Changes Ordered in Ballot Argument

A Sacramento judge has ordered changes in a ballot argument for an initiative on California’s March 26 presidential primary ballot that would limit attorney fees in liability suits.

Superior Court Judge James Ford rephrased a statement by initiative backer Michael Johnson invoking consumer advocate Ralph Nader’s name in his argument in support of Proposition 202, an initiative opposed by Nader.

In the deleted statement, Johnson had said, “Proposition 202 is no different from the consumer protection policies I fought for while working for Public Citizen, the consumer group founded by Ralph Nader.”

The judge let Johnson rephrase his ballot argument to say, “I worked for Public Citizen, the consumer group founded by Ralph Nader. I support Proposition 202 because it protects consumers.”

Nader said in a statement that Ford “stopped the deceitful effort . . . to falsely imply to voters that we might support the initiative.”

Johnson could not be reached for comment.

In a related battle between the same groups over Proposition 200, a no-fault auto insurance initiative, Ford allowed opponents to argue that “the only winners are the insurance companies and the corporations that paid to put it on the ballot.”