In the final month of the Ohio governor’s race, Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s running mate and a far-right political activist are talking about a 33-year-old traffic case involving Democratic contender Dr. Amy Acton.
They say Acton should have disclosed a 1993 violation on her 1994 medical board application, but court records obtained through a records request tell a different story.
On May 6, 1993, Acton was cited for two offenses from a traffic stop at State Route 161 and High Street in Sharon Township. One was a first-degree misdemeanor called driving under suspension for failing to prove she had valid insurance for her vehicle. The officer listed it as a "FRA suspension" for the Financial Responsibility Act, which requires drivers
to have insurance, according to Franklin County Municipal Court records.
The second was a minor misdemeanor for having an expired sticker on her license plate.
Two weeks later, Acton pleaded guilty to a different violation: driving with an expired driver's license, a minor misdemeanor. The charge for failing to display the sticker was dismissed. She paid a $20 fine and $27 in court fees, according to court records.
Court records show Acton's license was not scheduled to expire until 1994. Amended charges are common in traffic cases as part of resolutions.
Thirty-three years later, amid a close and nasty governor's race, Republicans are pointing to the initial charge from 1993 and saying Acton should have disclosed it on her 1994 medical license application. The application required Acton to disclose any violations of state law “other than a minor traffic violation.”
While the initial charge was a first-degree misdemeanor that should be disclosed, the resolution of the case was a minor traffic violation, according to court records.
Acton told reporters on Oct. 6 that she didn’t remember her driver’s license being suspended, but thought she had forgotten to renew her license while working as a pediatrics resident at Columbus Children's Hospital.
“I probably lost track of when it was expired, but that’s all I remember about that, to be honest. It was a long time ago,” Acton said during a campaign stop at Fox’s Bagel and Deli. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I was just driving and working a lot of hours.”
At the time, Acton was eight months pregnant with her second child, and four months back from maternity leave from her first child.
Ramaswamy’s running mate, Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, accused Acton of downplaying the incident. “Amy Acton is LYING!!! An expired license is not the same as a suspended license,” McColley wrote in a social post on X, which tagged multiple statehouse reporters. “She was charged with a 1st Degree Misdemeanor punishable by jail time and she doesn’t remember why?!”
Far-right activist Laura Loomer was the first to bring up the traffic violation in a Sept. 29 post on X. She questioned whether Acton was drunk, writing: “Amy Acton has an obligation to explain her record to Ohio voters.”
The 1993 court records make no reference to alcohol, and she was not charged with any alcohol-related offense.
State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@usatodayco.com or @jbalmert on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What court records show about Amy Acton's 1993 traffic case
