediately without losing time through procedural delay.
“I expect ResponsibleOhio will quickly comply so the people of Ohio can see resolution in this matter.”
The new subpoena specifies the scope of information necessary to further the investigation launched by the Secretary of State into ResponsibleOhio’s voter registration, signature collection and petition submission efforts throughout the process of securing State Issue 3 a place on the 2015 General Election ballot.
ResponsibleOhio and Ian James were notified of the new subpoena by the Secretary of State’s special investigator’s letter withdrawing the earlier subpoena. ResponsibleOhio’s co-plaintiff, “John Doe,” has withdrawn a request for a TRO hearing in federal court filed last Thursday.