The measure was pushed by The Ohio Project, which has Tea Party affiliations, and supported by groups like the Ohio Liberty Council as a response to the individual mandate included in the Affordable Care Act. The amendment includes language that prohibits any fees or penalties related to the purchase of health insurance.
Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray had previously declined to join the 26-state lawsuit challenging the federal health care law, according to the Associated Press, saying such lawsuits were "without merit and would be a waste of taxpayer dollars." The state legislature failed in July to approve the amendment, the AP reports, prompting citizen groups to take up the cause.
A similar measure, which also exempts residents from any national health care mandates, was passed in Arizona in 2010.
At the same time, Ohio voters rejected restrictions on public employees' collective bargaining rights passed by the state legislature and signed by Gov. John Kasich earlier this year. Governing's Lou Jacobson has a full analysis of the vote's implications.
