# State ex rel. Wolfe v. Delaware County Board of Elections

> Ohio Supreme Court · February 18, 2000 · 88 Ohio St. 3d 182

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/6781153

## Case

- **Full name:** The State ex rel. Wolfe v. Delaware County Board of Elections
- **Court:** Ohio Supreme Court
- **Decided:** February 18, 2000
- **Citations:** 88 Ohio St. 3d 182; 724 N.E.2d 771
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Dissent by Pfeifer
- **Judges:** Cook, Douglas, Moyer, Pfeifer, Resnick, Stratton, Sweeney
- **Cited by:** 50 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/6781153

## Opinion text

Pfeifer, J.,
dissenting. The statute at issue, R.C. 311.01, is overly restrictive without a rational basis. I would find it unconstitutional.
R.C. 311.01 is denying Ohio citizens a meaningful choice in electing sheriffs. In Ohio’s small counties, R.C. 311.01 effectively rules out competition. Active police officers cannot run for sheriff because as classified civil servants they are prohibited from political activity. R.C. 124.57. A sheriffs deputy in an unclassified position could run for office, but an officer running against his boss is not a *187 realistic possibility. Indeed, even the Attorney General of this state, defined by statute as our “chief law officer,” R.C. 109.02, would not be qualified to be a county sheriff under R.C. 311.01. See, e.g., R.C. 311.01(B)(8).
Reasonable, nondiscriminatory restrictions upon voting rights are generally upheld where the state’s important regulatory interests justify the restrictions. Burdick v. Takushi (1992), 504 U.S. 428, 434 , 112 S.Ct. 2059, 2063-2064 , 119 L.Ed.2d 245, 253-254 . R.C. 311.01 does not further the regulatory interests of the state. Stifled competition does not yield better sheriffs.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/6781153. Public record. Not legal advice.