Court News Ohio
Court News Ohio
Court News Ohio

November’s General Election Features County Judge Seats

The November 4 election will have more than 200 judgeships decided across Ohio.

There are 225 races for Ohio Supreme Court, common pleas courts, county courts, and state appellate courts in the general election, but 155 of them (69 percent) are uncontested.

Both of the Supreme Court races are contested, with Justice Sharon L. Kennedy running for re-election against State Rep. Thomas Letson, and Justice Judith L. French running to retain her seat on the high court against opponent Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge John O’Donnell.

There are 18 judges on the trial and appeals court levels who are running with opposition to maintain the judgeships that they were appointed to by the governor, and another 19 appointees are running unopposed.

All judges in Ohio are elected to six-year terms. Elections for the Ohio Supreme Court, appeals courts, common pleas courts, and county courts occur in even-numbered years, while elections for municipal court judgeships occur in odd-numbered years.

The Supreme Court website will post results from the races by noon the day after Election Day.

Supreme Court staff assembles the election results from the local county boards of elections for administrative purposes and to communicate with new judges about payroll, benefits, and other information.

For more information about the candidates, visit the Ohio Judicial Conference website or consult one of Ohio’s 88 county boards of elections.