{"id":189,"date":"2021-04-27T13:54:25","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T13:54:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/ohio\/press-releases\/editorial-alert-senate-bill-80-is-a-cynical-dangerous-push-to-politicize-ohios-courts\/"},"modified":"2021-04-27T13:54:25","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T13:54:25","slug":"editorial-alert-senate-bill-80-is-a-cynical-dangerous-push-to-politicize-ohios-courts","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/ohio\/press\/editorial-alert-senate-bill-80-is-a-cynical-dangerous-push-to-politicize-ohios-courts\/","title":{"rendered":"EDITORIAL ALERT: Senate Bill 80 is a cynical, dangerous push to politicize Ohio\u2019s courts"},"template":"","class_list":["post-189","press","type-press","status-publish","hentry","press_type-press-release"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"","featured_image":"","press_type":146,"authors":["{\"site_id\":\"1\",\"post_type\":\"person\",\"post_id\":7876}"],"related_issues":false,"related_work":false,"location":38},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":null,"name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<h3><b>Summary<\/b><\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State lawmakers are fast-tracking a plan to inject partisan politics into the highest profile judicial races in the state -- a push that is opposed by the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cleveland.com\/open\/2021\/01\/ohio-chief-justice-maureen-oconnor-again-calls-for-eliminating-party-affiliation-on-judicial-ballots.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">current chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ohiojudges.org\/Document.ashx?DocGuid=7c46f924-d0cd-425a-852a-9402b2c14f1c\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ohio Judicial Conference<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legislature.ohio.gov\/legislation\/legislation-summary?id=GA134-SB-80\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Senate Bill 80<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> recently passed the Senate (24-9)\u00a0 along partisan lines. It now heads to the Ohio House for consideration. Companion legislation <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legislature.ohio.gov\/legislation\/legislation-summary?id=GA134-HB-149\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">HB 149<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is also being considered in the House.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Current law in Ohio allows judicial candidates to appear on a primary ballot with their partisan affiliation and seek the support of political parties, but it does not permit party ID to appear on the general election ballot for candidates for local judgeships, the state\u2019s 12 appellate courts, or the state Supreme Court.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A new Republican proposal would require candidates for Ohio\u2019s appellate courts and the Supreme Court to have their partisan affiliation appear on the general election ballot. This proposal comes after Democratic candidates won three out of the last four races for the state\u2019s highest court in 2018 and 2020, shifting the balance of the court from a 7-0 GOP majority to a 4-3 makeup.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The proposal would not affect lower court races, where Republicans have been more successful -- a tell that this legislation is not based on a good-government desire to inform voters, but pure partisan strategy.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition, the percentage of Ohio voters who skipped making a choice in the 2020 state Supreme Court races was down significantly from previous presidential election years. This is another indication that the motivations behind this bill are based not on voter education, but political considerations.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3><b>Fast Facts<\/b><\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><b>Fact<\/b><b>:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cleveland.com\/open\/2021\/01\/ohio-chief-justice-maureen-oconnor-again-calls-for-eliminating-party-affiliation-on-judicial-ballots.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O\u2019Connor -- a Republican -- opposes putting partisan affiliation on the ballot for any judicial candidates<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. She has advocated for removing party ID from the ballot for primary elections, in addition to general elections.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li><b>Fact<\/b><b>:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Ohio Judicial Conference, which represents the interest of Ohio\u2019s 723 judges at all levels of the court system, opposes this legislation. Ohio Judicial Conference Executive Director and former Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer said in prepared testimony, \u201c<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ohiojudges.org\/Document.ashx?DocGuid=7c46f924-d0cd-425a-852a-9402b2c14f1c\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We believe that S.B. 80 would not only go against the very Canons of Judicial Conduct that exist for the purpose of ensuring a fair and impartial judiciary, but would also erode public confidence in our judicial system<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li><b>Fact<\/b><b>:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The current Ohio Supreme Court and its politically balanced makeup is encouraging reforms throughout the state\u2019s judicial system, like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.statenews.org\/post\/ohio-supreme-court-orders-non-cash-bail-first-option-courts\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">moving toward ending cash bail<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2020\/12\/how-a-spreadsheet-could-change-the-criminal-justice-system\/617370\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">developing a centralized sentencing database<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dispatch.com\/story\/news\/politics\/state\/2020\/09\/18\/justices-annoyed-ohio-prosecutors-boycotting-bid-to-prevent-wrongful-convictions\/114080840\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">studying how to prevent wrongful convictions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Injecting more politics into campaigns for the state\u2019s highest court could derail these much-needed reforms.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li><b>Fact<\/b><b>:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Voter dropoff in the 2020 Ohio Supreme Court races -- that is, the percentage of voters that skipped making a choice in the two races on the ballot last year -- was at the lowest level since 2010. This indicates that most Ohio voters already have sufficient information to make informed decisions in these critical races.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8285 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/ohio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2021\/04\/EDITORIAL-BOARD-MEMO-ON-OHIOS-SENATE-BILL-80.docx.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"287\" \/>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3><b>In the News<\/b><\/h3>\r\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cleveland Plain Dealer: <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cleveland.com\/open\/2021\/01\/ohio-chief-justice-maureen-oconnor-again-calls-for-eliminating-party-affiliation-on-judicial-ballots.html\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ohio Chief Justice Maureen O\u2019Connor again calls for eliminating party affiliation on judicial ballots<\/span><\/i><\/a>\r\n\r\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Toledo Blade: <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.toledoblade.com\/opinion\/editorials\/2021\/01\/27\/depoliticise-ohio-courts-supreme-maureen-o-connor\/stories\/20210121136\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Depoliticize Ohio's courts<\/span><\/i><\/a>\r\n\r\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Youngstown Vindicator: <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vindy.com\/opinion\/david-skolnick\/2021\/03\/some-judge-race-labels-sought\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some judge-race labels sought<\/span><\/i><\/a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h3>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Senate Bill 80 is a cynical, dangerous push to politicize Ohio\u2019s courts and potentially derail much-needed judicial reform efforts. The organization representing the state\u2019s judges and the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court oppose this effort, and with turnout in these races increasing over the past three presidential cycles, it is unnecessary. If the bill\u2019s proponents truly believed partisan labels were needed to inform Ohio voters, they would not advocate for selective use only in certain races, leaving voters without the \u201cneeded\u201d information in other judicial races. To the contrary, this legislation\u2019s intent is partisan manipulation. There is no good-government rationale for it or for injecting more partisanship into the races for Ohio Supreme Court and the state\u2019s 12 appellate courts.<\/span>"}}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>EDITORIAL ALERT: Senate Bill 80 is a cynical, dangerous push to politicize Ohio\u2019s courts - Common Cause Ohio<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/ohio\/press\/editorial-alert-senate-bill-80-is-a-cynical-dangerous-push-to-politicize-ohios-courts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EDITORIAL ALERT: Senate Bill 80 is a cynical, dangerous push to politicize Ohio\u2019s courts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/ohio\/press\/editorial-alert-senate-bill-80-is-a-cynical-dangerous-push-to-politicize-ohios-courts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause Ohio\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/ohio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/OH.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/ohio\/press\/editorial-alert-senate-bill-80-is-a-cynical-dangerous-push-to-politicize-ohios-courts\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/ohio\/press\/editorial-alert-senate-bill-80-is-a-cynical-dangerous-push-to-politicize-ohios-courts\/\",\"name\":\"EDITORIAL ALERT: Senate Bill 80 is a cynical, dangerous push to politicize Ohio\u2019s courts - 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