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Strip-club petitions far short of valid signatures [Ohio]

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Maryland

Strip-club petitions far short of valid signatures

Referendum requires 115,936 more, Brunner says

Friday, September 21, 2007 5:04 PM

By Alan Johnson
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Opponents of tighter restrictions on strip clubs and adult entertainment have fallen 115,936 valid signatures short of having enough to qualify for the Nov. 6 ballot, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said today.

Brunner's tabulation of signatures checked by individual county boards of election showed that the Vote No on Issue 1 Committee collected 125,430 valid signatures of registered voters who support putting the referendum to a public vote.

They need 241,366.

Once the committee has been officially notified by Brunner, it will have 10 days to collect more signatures. Once those newly submitted names are reviewed, Brunner will determine whether the total number suffices to make the ballot.

A stunningly low rate of valid signatures plagued the committee in most large urban areas, including Franklin County. The board of elections here tossed more than two of every three names, mostly because the signers were not registered or were registered at the wrong address.

The referendum would determine the fate of Senate Bill 16, the Community Defense Act, passed in June by the General Assembly. The law established a “no touch” rule for dancers in strip clubs and clamped a midnight closing time on all adult-oriented businesses.

However, the Vote No on Issue 1 Committee, a group backed primarily by owners of adult-entertainment businesses, gathered signatures to put the law to a public vote.