“State elections officials agreed Thursday to examine whether Democratic attorney general candidate Marc Dann knowingly accused Republican opponent Betty Montgomery of falsely voting for a piece of legislation.  Dann, a state senator, told supporters in an e-mail in August that Montgomery had voted for a bill in 1996 that authorized the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation to enter into investment contracts that could include rare coins. That cleared the way for the bureau to award a $25 million contract to GOP fundraiser and coin dealer Tom Noe, who is on trial for allegedly stealing money under that contract and another $25 million contract the bureau awarded him in 2001.”

“Montgomery, a state senator from 1989-95 and currently the state auditor, was the attorney general when the state Legislature passed the law. Dann's campaign later acknowledged the error. A probable-cause panel of the Ohio Elections Commission ruled Thursday that there was enough evidence to have the full commission conduct a hearing. ‘It was passed at a time Betty Montgomery was not in the (Ohio) Senate,’ Montgomery campaign attorney Mark Landes said. ‘They got it wrong.’ Dann's e-mail was meant for supporters only and was not part of any ad campaign, said Rick Brunner, a lawyer for Dann's campaign.”