Ohio Elections Commission voted 7 to 0 to clear the Pickaway County Republican Party, Ohio Republican Party, and Sheriff Matthew Hafey of alleged wrongdoing in the 2024 primary.
The Elections Commission, which enforces Ohio’s campaign law, held a hearing Thursday, to review a complaint filed by Dale Thomas, who unsuccessfully challenged the incumbent sheriff in the Republican primary in March.
Thomas asserted in his complaint that the use of the county’s logo by the Hafey campaign was an intentional effort to deceive the voters into thinking that Hafey was officially endorsed by the Pickaway County Republican Party, which never endorsed Hafey or Thomas. There was never a vote by the Pickaway County Republican Party on any such endorsement.
Pickaway County Republican Central Committee Chair Travis Ricketts said Thomas asserted in his complaint that neither the Ohio Republican Party nor the county’s Republican Party were permitted to use the logo and name “Pickaway County Republican Party” on campaign materials as that phrase is a registered trade name supposedly held by another organization, however, the use of the logo and name of the Pickaway County Republican Party remain exclusively reserved to the state and county party.
“Democrats and saboteurs are using any trick in the book to distract Pickaway Republicans from our most important goals this election: Re-Electing President Donald J. Trump and taking back the Senate majority by electing Bernie Moreno. They will not succeed,” Ricketts said in a press release issued Friday. “I’m grateful to the Ohio Elections Commission for clearing our name of these frivolous allegations, and remain 100% focused on winning in November.”
Hafey said he is pleased with the decision issued by the Elections Commission.
“I am very pleased with the decision made by the elections commission,” he said. “I am hopeful that this 7-0 unanimous vote provides closure for everyone, so we can move past this and we can continue serving the people of Pickaway County for another four years.
A former longtime member of the Pickaway County Republican Central Committee, Clair “Butch” Betzko, Jr., said Thomas’ complaint was never about the trademark issue. Betzko said it was about the fact that Hafey’s literature used that logo to mislead the voters by his claim that he has received the endorsement of the county political party, which is a “per se” violation of the law. Thomas lost because he failed to bring an attorney and his opponent’s attorney successfully played a lawyer trick — the misdirection trick.
Betzko said a new regulation passed into law on October 3, 2023 makes it illegal for a candidate to say they are endorsed by a county political party unless there has been a vote of the county political central committee to do so.
This law is in the Ohio Revised Code — ORC 3517.20 H (1) and (2)
(H)(1) No candidate or entity shall use or cause to be used a false, fictitious, or fraudulent name or address in the making or issuing of a publication or communication included within the provisions of this section.
(2) No political action committee or political contributing entity shall use or cause to be used, in the making or issuing of a publication or communication included within the provisions of this section, a name or address that would lead a reasonable person to believe that the publication or communication is made by or on behalf of a county political party, unless the political action committee or political contributing committee has obtained a written statement, signed by the chairperson of the county political party’s executive committee, granting the political action committee or political contributing entity permission to act on behalf of or represent the county political party.
“What has been happening is that certain members of the Pickaway County Republican Central Committee print campaign literature saying that their preferred candidate has been endorsed by the Pickaway County Republican Party which is confusing to the voters who think it is an official endorsement,” Betzko explained. “This has been going on for years. It was never illegal until October 3, 2023.”
Betzko continued, “The reason it became illegal is because the trick was used by a group of conservatives in 2022 trying to take over the Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee, but they lost, and then the old guard at the Ohio Republican Party pushed through the new regulation.”
The Elections Commission will hear a second complaint against the Pickaway County Republican Central Committee filed by Betzko in September which alleges the use of the Pickaway County Republican logo to deceive voters into thinking there was an endorsement.
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