Columbus voters will likely decide in August if they want to change the Columbus City Council to a ward-style body. The Franklin County Board of Elections announced today that the group Represent Columbus collected enough valid signatures from voters to trigger a special election on Aug. 2. The group wants voters to decide whether the council should change from seven at-large elected members to a body of 13 members, with 10 elected from wards or districts.

Columbus voters will likely decide in August if they want to change the Columbus City Council to a ward-style body.

The Franklin County Board of Elections announced today that the group Represent Columbus collected enough valid signatures from voters to trigger a special election on Aug. 2. The group wants voters to decide whether the council should change from seven at-large elected members to a body of 13 members, with 10 elected from wards or districts.

The Council will formally vote to put the issue on the ballot within the next 10 days, but that appears to be a formality. The Columbus City Attorney's office has already determined the group's petitions were legally sufficient.

The elections board found 19,035 of the 39,308 signatures submitted by Represent Columbus were valid. The threshold was 17,780, or 10 percent of votes cast in the most municipal election.

The elections board estimates the election will cost the city and taxpayers about $1 million, or $2,000 per voting precinct.

Jonathan Beard, one of the leaders of Represent Columbus, has tried and failed for the last several years to get the issue before voters. In previous tries issues with signatures or petition language squashed the effort.

Council members and Mayor Andrew J. Ginther have said they oppose adding wards. They have argued the city has attracted growth partly because its at-large council rules out the horse-trading politics that district representation could bring.

Proponents say neighborhoods need representatives with their specific interests at heart.

Recently the number of tax abatements offered to developers and companies in the Short North and Downtown have drawn the ire of some community activists. They argue that members elected from wards would not approve such abatements.

City Hall Democrats have also said this proposal is a political ploy by people who have failed to win council elections

Voters have twice rejected a ballot measure proposing wards, most recently in the mid-1970s.