ATHENS, Ohio — The Athens County Board of Elections on Thursday, Sept. 4 denied a protest filed against write-in candidates who have been certified to run for office this November.
The City of Nelsonville filed the protest Aug. 29 against write-in mayoral candidates Fred Holmes and Nancy Soncik; treasurer candidate Brian Elkins; auditor candidate Nicholas Smith; and council candidate Sue Powell. Write-in candidate protest filings were due to boards of elections by Aug. 29, according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s elections calendar.
The hearing was held amid an Ohio Supreme Court case that will determine whether or not the city will transition over to a statutory form of government, based upon a recently repealed ballot initiative, Issue 23.
Issue 23, passed by 70% of Nelsonville voters in the 2024 general election, abolishes the Nelsonville City Charter effective Jan. 1, 2026. City council repealed the ballot initiative Aug. 11.
Current charter-based council terms expire Nov. 30.
The board of elections has certified candidates to run for statutory-based terms under Issue 23, write-ins for charter-based terms, and a candidate to run for a month-long term this December.
Powell was present at the protest hearing Thursday, alongside her legal counsel, former Nelsonville city attorney Mathew Voltolini. Powell was the only candidate of the five protested candidates who attended Thursday’s hearing.
The city said through its Reminger attorney Thomas Spyker that it filed the protest against the write-in candidates as a procedural measure.
The city argued at the hearing that because the city council passed Ordinance 54-25 that repealed Issue 23, the board of elections should therefore remove the candidates running for offices based upon Issue 23. Spyker argued that the board of elections had to follow standing law, including Ordinance 54-25, until a court said otherwise.
Voltolini argued that the board of elections had no jurisdiction to make such decisions. He said the city was actually asking the board of elections for declaratory judgement on the legality of the passage, implementation and now repeal of Issue 23.
Both parties agreed that the Ohio Supreme Court will ultimately determine which candidates for what offices appear on the November ballot.
The Athens County Board of Elections members voted unanimously to deny the protest, following a brief executive session. All four board of elections members were present; member Sky Pettey presided over the hearing (Aundrea Carpenter-Colvin is the chair of the board of elections).
Powell told the Independent that she felt “very good” and “very happy” about the board of elections’ decision.
Also present at the protest hearing Thursday were Nelsonville City Council members Johnny Flowers and Nic Joseph Saul.
Powell is suing the city regarding a separate matter in the Fourth District Court of Appeals. The Ohio Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower court in February.
Note: This story was updated around 9 a.m. Sept. 5 to remove mention of Kate McGuckin, a former board of elections member. Secretary of State Frank LaRose appointed Lauren Dikis to replace McGuckin in March. We apologize for the error and any confusion it may have caused. This article was also corrected to say Thursday, not Wednesday. The meeting took place Thursday. Sept. 4.
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