Local Nordonia criminal Michael Smith has been found guilty once again, this time by the Ohio Elections Commission. In Part One of this series, we will look at the original complaint filed against Smith in October of 2022, and what the outcome of the first hearing was.
In fall of 2022, Smith was illegally raising funds via Facebook to purchase opposition signs for the school district’s bond issue that was on the ballot. He did so without registering as a PAC and filing appropriate paperwork with the county. Residents of the area might recall when Smith’s “Tell Joe No” signs started popping up all over town.
The complaint, shown below, outlined 3 different Ohio laws that were likely violated by Smith.
On September 8th and September 16th of 2022, Smith unknowingly formed a Ballot Issue PAC when he posted the following posts in his Facebook group. In these posts, he used the pronoun “we”, stating that he would not be funding it on his own, proving that there was a group of two or more people. According to Ohio R.C 3517.01(C)(8), two or more people constitutes a PAC and must register with the county.
By receiving contributions before he filed a Designation of Treasurer (registering as a PAC), the complaint claims Smith violated Ohio R.C. 3517.018, 3517.10(D).
The complaint also claims that the way the contributions were received, via Smith’s Cashapp, was a violation of Ohio R.C. 3517.10, which states that the bank account used by a PAC cannot be used for any other reason. It must be used SOELEY for the PAC.
Included in the complaint were two examples of Smith using his Cashapp account to solicit donations for other reasons, unrelated to a ballot issue. Here’s one of them:
According to the complaint, Smith also violated Ohio R.C. 3517.105(A) by not including a “paid for by…” disclaimer on his signs. According to Ohio R.C 3517.105(A), because he spent over $100 on the signs they had to include this disclaimer. According to Smith’s own Facebook comments, they purchased 200 signs at $1-$2 each, spending between $200-$400, before taxes and fees.
View the entire complaint document HERE
The Ohio Elections Commission scheduled a preliminary review of the complaint for December 22, 2022. Smith sent the Commission the following response to the complaint. It’s apparent that Smith is not equipped to understand the severity of the situation, or what the complaint means for that matter.
First he attempts to talk his way out of the fact that he’d publicly formed a PAC, telling the Commission that his preferred pronoun for himself is actually “we”. Here at The Real Nordonia, we are very pleased to hear that Michael Smith now endorses the use of pronouns!
He goes on to completely ignore the law, trying to tell the Commission what the rules for a PAC are. Next, he thinks the complainant is saying that Smith needed to register as a PAC to do the unrelated (fake) fundraisers that he had previously held. He’s oblivious to the fact that the screenshots of his previous “fundraising” were shown only to prove that Smith had used his Cashapp for non-PAC related reasons, an act which is against the law.
After more of Smith informing the Commission about what he thinks the laws should be, thinking he knows better than them, he concludes his response with an extremely unprofessional and rude summary of the original complaint, calling the complainant “butt-hurt” among other insults.
View Smith’s entire response HERE
At the preliminary hearing on December 22nd, 2022, the Commissioner recommended that the matter be set for a hearing. The motion passed unanimously with a vote of 7-0.
The hearing took place on August 10th, 2023. To no one’s surprise, Smith did not take the situation seriously and was a no-show. The complainant was present to testify before the Commission, and answered all of their questions. Smith was found to be in violation of Ohio R.C. 3517.10(D), accepting contributions before filing a Designation of Treasurer for his PAC by the Ohio Elections Commission.
The Commission imposed a fine on Smith of $15 a day, to begin on August 10th, 2023, up until he files his Designation of Treasurer and accurately reports his contributions for the “Tell Joe No” signs. The Commission was also willing to reconsider the matter if Smith filled out the appropriate paperwork and submitted a notarized affidavit.
The situation did not end here, however. Smith did try to get that reconsideration earlier this year, and the events that transpired since are even funnier than anyone could have imagined. Part Two coming soon, where we will also discuss what’s in store for Smith if he doesn’t pay up. Stay tuned!
As of press time, Michael Smith currently owes $3,435 and counting to the Ohio Elections Commission!
I wish there was a way to get this irrelevant clown and all of his cohorts out of my community.