Ohio Right To Life Files Federal Lawsuit Against State Ban Of Ads Mentioning Political Candidates

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 23 May 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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Ohio Right to Life on Tuesday filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court seeking a permanent or temporary injunction against a state ban on issue advertisements that mention the names of political candidates within 30 days of an election that are sponsored by unions, not-for-profit organizations or corporations, the AP/Akron Beacon Journal reports.

ORL said that the ban, which the state General Assembly passed during a special session in December 2004, violates the First Amendment and will prevent the group from fully participating in the upcoming November election. The suit names the Ohio Elections Commission and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (D) as defendants.

In its suit, ORL noted the U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in a June 2007 challenge to the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Act by a Wisconsin antiabortion group. In that case, the Supreme Court ruled that the law's ban on financing political "issue ads" by corporations and unions that mention a candidate or federal office within 60 days of federal elections and 30 days of a primary or caucus is unconstitutional in some cases (Reed, AP/Akron Beacon Journal, 5/21). The majority opinion said that an ad can be restricted only if the ad is "susceptible of no reasonable interpretation other than as an appeal to vote for or against a specific candidate" (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 6/26/07).

ORL hopes to be able to air television and radio ads in this fall's election about the state Legislature's proposed ban on human cloning that would mention state Senate President Bill Harris (R) and state Sen. Steve Buehrer (R). In addition, the group hopes to mention state Sens. Steve Stivers (R) and Kirk Schuring (R), who are running in "competitive races" for U.S. House seats, the AP/Beacon Journal reports.

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ORL Executive Director Mike Gonidakis said his group "is presently not permitted to advocate for an issue when voters are most engaged" because of the ban, adding, "Such a speech blackout period is entirely contrary to the First Amendment and harms grassroots organizations of all ideologies."

Catherine Turcer, an elections specialist at the not-for-profit group Ohio Citizen Action, called the ban "nonsensical." She added, "When we craft campaign finance regulations, we need to be very careful of preserving First Amendment rights."

OEC Executive Director Philip Richter said the commission will be prepared to defend the law. Jeff Ortega, a spokesperson for Brunner, said the office is reviewing the suit and preparing a response (AP/Akron Beacon Journal, 5/21).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

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