CLARK COUNTY STANDOFF: ADMINISTRATOR FAILS TO EXPEL TAX PETITIONERS FROM ELECTION PROPERTY
BY JEFF SKINNER
CLARK COUNTY - A tense confrontation on county property has ignited a sharp legal debate over free speech rights and election-zone boundaries during early voting in Clark County. The incident, captured in videos circulated online by local groups, featured Clark County Administrator Jennifer Hutchinson attempting to remove petition circulators from the AxOhTax initative operating on a public walkway near the Clark County Board of Elections.
Hutchinson, accompanied by an attorney from the county prosecutor’s office, requested assistance from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office to compel petition gatherer Ed Maloof to leave the premises. Maloof and fellow activists refused to vacate, maintaining they were operating legally within a public forum outside the state-mandated polling buffer zone. The confrontation highlights an intense gray area where state election protections intersect with local administrative authority over government real estate. Video of the exchange has been published by the Greene County Sentinel
The intersection of state law and local enforcement centers primarily on two areas of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC). The first is ORC Section 3501.35, which strictly defines a 100-foot neutral zone measured from the entrance of any polling location. Within this perimeter, loitering, campaigning, and soliciting signatures are explicitly prohibited. Because the petitioners remained outside this marked 100-foot boundary, activists argue that Hutchinson’s attempt to enforce a blanket eviction from the entire county property constitutes an unlawful restriction on protected political expression.
The second statute at play is ORC Section 3599.24, which forbids willful obstruction or intimidation of voters or election duties. While county administrators generally hold broad authority to regulate public safety, traffic flow, and building access on county property, legal advocates note that such time, place, and manner restrictions cannot be enforced in a manner that arbitrarily expands state-defined election boundaries or strips citizens of First Amendment rights in a public space. Ultimately, Hutchinson was unsuccessful in forcing the group to leave, and the signature gatherers for the AX OhTAX (Abolish Ohio Property Taxes) initiative successfully stood their ground and continued their work.
As the election season progresses, the standoff serves as a critical case study for grassroots campaigns and local governments across Ohio. By holding their ground against intimidation from county officials, the AX OhTAX volunteers successfully defended the sacred right of citizens to petition their government in open public spaces. This decisive pushback sets a powerful precedent for ballot initiatives across Ohio, sending a clear message to municipal authorities that they cannot invent arbitrary property rules to override state election laws or silence political speech.
