COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Judicial elections should be moved to odd years so they don’t get lost on the ballot among higher-profile races, said the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor on Thursday told a committee from the constitutional modernization commission that changing the state constitution to move the races would increase visibility and strengthen the judicial election process.
Research shows that when the judge’s races are on the same ballot as presidential, gubernatorial and legislative races, voters sometimes skip over the judges, she said.
“We need to make the judges more visible to Ohio voters and also demonstrate that they are no less valued or no less important than races in the legislative and executive branches,” O’Conner told the commission.
While odd-year elections historically have lower voter turnout than those for governor and president, O’Conner said an increase in turnout and a cultural change would occur over time, and odd-year elections would come to be thought of as “judicial year” elections.
She also proposed increasing the number of years of legal practice necessary to run for or be appointed to a judgeship, and increasing voter education about judicial elections.
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