State Ex Rel. Kilby v. Summit County Board of Elections, 133 Ohio St. 3d 184

Kilby challenged Akron Ordinance No. 271-2012 proposing a charter amendment to Sections 28.2 and 53 to cut costs, elect all council members at once to four-year terms, and limit raises for council and mayor.
Ballot language approved by the Board of Elections and Secretary of State described the amendment as eliminating an extra election, electing all council members to four-year terms at the same election, and limiting raises.
Kilby protested, claiming the ballot language was inaccurate, misleading, or failed to emphasize all charter changes and improperly merged separate issues.
Board hearings with August 28 approval and August 29 secretary of state approval preceded Kilby’s expedited mandamus/prohibition filing on September 6, 2012.
The court held the challenge was premature for substantive text, analyzed under a three-part ballot-language standard, and denied the writs, thereby upholding the ballot language.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether ballot language fairly describes the amendment	Kilby contends language is misleading and omits key effects	Board and secretary applied proper condensed wording under statutes	Ballot language fairly describes the amendment
Whether Akron Charter Section 34 multi-subject rule applies to charter amendments	Kilby argues multiple subjects violated Section 34	Section 34 governs ordinances/resolutions, not charter amendments	No violation; provision inapplicable to charter amendments
Whether challenges to ballot language can be raised before electorate approval	Kilby seeks pre-approval invalidation based on wording	Premature to challenge substantive text before elector approval	Challenges premature; ballot language approved stands

Jurcisin v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Elections, 35 Ohio St.3d 137 (1988) (three-part test for ballot language in charter amendments)
State ex rel. Minus v. Brown, 30 Ohio St.2d 75 (1972) (ballot-language adequacy standards for local issues)
DeBrosse v. Cool, 87 Ohio St.3d 1 (1999) (prematurity of challenges before electorate approval)
State ex rel. Hazel v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Elections, 80 Ohio St.3d 165 (1997) (prematurity and framing of challenges to proposed measures)
Willke v. Taft, 107 Ohio St.3d 1 (2005) (separate-vote considerations in amendment context)
Owens v. Brunner, 125 Ohio St.3d 130 (2010) (standards for extraordinary relief in election cases)
Husted v. Brunner, 123 Ohio St.3d 288 (2009) (discretionary review of election officials' actions)
Beck v. Cincinnati, 162 Ohio St. 473 (1955) (prohibition on persuasive or coercive ballot language)
Burton v. Greater Portsmouth Growth Corp., 7 Ohio St.2d 34 (1966) (principles on voter rights and ballot descriptions)
State ex rel. Williams v. Brown, 52 Ohio St.2d 13 (1977) (balancing test for defects in ballot language)
State ex rel. Commrs. of the Sinking Fund v. Brown, 167 Ohio St. 71 (1957) (ballot-issue description standards)