Democratic State Rep. Ismail Mohamed spent hours in the hot seat Monday as attorneys questioned fine details regarding his voter registration history, mortgage paperwork and more.
The lengthy hearing at the Franklin County Board of Elections set out to determine if Mohamed lives in the district he represents, or if he actually lives at a home in Delaware County that he purchased last September.
Mohamed's opponent in the upcoming general election, Bernadine Kennedy Kent, brought forth the challenge. Her first attempt to question Mohamed's residency was dismissed for procedural reasons earlier this month, but she quickly refiled.
Kent is a former Democratic state representative who won this year's GOP primary as a write-in candidate.
Mohamed has represented District 3, which covers much of northeast Columbus, including parts of Clintonville, since 2023. He is one of the state's first Somali American legislators.
Mohamed admits to buying a nearly $587,000 home on Heather Ridge Drive in Delaware County. Monday, he told attorneys and the Franklin County Board of Elections that he resides at the house on weekends and holidays, but that he spends his weekdays at the Franklin County apartment where he is registered to vote.
Mohamed's attorney, Corey Colombo, told the board that it's common for Ohioans to split their time between residences. He said that plenty of other elected officials and candidates for office have multiple properties.
"You're allowed to have more than one residence. You can only select one for voting. And he clearly is going to establish that he meets the criteria to be a registered voter at his apartment in Franklin County," Colombo later reiterated to WOSU.
Kent's attorney, Curt Hartman, dug into the fine details of documents relating to Mohamed's apartment lease, his home purchase and utility bills. He even referenced messages between Mohamed and his realtor.
Hartman accused Mohamed of making a false statement by purchasing the Delaware County home with Hoda Adheys as a married couple.
Mohamed explained that they had a religious union, but weren't legally married. He said he helped Adheys purchase the property because she couldn't do it on her own.
"She was unable to qualify for the property. She had requested that I sign on to to the property to qualify. That was my involvement," Mohamed said.
He added that they had considered the home an "investment property," and that they planned to use it as a short-term rental.
The property receives a special tax credit from Delaware County for being owner occupied. Mohamed told Hartman that he just found out about the credit and that Adheys and their realtor had handled most of the paperwork during the purchase of the home.
Mohamed answered questions from about 11 a.m. until after 4 p.m. Adheys was called to testify around 4:30 p.m.
The Board of Elections had originally intended to issue a decision on the challenge to Mohamed's residency — and a separate challenge of Adheys' voting registration address — by the end of the day. As of late Monday afternoon, the matter remained unresolved.
