Elections Board joins in lawsuit

Challenge suit filed by Avon Lake Attorney

The Lorain County Board of Elections will join as a party to an election challenge lawsuit filed by Avon Lake attorney Gerald W. Phillips.

In a June 12 special meeting, the elections board voted unanimously to join the suit at the request of Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

“They contacted us and they indicated that they were requesting that the local board of elections intervene on the matter,” said Lorain County Assistant Prosecutor Gerald Innes. “They felt it was necessary to protect the integrity of the election.

“There are several allegations made in the complaint that are directed at the local board of elections.”

The suit filed by Phillips on June 8 challenges his April 28 primary loss for the Republican nomination for Lorain County commissioner.

The case seeks to nullify the results of Phillips’ unsuccessful primary bid against North Ridgeville Councilwoman-at-Large Michelle Hung.

Phillips alleges more than 3,100 voters illegally were disenfranchised and calls for the removal of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and former Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton among other claims.

Speaking after the meeting, Phillips said he was surprised the elections board moved to formally intervene in the case and questioned why they declined to do so in a 2015 voter fraud case when he represented then-Lorain Ward 2 Councilman Dennis Flores.

He said 80 percent of Flores’ suit is identical to his current litigation.

“Why, what changed?” he asked.

“Well, what changed is that I filed the lawsuit. What changes: I was a candidate. I was a candidate for the Republican Party. My own party opposes me. My opponent was backed by the Republican Party. The powers to be in the Republican Party for the last year won’t speak to me.”

His message

Phillips said he believed going into the race he was going to lose, but said that he took his message to the people and forced Hung to campaign and raise money.

He added the elections board’s intervention in the case does not change his strategy and welcomes the opportunity for the court to rule on the merits of the lawsuit.

Phillips also accused the elections board of fighting the case on Hung’s behalf.

He also alleges DeWine and LaRose engaged in impeachable conduct and plans take the issue up with the Ohio Senate.

“Because I believe there was egregious activity,” Phillips said. “And this court’s going to have to address all those arguments in that lawsuit, and I welcome the opportunity for them to address it.

“All I want is an honest addressing of those arguments. If I’m wrong, tell me I’m wrong.”

Errors and missteps on a local and state level unconstitutionally deprived registered Republican voters of their right to cast a ballot, the suit alleges, pointing to the postponement of the primary and the practical and administrative challenges of the mail-in election.

In the suit, Phillips states he was present at the Lorain County Board of Elections between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Election Day.

He alleges he personally witnessed a number of irregularities including disabled electors being denied the right to vote and registered voters being told they could not make absentee ballot requests on Election Day after previously being told otherwise.

Phillips characterized the situation as “complete chaos, confusion and gross misunderstanding” of the mail-in or absentee ballot process for the primary election, resulting in people being denied their constitutional rights to vote, stemming from Election Day activities and the postponement of the presidential primary, which Phillips called unlawful and unconstitutional.

Hung said in a June 8 statement to The Morning Journal that she has her sights set on November.

“I am focused on winning the general election in November,” she wrote. “Lorain County deserves a board of commissioners committed to ending reckless spending and cleaning up the mess the current commissioners created at our Emergency 911.”

Lorain County Elections Board Director Paul Adams declined to comment on the board’s decision following the meeting.

Phillips asks the court to invalidate the results of the Hung-Phillips race, order a new primary race and cancel any certificate of nomination of Hung. He also seeks costs and reasonable attorney fees.

Common Pleas Judge Raymond J. Ewers will preside over the case.