Rep. Sweeney implores Governor DeWine to veto Senate Bill 80, protect the independence of Ohio's judicial branch

COLUMBUS — As the Ranking Member of the Government Oversight Committee, State Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Cleveland) today sent a letter to Governor Mike DeWine, asking him to veto Senate Bill 80. Without public support and against the unified opposition of the legal community, the bill forces some judicial candidates to run with party labels but not others.

“Senate Bill 80 will at the very least create the appearance of judicial partisanship and partiality. It will also do significant harm to our entire judicial system by making it more likely for voters to see justice as political rather than based solely upon the rule of law,” said Rep. Sweeney.

“By singling out Supreme Court and Appeals Court races but excluding the lower courts, Senate Bill 80 would make Ohio’s system for electing judges the only one of its kind in the country, and it would do so in a manner that is likely unconstitutional.”

In the past century, only one state – North Carolina – has gone from nonpartisan to partisan judicial elections. Senate Bill 80 would make Ohio only the second. As recently as 2016, West Virginia took party labels completely out of its judicial elections.

The legislation is widely opposed by the legal community, including the Ohio State Bar Association, the Ohio Association for Justice, the Ohio Court of Appeals Judges’ Association, and the Ohio Judicial Conference. Not one member of the public came to testify in support of Senate Bill 80 in the House.

The full letter from Representative Sweeney to the Governor is attached.