COLUMBUS, Oh. - A media advisory sent out today by Ohio political action committee Citizens for Community Standards announced that it will henceforth be known as "Vote No on Issue 1 Committee."
Formed to combat adult business restriction measure Senate Bill 16 (or the "Community Defense Act"), the group has been engaged recently in a legal dispute with bill proponents Citizens for Community Values (CCV) over its name choice. CCV claimed that said name was deliberately selected in order to confuse voters, and filed a request for a non-emergency temporary restraining order to force the group to change it. The new name was instituted in order to bring an end to the dispute.
SB 16 will go on the state's November ballot for voter approval as Issue 1, provided its opponents complete the signature-gathering stage of the referendum process successfully. They must have 241,366 signatures from registered voters in 44 of the state's 88 counties approved by the Secretary of State in order for the Bill to be placed on the ballot. They have filed nearly 400,000 signatures with the Secretary's office already, and are continuing to gather more, now under the "Vote No on Issue 1 Committee" heading.
The Committee expects the Bill to make it to the ballot, by which means it can be struck down by voters. Parties involved in the name dispute have agreed to make no further comment on the subject.
