Ohio Selection of Supreme and Appellate Court Judges Initiative (1987)

Ohio Selection of Supreme and Appellate Court Judges Initiative
Election date November 3, 1987
Topic State judicial selection
Status Defeated
Type Initiated constitutional amendment	Origin Citizens

Ohio Selection of Supreme and Appellate Court Judges Initiative was on the ballot as an initiated constitutional amendment in Ohio on November 3, 1987. It was defeated.

A “yes” vote supported changing the system of selecting state Supreme Court and Appeals Court judges from a direct election system to an appointment system.

A “no” vote opposed changing the system of selecting state Supreme Court and Appeals Court judges from a direct election system to an appointment system.

Election results

Ohio Selection of Supreme and Appellate Court Judges Initiative
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		878,683	35.44%
No		1,600,588	64.56%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Selection of Supreme and Appellate Court Judges Initiative was as follows:

“

To adopt Section 7 and amend Sections 6 and 13 of Article IV of the Constitution of the State of Ohio Present Ohio law provides for the direct election of the justices of the Supreme Court and judges of the Court of Appeals. This proposed amendment would:  Change the way Ohio selects its Supreme Court and Appeals Court judges by abolishing the direct election method. Create judicial nominating commissions that would nominate three persons for each vacancy on the Ohio Supreme Court or Court of Appeals. The commission would be made up half of lawyer and half of non-lawyers. Of these, no more than half can have the same political affiliation. A judicial nomination commission shall nominate the persons who in the opinion of the commission have the highest personal and professional qualifications among those available. The governor must appoint one of the nominees. Require persons appointed as judges to run without an opponent in a general election for retention in office in two to four years. A 55 percent “yes” vote would be required for retention for a full six-year term; less than 55 percent would create a vacancy in the office. Allow judges who are presently serving either by election or appointment to run in the general election when their term expires. Allow a majority vote of the electors in any court district to apply this procedure to their trial courts. Require the general assembly to enact laws to implement this amendment no later than 180 days after its effective date. Shall the proposed amendment be adopted?

”

Path to the ballot

See also: Signature requirements for ballot measures in Ohio

An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.

In Ohio, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 10% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval.

Ohio also requires initiative sponsors to submit 1,000 signatures with the initial petition application. Ohio has a signature distribution requirement, which requires that signatures be gathered from at least 44 of Ohio's 88 counties. Petitioners must gather signatures equal to a minimum of half the total required percentage of the gubernatorial vote in each of the 44 counties. Petitions are allowed to circulate for an indefinite period of time. Signatures are due 125 days prior to the general election that proponents want the initiative on.

See also

1987 Measures

• 1987 Measures
• State judicial selection on the ballot
• 1987 legislative sessions

Ohio

• Ohio ballot measures
• Ohio ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Toledo Blade, "Ballot Language, Explanations, Arguments and Resolutions for Amendments to the Ohio Constitution Proposed by the General Assembly and Ballot Language, Arguments and the Full Text of an Amendment to the Ohio Constitution Proposed by Initiative Petition to be Submitted to the Voters at the General Election, November 3, 1987," October 19, 1987