After a nearly 12-hour hearing, an Ohio lawmaker has been cleared by theFranklin County Board of Elections of a challenge to his residency in the district he represents.
State Rep. Ismail Mohamed, (D-Columbus), was facing allegations that he didn't actually live in a townhouse apartment in his District 3 – which covers large parts of Columbus and Clinton Township – but instead resides at a nearly $600,000 home in Delaware County that he purchased in October 2025.
His residency was challenged by his opponent in the Nov. 3 general election, Republican Bernadine Kennedy Kent.
The county Board of Elections, comprised of two Democrats and two Republicans, denied the challenge to Mohamed's residency by a 3-1 vote following the lengthy hearing. Republican Doug
Preisse joined the two Democrats, Jamie Shumaker and Michael Sexton, in the vote. Republican Meredith Freedhoff voted to uphold the challenge.
Delaware County Auditor's Office filings reviewed by The Dispatch show that Mohamed was getting a homeowner occupancy credit for his home in that county.
Mohamed previously listed his voting address as an apartment on the city's Northeast Side, according to campaign documents. Then, on Sept. 9, he changed his address to a townhouse apartment, also on the city's Northeast Side.
The hearing on his residency, initially scheduled for Sept. 14, was dismissed and rescheduled after the residency update.
Kennedy Kent also questioned what she said are discrepancies in Mohamed's campaign finance reportsto the Ohio Secretary of State, who contacted Mohamed about those irregularties. Mohamed failed to file two reports on time and there was a discrepancy for reconciling what happened to nearly $100,000.
Mohamed was the first Somali-American elected to serve in the Ohio Legislature when he won his seat in November 2022.
Kennedy Kent, a former Democrat, represented the former Ohio House District 25 for two terms from 2017 to 2020 and defeated Mohamed for the seat in 2018. She won the GOP May primary for the District 3 seat with 163 write-in votes.
Underserved communities reporter Danae King can be reached at dking@dispatch.com or on X at @DanaeKing.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Franklin Board of Elections rejects challenge to lawmaker's residency in 3-1 vote
