MOUNT VERNON — More than a million Ohioans have signed petitions seeking the repeal of Senate Bill 5, popularly known as the collective bargaining bill. Activists in Knox County have collected 4,275 signatures, which represents 21 percent of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial race.
The petitions have all been sent to the Secretary of State’s Office, and Belinda Lanning and Kim Horn of the Knox County Board of Elections said they expect to have copies by July 7. The Knox County Board will then have until July 26 to verify the signatures.
“We do check all the signatures,” said Lanning. “People may think we don’t, but we do. If we have any doubts about a signature, we check it out with other people. We don’t just make the decision to reject it on our own.”
Mary Rugola-Dye is the local representative for We Are Ohio. A retired teacher, Rugola-Dye became involved in the repeal campaign because she believes police, firefighters, teachers, nurses and other public-sector employees who serve and protect the people of this state have the right to a voice.
