CNN —
Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes of Ohio is fighting a last-ditch challenge to her eligibility to vote in her district following charges filed by local Republican activists.
The decision on whether the lawmaker can vote in Akron, Ohio, where he is registered to vote, will fall to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, after the county election board deadlocked on the issue Thursday. Become.
Sykes, who represents Ohio’s 13th Congressional District and is seeking re-election, said in a statement to CNN after the election board’s vote was a tie. “These partisan games are a disservice to the voters of Ohio’s 13th Congressional District and rob them of their voice.”
The partisan challenge to her voter registration and ability to vote in her district does not challenge her eligibility to run for and represent her district.
Although the ruling on her voter registration is still up in the air, Ms. Sykes went ahead with her vote at her local polling place on Thursday, daring her opponents to discount her vote.
“I just voted early,” Sykes said outside the Summit County Commission’s early voting site in a video shared with CNN.
The challenge to Sykes’ registration was brought to the Board of Elections by local Tea Party Republicans. Tom Zawistowski filed a complaint citing a financial disclosure form from Sykes’ husband, a county commissioner in an adjoining district, that indicated the lawmaker resided in his household. submitted. Based on this revelation, Zawistowski argued that Sykes should vote where her husband lives in Columbus, Ohio.
Sykes submitted an affidavit, driver’s license, renter’s insurance policy and other documentation showing Akron residency to the Board of Elections, but at Thursday’s hearing in front of the Summit County Board of Elections. did not attend.
For Sykes, the issue is personal.
“I’m a Black congresswoman, and since 1965, only people who look like me have had the right to vote. Now, someone who doesn’t know me, someone I don’t know, someone who couldn’t explain anything about me. But it’s my right to challenge my voter registration if I feel like it,” Sykes told CNN ahead of Thursday’s board meeting.
On Thursday, the four-member bipartisan board studying the issue was split along party lines and referred the issue to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office. The board will have 14 days to submit the necessary information to LaRose, who will make the final decision, but there are questions about whether the issue will be resolved before the vote in 12 days.
In questioning Sykes’ eligibility, Republicans repeatedly cited an Ohio law that says “the place where a married person’s family resides is considered that person’s place of residence.”
“We have serious concerns about Emilia Sykes’ eligibility to vote, and she has not even bothered to appear in person to make her case,” Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the House Republican Campaign Office, said in a statement to CNN. I couldn’t do it.”
However, Ms Sykes’ lawyer, who represented her on behalf of MPs during the hearing, insisted during the hearing that there was nothing wrong with Ms Sykes and her husband living in separate residences. The attorney also said the law, which Republicans continued to cite, is based on the presumption that the place a married person resides is also that person’s place of residence, which is not the case for Ms. Sykes and her husband. .
“She states in her affidavit that she visits him in Columbus from time to time. He visits her and comes here from time to time,” said Sykes’ attorney, Don McTeague. “But these are both public servants who have dedicated their lives to serving the residents of the communities they represent.”
