Board of Elections Rules on Candidate Petitions
Vol. III, No. 79 - Large Changes Coming to Some Races
Your message can be here!
Are you interested in becoming a sponsor of Civic Capacity? This publication has grown substantially with a subscirber roll of nearly 2,500 indidividuals receiving this newsletter daily. If you are interested in partnering to get your word about your civic minded business, please email pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com.
The Miami County Board of Elections spent last week reviewing petitions from candidates seeking local offices across the county, including positions on school boards and village councils. As part of this process, the Board determined that several petitions contained errors serious enough to disqualify them. While these types of denials are not unusual, they have significantly altered the shape of a few local races.
State law sets strict standards for candidate petitions, and every election cycle some hopeful office-seekers fall short. Once the Board rules against a petition, the candidate is left off the ballot. This cycle, the impact has been especially notable in races for local school boards.
In Troy, what began as a five-person race for three open seats on the City Schools Board of Education has now been reduced. The Board of Elections ruled invalid the petitions submitted by incumbent member Theresa Packard and challengers Jason Barnhart and Adam Fullenkamp. Their removal leaves only two contenders certified for the ballot, dramatically changing what was expected to be a competitive contest.
A similar shift took place in Tipp City, where three candidates were initially running for two open Board of Education seats. The petitions from incumbent Amber Drum and challenger Amy Polisetty did not meet requirements, leaving just one candidate in the race.
Although those disqualified could request reconsideration, it is unclear whether the Board would reverse its decisions. Earlier this summer the Board hosted informational sessions specifically designed to walk prospective candidates through the petition process and answer questions, underscoring the expectation that campaigns meet the established rules.
The question now is how these ballot vacancies might be filled. Under Ohio law, individuals still have the option of running as write-in candidates. While rare, write-in campaigns do succeed from time to time. Just last year, Miami County voters saw a contested write-in campaign for County Recorder, which ended with Dave Norman’s victory over Troy City Council member Samuel Pierce.
Anyone wishing to launch a write-in candidacy must still be formally certified by the Board of Elections. The process requires filing a Form 13 and paying the appropriate fee, and those filings must be completed no later than August 25. Only write-ins that are certified by this deadline will count toward official results in November. You can access Form 13 below.
The outcome of these disqualifications means voters in Miami County could face less choice on their ballots unless new write-in candidates step forward in the coming days. For those that have always thought about serving their community in an elected office, there may be new opportunities to make that happen.
A New Handbook to grow Civic Capacity!
Recently, we created a new digital handbook, “The Citizen’s Guide to Public Records”. This handbook is designed to help residents have a better understanding of public meetings and meeting records. It’s filled with templates, ideas and other information that will open a new world of public affairs.
Also, if you have ideas for future handbooks, please let us know at pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com.
Want to Learn More About Troy’s Businesses?
Today, our publication is releasing our August 2025 Economic Abstract, the most comprehensive and up-to-date report on the businesses and industries in the City of Troy. For those that want to understand our community’s business and industries, this is a must-have report.
Thank you to our New Media Partners!
Recently, many of our stories has been showing up on the local news website, www.mymiamicounty.com. We are grateful for the good folks for sharing our work with their audience and we would encourage our readers to check them out at their website!
Our publication would also like to recognize the good work being done at www.piquanewsnow.com. Piqua News Now is a new web-based news and information site for the Miami County area, with a specific focus on Piqua!
In addition, the good folks at Piqua News Now have started a new, 24-hour streaming YouTube channel. This channel is awesome with continuous weather updates and more importanly, it provides a 24-hour audio feed from county wide dispatch. Check it out here!
You Can Help Support This Work!
Our readers and subscribers have been asking for a new way to support the work being done here at Civic Capacity! Some of our readers do not like the idea of having to sign up for another subscription service. Some of our subscribers occasionally want to give more support through a one-time transaction.
Civic Capacity is partnering with “Buy Me A Coffee” to give our readers, subscribers and friends an opportunity to give one-time support to Civic Capacity. Personally, I don’t like coffee, but I will never turn down a nice iced tea. If you feel compelled to support this effort, just click the button below. In other words, this is an online tip jar.
Also, thanks for reading today’s Civic Capacity Newsletter! Please feel free to share this information with your friends and neighbors.
Also, please consider subscribing to our work. If you are a free subscriber, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. For less than $1 a week, you can get timely and conversational updates about the decisions that are impacting you and your community!
Would it not help the “public” if the errors/omissions made were made public, without names, thus providing “cautions or learning tools” to potential candidates to watch out for?