Ohio Supreme Court refuses challenge to vaccine lottery, DeWine pandemic orders

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to Ohio’s “Vax-a-Million” lottery and Governor Mike DeWine’s pandemic orders
The justices ruled that a bid by the organization “Ohio Stands Up!” failed to meet the requirements to sue in the Supreme Court.
The group wanted the high court to prohibit the series of $1 million giveaways designed to increase the number of vaccinated residents in the state.
The Court ruled the organization failed to prove how it or any of its unidentified members were personally harmed by the state’s actions.
Justice Sharon L. Kennedy stated that the case “raises weighty constitutional issues that demand resolutions,” but that the Supreme Court was the wrong forum in which to assert them.
Claims that the DeWine administration violated the law could be addressed in a Common Pleas Court.
Ohio Stands Up!, identified as an organization opposing the lottery, vaccines, and closures, contended that the lottery program was unconstitutional because the giveaway of cash prizes and college scholarships came from public treasury funds without the General Assembly's authorization.
The group’s claim of “taxpayer standing” was denied because the organization had to prove it had some special interest in the public funds at issue.