By Andrew Welsh-Huggins
The Associated Press

COLUMBUS - The Ohio Elections Commission on Thursday voted to force a statewide business group to disclose the names of contributors to campaign ads attacking a state Supreme Court justice.

The commission voted 4-2 to require Citizens for a Strong Ohio to reveal the contributors to TV ads that targeted Justice Alice Robie Resnick.

The seven-member commission is a bipartisan board that hears complaints about alleged violations of Ohio campaign laws. Three Democrats, three Republicans and an independent comprise the commission.

The names of the contributors - businesses and corporations that opposed Resnick - are still a long way from being released. The commission's decision was preliminary and does not carry the force of a court ruling. The commission must now go to Franklin County Common Pleas Court to have its ruling enacted.

Citizens for a Strong Ohio, a group formed by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, spent $4 million in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat Resnick three years ago. The group will appeal and may also challenge the constitutionality of the decision in federal court, the group's lawyer, William Todd, said after Thursday's decision.

Business groups opposed Resnick because of what they consider anti-business votes she cast.