January, 22, 2000
Board makes it official
By Erik Burriss
Staff Writer
The Seneca County Board of Elections voted 3-0 Friday not to certify Sheriff H. Weldin Neff's petitions to be a Republican candidate for sheriff in the 2000 primary.
The board had spilt, 2-2, on a previous vote to certify Neff's candidacy. Both board chairman Wayne Hoover and director Donna Spitler have said that Neff filed his petitions several minutes after the 4 p.m. deadline on Jan. 7. In response to the tie vote, Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell's chief elections counsel Judith Hoffman sent a letter to the board saying "the requirements of the law are clear," when candidates file late.
"The letter's pretty straightforward," Acting Board of Elections Chairman Tim Rook said.
Neff could still file as an independent candidate. The deadline for filing would be March 6, Spitler said, and the minimum number of signatures for an filing as an independent is 181, versus 50 for candidates with party affiliation.