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U.S. Supreme Court Says Group Can Sue Over Ohio Law Against Campaign Ad Lies

Photo by Kjetil Ree / Wikimedia Commons. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Supreme_Court.JPG
Photo by Kjetil Ree / Wikimedia Commons. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Supreme_Court.JPG

The case involves the conservative Susan B. Anthony list.

Back in 2010, that group wanted to run an ad against former Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus, saying he supported taxpayer-funded abortion. He didn’t. But he did support President Obama’s Affordable Care Act -- and the group said that support amounted to support for taxpayer-funded abortion.

Driehaus claimed the ads were false because they misrepresented the true facts and therefore, they violated the state’s false speech law. The state elections commission found probable cause that he was correct.

After Driehaus lost that election, he dropped the suit. But the Susan B. Anthony List hasn’t given up the fight. The group says it will move quickly to try to have the law tossed out.

Nick Castele was a senior reporter covering politics and government for Ideastream Public Media. He worked as a reporter for Ideastream from 2012-2022.