Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Monday, September 15, 2014

Judge Strikes Down Ohio's False Statement Campaign Law As Unconstitutional

A federal judge has ruled that Ohio's ban on false statements against candidates seeking office is unconstitutional.

The Susan B. Anthony List, a national anti-abortion group, challenged the campaign law when they attempted to put up billboards accusing then-U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-Ohio) of supporting taxpayer-funded abortion by voting in favor of the Affordable Care Act. The billboard owner chose not to post the ads for fear of legal action after Driehaus filed a formal complaint against the ads' message with the Ohio Elections Commission.

Driehaus dropped the case after he lost his re-election bid, so a federal judge ruled the anti-abortion group could no longer challenge the law's constitutionality. An appeals court agreed, and the Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower court.

This time around, the anti-abortion group found success. U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black ruled Thursday that the Ohio Elections Commission can no longer enforce political false statement laws.

Black clarified that his denouncement of false statement laws does not translate to approval of deceit on the campaign trail.

"Lies have no place in the political arena and serve no purpose other than to undermine the integrity of the democratic process," Black wrote in the ruling. "The problem is that, at times, there is no clear way to determine whether a political statement is a lie or the truth. What is certain, however, is that we do not want the Government (i.e., the Ohio Elections Commission) deciding what is political truth -- for fear that the Government might persecute those who criticize it."

Black said it should be up to voters to decide which campaign allegations are true, and which are false. He also noted that a federal appeals court also struck down Minnesota's false statement laws as unconstitutional just over a week ago.

The anti-abortion group celebrated the ruling on its Twitter account.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com/
Author: Ashley Alman

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