Board refers local liquor-option petition to prosecutor after circulator testimony

The Summit County Board of Elections voted to refer a Feb. 5 local liquor-option petition for a proposed Sunday-sales retail permit to the county prosecutor after testimony indicated the circulator did not personally witness every signature and many signatures did not match voter records.

At a hearing called to review the petition for Nev Navkar Retail, the person who identified himself as Hardie Glassman Shaw, the business owner and the circulator of the petition, testified that he and a colleague went door to door and asked residents to sign the petition. Shaw said they tried to explain the petition and, in many cases, “they sign the paperwork or they took the paper inside,” acknowledging language barriers in the largely immigrant neighborhood and that not every signature was witnessed in his presence.

Shaw told the board he and a coworker sometimes handed the petition to household members who went inside and returned with the signed form. “Some people, they did sign in front of us. Some people, they took the paper inside,” he said.

A second witness, Ronald Mahone, who said he accompanied Shaw to act as an interpreter and helper, described cultural patterns he had observed and said he had seen husbands sign for wives in some households and that petition sheets were sometimes taken inside the home for completion. “When we seen that, we would stop them, but then there was some that would actually take the petition…to sign,” Mahone told the board.

John C. Rothfelsberger, the person listed as the designated agent for the petition and a former state liquor control agent who works as a consultant, testified that he had instructed the circulator to witness every signature and to use a registered-voter list while collecting signatures. Rothfelsberger said he did not personally collect signatures on this most recent attempt, and that the circulator left completed petitions at his place of business for pickup.

Elections staff had previously flagged the petition during a certification review because many signatures appeared not genuine and numerous name/address/signature combinations did not match voter-roll records. Staff issued subpoenas for the business owner, the circulator and the listed agent before the hearing.

After the testimony, a board member moved and the board adopted a motion unanimously to refer the matter to the county prosecutor for any further action the prosecutor deems appropriate. The board recorded no formal vote tally other than the chair’s announcement that the motion was adopted without dissent.

The hearing record includes the original petition filing date and the Secretary of State business registration documents that identify the LLC and its listed agent. The board’s referral was limited to the evidence and testimony presented at the hearing; the prosecutor will determine any next steps.

The board returned to other agenda items after the referral vote.