Add healthcare issue to OH ballot

The fight over a federal healthcare mandate formally made it onto Ohio's fall ballot yesterday, but there's still plenty more to shake out before the November election. Challenges are likely to be filed and court rulings handed down -- not to mention a statewide campaign to be conducted side by side with two other ballot issues, one of which has drawn significant national attention. Secretary of State Jon Husted certified 426,998 signatures for the constitutional amendment, which only required 385,245 valid signatures of registered Ohio voters, or 10% of the total vote cast for governor in 2010. The Ohio Healthcare Freedom Amendment seeks to invalidate the mandate in the new federal healthcare law that requires the uninsured to buy health insurance. The petition drive was supported by the state Republican Party.