‘God’ Motto on Election Stickers Stirs Controversy in Ohio

Voting stickers on election day are common and popular in Ohio, but when it comes to including the state’s motto, “With God, All Things are Possible,” on them, it has generated controversy in the Buckeye state.

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted’s office has proposed six designs, two of which have the state motto across the bottom. The Secretary of State’s office designed all six of the proposed stickers in-house.

Matt McClellan, a Husted spokesman, told The Christian Post the idea for the stickers came from Secretary Husted’s “Grads Vote Ohio” program. The secretary has been visiting with high school students who are currently or nearing voting age and encouraging them to register and participate in the election process.

“Secretary Husted has been educating students on the importance of voting and felt the stickers would motivate others to vote on Election Day,” McClellan said. “The secretary believes it’s important to get the youth of Ohio registered and for everyone who is registered to vote during each election cycle.”

McClellan also added Husted’s office had received only a “handful” of comments on the six designs, some supporting the inclusion of the motto and others opposing its use.

“It’s certainly not trying to push anything on anyone,” said McClellan.

In 2001, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Ohio state motto as constitutional.

Catherine Turcer, legislative director for Ohio Citizen Action, a government watchdog group, told The Christian Post her organization was concerned that voters of all religions wouldn’t feel welcome and included when visiting polling locations.

“It’s our state motto. In many ways it makes sense to include it, but it’s one thing to have the motto, it’s another thing to use it,” said Turcer. “Because stickers are important to Ohio voters, we want a sticker that is inclusive and makes everyone comfortable, regardless of their religious beliefs. Stickers are an important part of our culture.”

From now through August 8, residents are encouraged to vote for their favorite design and then “endorse” their preferred sticker by sharing it on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

According to the site, “The sticker that earns the popular vote will be the one distributed to Ohio voters at the polls this November 8, 2011.”

As of Tuesday morning, about 13,000 votes have been cast. The sticker currently in first place with about 43 percent of the vote is the “I love Voting” sticker that does not include the state motto. The two stickers that include the motto across the bottom are in second and third place with about 18 and 15 percent of the vote, respectively.

Ohio residents are encouraged to visit http://www.ElectYourSticker.com to cast their vote.

Courtesy of http://www.christianpost.com/news/god-motto-on-election-stickers-stirs-controversy-in-ohio-50689/

Court of Appeals Denies ACLU’s Request to Remove Ten Commandments Display

Washington, DC – Today, the Sixth District Circuit Court of Appeals denied the ACLU’s request to rehear ACLU v. Grayson County, Kentucky, in which the Court upheld a display including the Ten Commandments in Leitchfield, Kentucky. The display, entitled “Foundations of American Law and Government,” was located on the second floor of Grayson County’s courthouse and includes the Ten Commandments, Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Preamble to the Kentucky Constitution, Star-Spangled Banner, National Motto, and a picture of Lady Justice, with an explanation of the significance of each. The purpose of the display is educational and is intended to reflect a sampling of documents that played a significant role in the development of the legal and governmental system of the United States. 

Four months ago, the Court ruled in favor of Liberty Counsel’s client, Grayson County. Mathew Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, presented the winning oral argument in April 2009. The case began in 2002 when the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Grayson County, and a federal judge ruled against the display. The display is identical to the displays at issue in the ACLU’s lawsuits against McCreary and Pulaski Counties in Kentucky, which Staver argued at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005. 

In 2005, this same Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the same Ten Commandments display in Mercer County, Kentucky, which Liberty Counsel also defended. The Sixth Circuit governs Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Michigan. Notwithstanding this identical and controlling precedent, the federal judge entered a permanent injunction against the Grayson County display. In today’s decision, the Sixth Circuit refused the ACLU’s request that the court reconsider its January decision reversing and upholding the display. Since 2005, when Staver argued in favor of the same Foundations Display for McCreary and Pulaski Counties, four federal courts of appeal, including the decision today, have upheld the Ten Commandments. Three of these four involve the same Foundations Display, and the counties have been represented by Liberty Counsel. Since 2005, every federal court of appeals which has addressed Ten Commandments displays has upheld them. The ACLU has not won a Ten Commandments case at the court of appeals level since 2005.

Commenting on the case, Staver said: “The Ten Commandments is as much at home in a display about the foundation of law as stars and stripes are in the American flag. The Ten Commandments are part of the fabric of our country and helped shape the law. It defies common sense to remove a recognized symbol of law from a court of law. The ACLU might not like our history and might run from it, but the fact remains that the Ten Commandments shaped our laws and may be displayed in a court of law. I am sure the ACLU will not ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review this case. The ACLU has been running from the Supreme Court since 2005 and has taken loss after loss on the Ten Commandments.”

Courtesy of http://www.lc.org/index.cfm?PID=14100&PRID=940