Youngstown anti-fracking community bill of rights fails for 7th time
Seven was not the lucky number for a Youngstown group's Drinking Water Protection Bill of Rights.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Seven was not the lucky number for a Youngstown group's Drinking Water Protection Bill of Rights.
The unofficial final numbers from the poll show voters in Youngstown chose to vote against the measure yet again.
According to the numbers, 56 percent of voters chose to cast a ballot against the measure, whereas 44 percent voted for the Bill of Rights.
The issue looked to prohibit fracking inside Youngstown's city limits.
The seventh version of the Youngstown Drinking Water Protection Bill of Rights would:
1. Recognize certain rights of Youngstown residents and of "ecosystems and natural communities within the city" to "clean water, air, and soil" and be free from certain fossil-fuel drilling and extraction activities.
2. Require the city to prosecute violations of the amendment and allow the city to recover attorney fees and expert costs incurred in prosecuting violations.
3. Impose strict liability on any government or corporation that violates the rights established by the amendment.
4. Restrict the use of funds allocated to the city's water and sewer infrastructure.
5. Give the people of Youngstown the right "to compel their governments to protect their rights, health, and safety.
Late last month, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in a 5-2 decision that the Mahoning County Board of Elections overstepped its authority by rejecting the initiative to ban fracking in Youngstown. The court ruled that the board must place the proposal back on the primary election ballot.
Supporters of the charter amendment argue that 1,085 absentee ballots had already been sent in for the May election before the Supreme Court's ruling adding the issue to the ballot.
The Mahoning County Board of Elections said supplemental ballots would be issued to those voters. It is not clear if those ballots have all been counted.