College Dems: Former student arrested for alleged petition forgeries left group two years ago

The president of the Ohio University College Democrats released a statement yesterday, regarding the recent arrest of former OU student Timothy Noel Zureick for allegedly forging signatures on a petition for the redistricting amendment to the Ohio Constitution.

Zureick, 21, was described by Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn Wednesday as having had a former affiliation with the OU Dems, but it was not clear at that time how close that relationship was, or how long ago it ended.

According to President Shannon Welch, Zureick was a member of the group for two quarters during his freshman year, but left OU in spring 2010.

"We are extremely disappointed by Tim Zureick's actions, but they do not in any way reflect upon the current or former members of the Ohio University College Democrats," Welch said in a prepared statement. "Our organization prides itself on strictly adhering to state law regarding voter registration and petition circulating. We work very hard to teach our members how to properly and legally circulate petitions and register people to vote. Tim's actions are the opposite of the training that we have done for our members."

Since leaving in 2010, she added, Zureick "has been neither a member of our organization nor a student at Ohio University… We are deeply saddened by these events and hope that he recognizes the gravity of this situation."