Former Rep. Jim Traficant (D-Ohio), who served seven years in prison, can be on the ballot in Ohio’s 17th district this November, a county elections board ruled Monday, the Associated Press reported.

Mahoning County Board of Elections Director Tom McCabe said the board approved more than 30 disputed petition signatures Monday to allow Traficant to run for the House as an Independent, the AP reported. The former Member won more time this month to prove he collected enough signatures after hundreds were disqualified in July.

Neighboring Trumbull County is expected to certify the total Wednesday, the AP reported.

The district, which Rep. Tim Ryan (D) currently holds, includes much of the Mahoning Valley constituency that Traficant represented from 1985 until his expulsion from the House in 2002 on corruption charges. That was three months after a federal court convicted him of 10 counts of bribery, racketeering and tax evasion. He was released from prison in September 2009.

John McArdle contributed to this report.