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For many years, candidates in Ohio could run as independents even if they were affiliated with a political party.
It all came to a halt when Jennifer Brunner, then the secretary of state, issued an advisory on June 4, 2007, to county boards of elections citing Morrison v. Colley, a case in which the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decided Sept. 12, 2006.
Brunner's advisory reads: "Longstanding practice in Ohio and the interpretation (of an Ohio Revised Code provision) made by secretaries of state required only that the candidacy of an independent candidate be independent of political party affiliation, but not that the individual himself or herself be entirely unaffiliated. The Morrison case now requires that independent candidates actually be unaffiliated and that when an unaffiliation is claimed, it must be claimed in good faith."
The Brunner advisory, which is still used today, states the Morrison decision required independents not be affiliated with a political party and the "claim of unaffiliation by an independent candidate must be made in good faith."
She provided further guidance.
"If an independent candidate votes in a party primary election after filing as an independent, the candidate is not actually unaffiliated, and the candidate's claim of independence was either not made in good faith or is no longer current," Brunner wrote. Also, if independent candidates are members of a party central and / or executive committee, they're not eligible.
Brunner wrote that "indications of party affiliation such as past voting history, information submitted on required election-related filings, political advertisements ... may serve as evidence though not necessarily conclusive evidence of party affiliation to support a protest against an independent candidate's candidacy."
Brunner added that "voting history, alone, is an insufficient basis on which to disqualify a candidate's candidacy."
In the Mahoning Valley, the three candidates who filed for the upcoming election as independents -- all for state House seats -- have had their eligibility questioned.
The Mahoning County Board of Elections voted 3-1 on Aug. 23 to not certify Poland Township Trustee Eric Ungaro as an independent candidate for the 59th Ohio House District primarily because his official website had at least 15 photos with the Democratic Party logo on it.
Ungaro, who has sued the board in Ohio Supreme Court to get on the ballot, said the photos were uploaded Jan. 26, 2018, when he was running for a state House seat as a Democrat.
Another issue in the protest against Ungaro was his "long affiliation with the Democratic Party."
Board members who voted not to certify Ungaro said the photos show Ungaro is still tied to the Democratic Party.
Ungaro, who calls himself "a lifelong Democrat running as an independent," said he has done everything to disassociate from the party, including not voting in the last two primaries.
The Mahoning board deadlocked 2-2 Monday on a protest to disqualify Greg Beight of New Springfield for that same state House seat. Secretary of State Frank LaRose will break the tie.
The main issue in the Beight protest is his voting record. He voted in Republican primaries in 2018, 2020 and this past May 3, but didn't vote in the Aug. 2 primary.
The two Democrats who voted to remove Beight said the split primary of May 3 and Aug. 2 is considered one primary by a federal court so Beight isn't an actual independent candidate. The two Republican board members say there were two different primaries.
The final case will be heard Wednesday by the Trumbull County Board of Elections.
State Rep. Mike Loychik, R-Bazetta, is protesting the eligibility of Jennifer Donnelly of Cortland, an independent candidate challenging him in the 63rd Ohio House District.
In a protest letter, Loychik wrote that Donnelly's "voting history demonstrates her Democratic Party affiliation in the 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2016 primaries."
He pointed to various Trumbull Democratic Party officials assisting her in circulating nominating petitions on her behalf and the local party held a petition-signing event July 28 at party headquarters. The party affiliation of circulators of independent petitions nor of signers matter when considering the validity of petitions, said Stephanie Penrose, Trumbull elections director.
Loychik also challenged Donnelly's residency contending she also lives in Niles. That appears to be a different person with the same first and last names.
"I am an independent in both the spirit and the letter of the law," Donnelly said.
Skolnick covers politics for The Vindicator and the Tribune Chronicle.