Board 0 Elections TIMOTHY BURKE AMY L. SEARCY 824 Director of Elections ALEX M. TRIANTAFILOU CINCINNATI, OHIO 45202-1345 SALLY J. KRISEL CALEB A FAUX 513 632.7000 Deputy Director of Elections CHARLES Fax 513 I 579-0988 - 513 I 744-9038 tburke@man1eyburke.com December 2, 2013 The Honorable Jon Husted Secretary of State State of Ohio 180 E. Broad Street Columbus, Ohio 43215 The Honorable Ohio Mike DeWine Attorney General State Office Tower 30 E. Broad Street 14th Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215 Dear Secretary and Attorney General: On Monday, November 25th, a reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer brought to my attention that Melissa Hendon Deters, the wife of Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters, stated in her Petition for Divorce filed on November 22, 2013, that Mr. Deters had moved out of their home on July 8, 2012. The reporter went on to say that in spite of that, Mr. Deters voted in the 2012 General Election from the address where his wife continued to live, 11976 Stonemark Lane in Symmes Township, Ohio. I confirmed the accuracy of this information. The statement by Ms. Deters, is contained in the Affidavit of Income, Expenses and Financial Disclosures filed in Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, Division of Domestic Relations, Case No. DR1302234. The records of the Hamilton County Board of Elections, including the signature poll book for precinct including Mr. Deters former home, confirm that Mr. Deters voted using the Symmes Township address in the 2012 elections. In addition, the Board's records indicate that on April 24, 2013 Mr. Deters signed a candidate's petition using the Symmes Township address. Records also confirm that on July 15, 2013 he changed his voting address to a location in Downtown Cincinnati and voted from that address in the 2013 Municipal Elections. The Honorable Jon Husted Attorney General Mike DeWine December 2, 2013 Page 2 Ohio Revised Code 3503.02 (D) defines the rules for determining residency in the situation when spouses are separated: "The place where the family of a married person resides shall be considered to be the person's place of residence; except that when the spouses have separated and live apart, the place where such a spouse resides, the length of time required to entitle a person to vote shall be considered to be the spouse's place of residence." If it is true that Mr. Deters moved from his Symmes Township home in July of 2013 and resided in the City of Cincinnati as has been suggested, then he resided in Cincinnati the length of time required to have established a residence for voting purposes in his new residence. Thus he should have changed his voter registration address and voted from that new address. By not doing so, he obtained a ballot that allowed him to vote in a Congressional and State Representative election in which he was not entitled to vote. Signing a nominating petition using his Symmes Township when he was no longer resident in the Township is also problematic. These actions suggest that both Ohio Revised Code prohibiting voting in a precinct in which one is not qualified to vote, and signing a nominating petition one is not qualified at the time to sign, may have been violated. Our Board of Elections has spent considerable time dealing with issues surrounding votes cast in 2012 which may or may not have been improper. In most cases our Board voted unanimously in referring or not referring matters for possible prosecution. However, there were also dozens of individuals who were referred to the Prosecutor over the objection of myself and Board member Caleb Faux that we believed did not warrant referral. Those disputed referrals followed a recommendation by the Prosecutor that they be referred and were required to be referred for potential prosecution after a tie Vote by our Board was broken by Secretary Husted. Subsequently, the Prosecutor's Office reported that they will not proceed on most of those disputed referrals (a handful remain undetermined). While up until now our Board been very transparent in our discussions and investigations, our Republican colleagues have refused to allow this matter to even be discussed at a Board of Elections meeting, let alone investigated. Under the circumstances, particularly given the instructions we've previously received from the Secretary of State's Office about investigating appearances of voter impropriety, and the earlier opinion from the County Prosecutor's Office, I do not believe it appropriate to simply ignore this issue. The Honorable Jon Husted Attorney General Mike DeWine December 2, 2013 Page 3 On the other hand, I also recognize that the issues in a divorce proceeding are extremely personal and may be subject to factual dispute. As a result, I am requesting, on behalf of Mr. Faux and myself, that your offices conduct whatever investigation you deem to be appropriate to determine the facts and what, if any, additional action is appropriate. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, of E1ections\Corres\Husted and DeWine.12-2-13 - re Joe Deters voting address.TMB.doc-rrb