State Ex Rel. Miller v. Warren County Board of Elections, 130 Ohio St. 3d 24

The Mason City Charter includes a term-limit provision enacted in 1993, amended effective January 1, 2010.
Gilb was appointed to Mason City Council in 2009 to complete an unexpired term and again appointed for another unexpired term ending 2011, with a petition filed for the 2011 election.
Relators are Mason residents who challenged Gilb’s eligibility under the charter’s term limits in June 2011.
The Warren County Board of Elections considered the June 9, 2011 letter and determined it was premature because Gilb had not filed a petition.
Gilb filed his nominating petition on August 23, 2011; relators filed this expedited election action three days later seeking prohibition and mandamus.
The board ultimately did not grant a hearing on relators’ challenge, and relators’ protest was deemed premature.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the board properly exercised quasi-judicial power	Miller: board acted quasi-judicially by ruling on the protest.	Warren Cty. Bd. of Elections: no quasi-judicial action; protest premature.	No quasi-judicial action; prohibition denied.
Whether relators had an adequate remedy at law to challenge Gilb’s candidacy	Miller: mandamus/prohibition warranted due to ongoing inaction.	Board: timely statutory protest was available and relators did not timely pursue it.	Adequate remedy at law existed; prohibition denied and mandamus dismissed.

State ex rel. Upper Arlington v. Franklin Cty. Bd. of Elections, 119 Ohio St.3d 478 (2008-Ohio-5093) (defines quasi-judicial power)
State ex rel. Wright v. Ohio Bur. of Motor Vehicles, 87 Ohio St.3d 184 (1999) (quotations on quasi-judicial power standard)
State ex rel. LetOhioVote.org v. Brunner, 125 Ohio St.3d 420 (2010-Ohio-1895) (record requirement for administrative action)
State ex rel. Varnau v. Wenninger, 128 Ohio St.3d 361 (2011-Ohio-759) (protest proceedings in elections)
State ex rel. Murray v. Scioto Cty. Bd. of Elections, 127 Ohio St.3d 280 (2010-Ohio-5846) (protest procedures and remedies)
State ex rel. Shumate v. Portage Cty. Bd. of Elections, 64 Ohio St.3d 12 (1992) (protest and remedy framework for election actions)
State ex rel. Reese v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Elections, 115 Ohio St.3d 126 (2007-Ohio-4588) (mandamus vs. declaratory/injunctive relief in elections)
State ex rel. Miller Diversified Holdings, L.L.C. v. Wood Cty. Bd. of Elections, 123 Ohio St.3d 260 (2009-Ohio-4980) (adequacy of protest remedies in election cases)
State ex rel. Evans v. Blackwell, 111 Ohio St.3d 437 (2006-Ohio-5439) (jurisdictional limits in mandamus actions)
State ex rel. Stewart v. Clinton Cty. Bd. of Elections, 124 Ohio St.3d 584 (2010-Ohio-1176) (protest procedures and remedies in elections)