Ohio Right to Life wins court ruling allowing advocacy groups to use names of political candidates within 30 days of election

The Ohio Right to Life Society is praising the ruling made by Ohio Southern District Court Judge George C. Smith that prevents the Ohio Elections Commission and the Ohio Secretary of State from enforcing a state law that would have prohibited any advocacy group from airing advertisements mentioning the name of a political candidate within 30 days of an election.

Ohio Right to Life Society executive Dircetor Mike Gonidakis said that the ruling was not just about Ohio Right to Life.

"This ruling affects every advocacy group in the state," Gonidakis said. "Gagging everybody for thirty days prior to the election, when the public is just beginning to pay attention to the issues involved is depriving everyone of their First Amendment rights to free speech.  Like any advocacy organization, we must be free to inform individuals about life issues, regardless of when an election is scheduled."

The attorneys for Ohio Right to Life argued that the Ohio law barring it from running advertisements mentioning candidates' names close to an election is impermissible given the president of the Supreme Court decision in Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life.

In that case, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that political speech can only be regulated if the advertisement contains "express advocacy" or "is susceptible of no reasonable interpretation other than as an appeal to vote for or against a specific candidate."

Gonidakis said Ohio Right to Life's mission is "to promote and protect life in Ohio 365 days a year."

"We strongly believe that the American political system functions best when serious, issue-driven groups such as ours are free to participate in the robust debate of political issues that is, and should be the hallmark of our nation," Gonidakis said.

Ohio lawmakers included the ad ban in a campaign finance bill the legislature approved in December 2004.

Ohio Right to Life filed suit in May against the Ohio Elections Commission and the Ohio Secretary of State to prevent them from enforcing the law. ORTL filed the suit in the U.S District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.