Secretary of State Jon Husted has appointed three people to a troubled northwest Ohio elections board while a related legal challenge is pending.
The Republican says in a letter to officials that he filled the vacancies on the Lucas County board in Toledo to ensure the Aug. 5 special election is handled properly. Husted earlier removed three members and said the board was plagued by dysfunction. He then declined to appoint the local Republicans' two recommended replacements because he said the nominees contributed to the board's problems. He picked two different people for those seats Thursday. He also appointed the nominee recommended by county Democrats. The move comes a week after the Lucas County Republican Party asked the Ohio Supreme Court to force Husted to accept its original nominees.
