Ohio has always had a strange hybrid system for judicial elections. There is a partisan primary, followed by the general election which is nonpartisan. Governor DeWine has just signed Senate Bill 80 into law which makes the seats on the Supreme Court of Ohio and the intermediate courts of appeals partisan races, beginning in November 2022. That means voters will see an “R” or a “D” next to names of the candidates for these offices. The lower trial courts will remain on the nonpartisan ballot. Switching to partisan elections has been floated in the past but has been unsuccessful until now
