According to an article by The Columbus Dispatch, on Friday, July 17 Ohio harness racing track Scioto Downs filed a lawsuit indicating that signatures on a petition against the expansion of gambling in the state were collected in a fraudulent manner.
Scioto is owned by MTR Gaming Group. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner certified yesterday that the casino petition bears 452,956 valid signatures of registered Ohio voters, more than 50,000 above the 402,275 minimum necessary.
The Columbus Dispatch report states that a representative from MTR Gaming Group has said that tens of thousands of the signatures should be invalidated because circulators falsely listed motels, businesses and even the campaign office of U.S. Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, D-Cleveland, as their home addresses. The Supreme Court filing alleges that signatures were obtained under false pretenses, and that some were collected by at least one convicted felon, by people who listed phony addresses and by several different people who all used the same name.
"While I'm obligated to fulfill my duties under the constitution and certify this issue, I believe it's important to investigate these allegations to ensure integrity of this and future ballot initiative elections," Brunner said in a statement.
Click here to read The Columbus Dispatch article in its entirety.
(With files from The Columbus Dispatch)