OH Law May Keep 7th Anti-Frack Measure Off Youngstown Nov. Ballot

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In May, MDN told you that virulent anti-drillers in Youngstown, OH, puppets of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), have once again circulated a petition to put a so-called Community Bill of Rights ballot measure on the ballot this November (see Youngstown Antis Seek to Legalize Anarchy with 7th CELDF Petition). The same people have tried six times before–and the ballot measure failed every single time. However, this time is different. In addition to the usual no fracking, no pipelines pablum, this 7th petition has language that makes it legal to break the law. If the ballot measure were to pass, and if an anti got it into her head to sit in front of a bulldozer that was about to clear ground for a wellpad, or dig a trench for a pipeline, the police would not be able to arrest and remove the anti. It would be within her rights to sit there and block legal, legitimate activity–all in the name of saving Mom Earth. It would create mob rule. The sad news is that the petition garnered enough signatures to appear on the ballot this November (see Youngstown Frack Ban Vote on November Ballot – for 7th Time). The happy news is that under a new Ohio state law giving county boards of elections more discretion, the Mahoning County Board of Elections will almost certainly block the measure from appearing on the November ballot–because the anti-frack ballot measure conflicts with established state law that only the state can regulate the oil and gas industry…

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