Complaint filed against groups favoring Issue 1
Those opposed to the amendment have received over $700,000.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- Groups pushing Issue I, the proposed state constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, have not fully reported political campaign contributions as required under state law, opponents say.
In a complaint to the Ohio Elections Commission on Monday, opponents of the amendment that's on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot say pro-Issue 1 groups including the Ohio Campaign to Protect Marriage and Citizens for Community Values should be fined and potentially referred to authorities for criminal prosecution for the alleged oversight.
"They've simply chosen to ignore the law," said Alan Melamed, a spokesman for the anti-amendment group Ohioans Protecting the Constitution.
Phil Burress, chairman of the pro-amendment Ohio Campaign to Protect Marriage and president of Citizens for Community Values, both Cincinnati-based organizations, characterized the complaint as a "Hail Mary" pass from those who expect to fail.
"They sound like a group that's already beat," Burress said of Issue 1 opponents. "They're just angry."
A recent ABC News poll showed likely voters divided on the proposed amendment, with 48 percent in favor, 45 percent opposed. Earlier polls had shown the measure winning by much larger margins.
Finance reports at issue
According to the complaint, filed by a Columbus resident, Paul F. Fogarty, opponents challenged recent campaign finance reports filed with the state that say the OCPM received only $50 in campaign contributions and $3,416.80 in in-kind contributions.
" ... the costs incurred by OCPM in the process of drafting Issue One, circulating petitions statewide to place Issue One on the ballot, and in defending litigation challenges to Issue One are far in excess of the approximately $3,500 OCPM claims to have received," the complaint alleges.
According to the complaint, OCPM leaders have said in published reports they were required to disclose contributions and expenses only after Issue 1 was certified to the state ballot in late September.
Opponents, however, say Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell has circulated a publication that says political contributions and expenses must be reported when a political action committee designates a treasurer, according to the complaint.
Allegations
The complaint said CCV and Citizens for Community Values Action, the lobbyist offshoot of the CCV, also have not fully reported the use of their funds in connection with Issue 1 on similar grounds.
But, opponents argue in the complaint, that state law says a nonprofit corporation must report use of its funds or property in an ad of "a proposed or certified ballot issue ... ."
Opponents also say in the complaint that they believe Blackwell will not fully examine the financial statements of the OCPM, CCV and CCVA because of a personal support for the issue.
A spokesman for the secretary of state's office could not be reached to comment.
According to the state, the anti-amendment group, Ohioans Protecting the Constitution, also known as Ohioans for Fairness, reported raising just under $117,000 during the pre-general election period and spending just more than $113,000.
Since then, Melamed said, opponents have received many more donations including separate contributions of $400,000 and $100,000.
Review scheduled
The elections commission has scheduled a preliminary review for Dec. 2, one month after Election Day.
The proposed constitutional amendment would specify that only a union between a man and a woman would be a marriage recognized by the state of Ohio and its political subdivisions.
Further, the ballot language says the state and its political subdivisions "shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage." A majority vote by Ohio voters is necessary to approve the proposed amendment.