State ex rel. Gongwer v. Graves

Citations

• 90 Ohio St. (N.S.) 311

Syllabus

<p>Referendum—Elections—Subject of political and not judicial regulation—Powers and duties of state supervisor and inspector of elections—Sufficiency and validity of referenduvt petitions— Section ic, Article II, Constitution of 1912—Secretary of state may reject petitions, when—Effect of false affidavit to part of petition—Section ig, Article II, Constitution..of 1912—Forged signatures to petition—Court cannot order submission of referendum,, when. ■■</p> <p>1. Elections belong to the political branch of the government and not to the judicial, and are. not per se the subject of judicial cognizance, but are matters for political regulation.. (The State, ex rel., v. Harmon, 31 Ohio St., 250; Chapman v. .Miller, 52 Ohio St., 166; Randall v. State, ex rel., 64 Ohio St., 57; The State, ex rel., v. Stewart, 71 Ohio St., 55; The State, ex rel., v. Joyce, .87 Ohio .St., 126; Link v. Karb, Mayor,. 89 Ohio St. 326, approved and followed.)</p> <p>2. The state supervisor and inspector of elections and deputy state supervisors and inspectors of elections are authorized by law duly enacted by the legislature of Ohio to conduct all public elections in the manner prescribed .by the provisions of Title . XIV, Part First, General Code, and to hear and determine all preliminary .questions pertaining thereto.</p> <p>3. The secretary of state, when acting as state supervisor of elections, has the authority to hear and determine the sufficiency and validity of -all petitions filed with him under the provisions of Section 1 c of Article II of the Constitution of this state, and his decision thereon is final, unless such decision has been fraudulently or corruptly made or procured, or unless he has been guilty of an abuse of discretion.</p> <p>4. Where it appears from the evidence that any circulators of parts of a petition have been guilty of a systematic course of fraud and forgery in procuring and writing,names thereon, and have wilfully and intentionally sworn to false affidavits atta