A Republican challenge to the legal residency of one of Ohio’s Democratic members of Congress was denied by the state’s top elections commissioner.
The decision was reached late last week by Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who stated that the complaint, who was a political activist, had not shown any persuasive evidence that Rep. Emilia Sykes had moved from Akron to her husband’s house in Columbus.
On October 24, the Summit County Board of Elections tied 2-2 along party lines on whether to take up the case, leaving it up to LaRose to decide. Her husband, Franklin County Commissioner Kevin Boyce, had listed Sykes as a member of his household in Columbus, which prompted the residency issue in the days leading up to the election.
The claim that she doesn’t live in Akron was described by Sykes as a “deeply offensive lie.” Boyce later filed an affidavit with the Ohio Ethics Commission to clarify that his wife lives in Akron, despite the couple’s stated separate addresses.
Members of Congress are not required by Ohio law to reside in their districts.
While awaiting a ruling on the lawsuit, Sykes, 38, was permitted to vote in the November elections in Akron. In a district focused on that city, where she comes from a family steeped in state politics, she won her second term by defeating Republican Kevin Coughlin. Her mother, Barbara Sykes, is a former state lawmaker and statewide candidate, and her father, Vernon Sykes, is currently serving as a state senator.
LaRose wrote to the county elections board on Friday, stating that Boyce had submitted the clarifying declaration and that Sykes had produced proof that she resides at her Akron address.
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