The Franklin County Board of Elections dismissed a challenge of State Representative Ismail Mohamed's residency on Monday afternoon, but Mohamed will likely see another challenge soon.
Mohamed is a Democrat representing District 3, which covers parts of Columbus' north and east areas, including much of Linden, some of the University District and Short North and part of Clinton Township.
Mohamed's opponent in the upcoming election, Bernadine Kennedy Kent, filed a challenge to his voter registration.
Kent, a former Democrat who won the GOP primary with more than 160 write-in votes, argued Mohamed actually lives in Delaware County outside his district.
The Delaware County Auditor's office shows that in October of last year, Mohamed and another person, Hoda Adheys, purchased a nearly $587,000 home on Heather Ridge Drive in Delaware County. Property records list an owner occupancy credit, a tax credit applied to a person's main residence.
At their meeting Monday, Franklin County Board of Elections members unanimously dismissed the challenge of Mohamed's residency for what amounts to a technicality.
Last week, Mohamed changed his voter registration from one address within his district to another. The original address is listed on the challenge.
Kent's attorney, Curt Hartman, said he intends to file a new challenge of Mohamed's voter registration with the updated Franklin County address.
Hartman also filed a challenge of Adhey's address. He asked board members to dismiss that challenge, as much of the evidence against Adhey is the same as the evidence against Kent. Hartman said it would be easier to present the cases together.
He is expected to refile his challenge against Adhey when he files the updated challenge against Mohamed.
Mohamed and Adhey both attended the meeting, but sat on opposite sides of the room. Mohamed's counsel did not speak on Adhey's behalf.
Prior to the meeting, the Franklin County Republican Party said in a statement on Facebook that the Franklin County Board of Elections had a "duty that is larger than any party, any candidate, or any news cycle."
"The Board must conduct that hearing in public, on the record, and without fear or favor. If the evidence shows Representative Mohamed lives in District 3, say so. If the evidence shows he does not, the Board must act. Anything less tells every other candidate that residency is optional if you have the right title," read the statement attributed to Franklin County Republican Party Executive Chairman Robert Sharrah.
Rep. Mohamed's office declined to comment.
