Idaho Judge Denies Bid to Block Pro-Proposition 1 TV Ads Days Before Election
In Idaho, a state district court judge ruled on the evening of October 30 to deny a request for a preliminary injunction that would have blocked television ads supporting Proposition 1, allowing the ads to keep running in the days before the November 3 election.
Proposition 1, which would restore abortion rights in Idaho, is one of the most closely watched measures on this year's state ballot. The lawsuit was filed by opponents of the measure, including former state superintendent Tom Luna (GSM reported the filing on October 26). The plaintiffs alleged that Idahoans United for Women and Families, the Idaho Democratic Party and its gubernatorial candidate Terri Pickens used a funding arrangement to conceal the ads' true source. The group acknowledged contributing more than $720,000 to the state Democratic Party after asking it to run the Proposition 1 ads.
In the ruling, the judge noted that the parties had a short time to advance the lawsuit and that, with more time, additional facts might have been developed by either side. On the current record, the judge declined to issue the injunction. Luna said in a statement afterward that he disagreed with the outcome but that voters now know the facts of the arrangement.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：爱达荷州议会大厦（博伊西）。Lldankert摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons。 / The Idaho State Capitol in Boise. Photo by Lldankert, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
