Randy Law, a former Ohio Republican state representative, is asking the Ohio Supreme Court to put him on the ballot as an independent candidate for Mayor of Warren, Ohio. See this story. The county Board of Elections kept him off the ballot, even though he has enough valid signatures, because he was in the past a member of the Trumbull County Republican Committee. However, he resigned from that committee in April 2019.

The Ohio law on who can become an independent candidate is very vague, which frequently leads to lawsuits similar to this one. Section 3501.01 says an “Independent candidate” is a candidate “who claims not to be affiliated with a political party.” Ohio voter registration forms do not ask the applicant about partisan affiliation, so there is no clear method to administer this requirement.