An Ohio Supreme Court justice and an appeals court judge will examine a longstanding judicial topic under consideration by state legislators: should the political party affiliations of those running for the judicial branch be listed on the ballot for general elections?

Justice R. Patrick DeWine and Eleventh District Court of Appeals Judge Cynthia Westcott Rice will be panelists for a Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association discussion titled, “Party or No Party? You Be the Judge.”

The event will take place virtually on Tuesday, June 22 at noon, and be broadcast live on social media.

In April, the Ohio Senate approved a bill that would require party designations during November elections for appellate court races, including the Supreme Court. The bill is currently with the Ohio House of Representatives.

Municipal, common pleas, and county judgeship races would remain non-partisan for general elections.

Currently, Ohio is the only state where judicial candidates run in partisan primaries but are elected without any party designation in general elections.