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Washington County sheriff candidate Greg Nohe said earlier this week he would not conduct a fundraising raffle after Sheriff Larry Mincks questioned its legality.
His response was inadvertently omitted from the article that appeared in Tuesday's edition.
Mincks sent an email to all employees of the sheriff's office on Feb. 16, saying he'd sent a letter to Nohe about the planned Feb. 24 fundraiser. In the letter, Mincks said the raffle violates Ohio Revised Code Section 2915.0292, which is a misdemeanor. Because of that, Mincks said he did not want any sheriff's office employees participating in the activity, later clarifying that he did not want them selling tickets but was not prohibiting them from attending the event.
The Ohio Attorney General's website said only a charitable organization, a public school, a chartered nonpublic school, a community school, or a veteran's organization, fraternal organization or sporting organization that is also a 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(7), 501(c)(8), 501(c)(10), or 501(c)(19) tax-exempt organization may conduct raffle in Ohio.
Washington County Prosecutor Nicole Coil confirmed Monday that she told Mincks that in her opinion the raffle would be in violation of state code and that she had discussed the issue with Nohe's counsel. She also said she was told efforts were made to comply with the law and she understands the confusion about the raffle given the complexity and different types of laws involved.
Mincks told The Marietta Times on Monday that he has requested an opinion from the attorney general about the raffle.
On Monday, Nohe said that before he received the letter from Mincks on Feb. 16 he had checked with the Ohio Secretary of State's office and they do not prohibit raffles for fundraising for political campaigns, nor does the campaign finance handbook.
But after receiving the letter, it was decided that the campaign would conduct an auction instead of a raffle.
"We're not going to do that raffle," Nohe said.
A raffle is a scheme of chance, he said, and that is where the legality is unclear.
The auction will take place at the same place and time the raffle was scheduled, he said.
Nohe said his campaign is contacting people who bought raffle tickets and refunding their money if they don't want to attend the auction. If they do, then the money they paid for the raffle will count as purchasing a ticket to attend the fundraiser with the auction.
The Nohe for Sheriff campaign also issued a statement via email on Monday evening about the raffle.
"Our legal counsel did not find evidence of any violation with holding the raffle, but, after careful consideration, we have determined that holding the raffle would not be in the best interest of the campaign at this time," the statement said. "Nohe for Sheriff understands the excitement and anticipation surrounding the second amendment raffle and auction. We believe it is crucial to prioritize transparency and integrity in all our efforts. We are still having the event. The event will include dinner, silent and live auction and dance. We are reaching out to all current ticket holders for a new ticket to the event or a refund if they choose. We appreciate the support and understanding of all our supporters of the Second Amendment and Nohe for Sheriff."
Nohe is running against Mark Warden in the March Republican primary for sheriff. No Democrat has filed to run.
Warden did not respond to a request for comment.