Health-care referendum stays on ballot

By Marc Kovac

news@vindy.com

COLUMBUS

The Ohio Supreme Court has shot down a legal challenge filed by a liberal advocacy group to block a tea party-backed constitutional amendment on federal health-care mandates from appearing on the November ballot.

Justices ruled Friday that Brian Rothenberg, executive director of Progress Ohio, did not prove that paid circulators hired to collect signatures for Ohioans for Health Care Freedom and others acted improperly.

According to the ruling, “even if his challenge had substantive validity, Rothenberg’s evidence is insufficient to establish that the part-petitions do not have enough signatures.”

It added, “... We recognize, as we did in a previous case involving the proposed amendment, that ‘[t]his result is consistent with our duty to liberally construe the citizens’ right of initiative in favor of their exercise of this important right.’”

Last month, Secretary of State Jon Husted certified nearly 427,000 signatures to place Issue 3 on the ballot.

The proposed constitutional amendment would prohibit any law or rule that forces individuals, employers or health-care providers to buy or sell health care or insurance or that levies a fine against those that choose not to participate.

It’s an attempt to block portions of the federal health-care reform package passed by Congress last year with the support of President Barack Obama.

Rothenberg indicated he would challenge the petition signatures. But he said his group was unable to obtain copies of petitions from elections officials in time to meet the 10-day deadline for such challenges, thus weakening his case.

“Our public-records request for about 40 percent of the counties never came to us,” he said, adding, “If you don’t allow access to review in sufficient numbers, it affects your timing and ability to file. This isn’t sour grapes, it’s just the way the law works.”

But proponents praised the Supreme Court decision.

“We are very pleased the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the validity of the signatures and will allow voters to have a choice this fall if health-care decisions should be made by patients and doctors or politicians in Washington, D.C.,” Jeff Longstreth, campaign manager for Ohioans for Healthcare Freedom, said in a released statement.