Changes to Ohio Supreme Court Primary Election Law Proposed

With the Southern Ohio District Court already considering the issue, Supreme Court Justice Maureen O'Connor was quoted yesterday as saying that that Court should move to reduce political influences by eliminating partisan primary elections.


O'Connor, the Republican candidate for chief justice – and, along with the entire bench of the Ohio Supreme Court, a defendant in the District Court's case -- told the Columbus Dispatch that "it's 'peculiar' for judicial candidates to run in partisan primary elections and then drop party labels when they run in the general election." "Others," the Dispatch said, "including current Chief Justice Eric Brown, say the answer is to allow candidates to publicly declare their party affiliations throughout the election season. But O'Connor, speaking to about 25 lawyers at a luncheon yesterday, said the court should stay away from partisan politics as much as possible."


The District Court case, filed back in July, questions why "Ohio is the only state in the union in which judicial candidates participate in partisan primary elections, but are then restricted to non-partisan statuses in general elections." The suit also challenges "two provisions of the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct: Rule 4.2 (B) (4), stating that a judicial candidate shall not, 'After the day of the primary election, identify himself or herself in advertising as a member of or affiliated with a political party;' and Rule 4.4 (A), stating that 'A judicial candidate shall not personally solicit or receive campaign contributions."


Plaintiffs in that case were denied a temporary restraining order to keep the state from printing its absentee ballots last week, which they have appealed to the 6th. Circuit. That not withstanding, the case is scheduled for hearing on Nov. 9th..


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