Ohio State Senate elections, 2020
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| 2020 Ohio Senate Elections | |
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| General | November 3, 2020 |
| Primary | April 28, 2020 |
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| 2020 Elections | |
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Republicans gained a seat in the 2020 eliections for Ohio State Senate, expanding their supermajority. Sixteen seats in the chamber were up for election in 2020. Heading into the election, Republicans held 24 seats and Democrats held 9. Republicans gained a net one seat, leaving the Republican Party with a 25-8 supermajority.
The Ohio State Senate was one of 86 state legislative chambers with elections in 2020. A total of 16 seats out of the chamber's 33 seats were up for election in 2020. There are 99 chambers throughout the country. In 2018, 87 out of 99 legislative chambers held elections.
Ohio's 2020 state legislative elections affected partisan control of redistricting following the 2020 census. In Ohio, the state legislature is primarily responsible for congressional redistricting. In the event that this commission is unable to adopt a congressional map by a specific margin, the task falls to a commission made up of elected officials. State legislative redistricting is handled by a commission comprising the governor, the state auditor, the secretary of state, and two appointees each from the state House and state Senate. An advisory commission is also involved in the state legislative redistricting process.
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Ohio modified its absentee/mail-in voting procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:
- Absentee/mail-in voting: Absentee ballot applications could be submitted by fax or email for the general election.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Party control
| Ohio State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 3, 2020 | After November 4, 2020 | |
| Democratic Party | 9 | 8 | |
| Republican Party | 24 | 25 | |
| Total | 33 | 33 | |
Candidates
General election candidates
Ohio State Senate general election |
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| Office |  Democratic |
 Republican |
Other |
| District 2 |
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| District 4 |
Kent Keller (Independent) (Write-in) |
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| District 6 |
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| District 8 |
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| District 10 |
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| District 12 |
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| District 14 |
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| District 16 |
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| District 18 |
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| District 20 |
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| District 22 |
Did not make the ballot: |
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| District 24 |
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| District 26 |
Robert Taylor (Independent) (Write-in) |
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| District 28 |
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| District 30 |
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| District 32 |
Sean O'Brien (i) |
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= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate ConnectionNote: District 22 candidate Steven Johnson (D) withdrew from the general election and was replaced on the ballot by Ryan Hunger (D).
Primary candidates
The candidate list below is based on candidate lists provided by Ohio County Boards of Election as of January 21, 2020. The filing deadline for the April primary was on December 18, 2019.[1]
Ohio State Senate primary election |
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| Office | Democratic |
Republican |
Other |
| District 2 |
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| District 4 |
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| District 6 |
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| District 8 |
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| District 10 |
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| District 12 |
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| District 14 |
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| District 16 |
Mark Bailey Did not make the ballot: |
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| District 18 |
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| District 20 |
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| District 22 |
Cory Branham |
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| District 24 |
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| District 26 |
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| District 28 |
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| District 30 |
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| District 32 |
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Incumbents who were not re-elected
Incumbents defeated in the general election
One incumbent lost in the Nov. 3 general election. That incumbents was:
| Name | Party | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Sean O'Brien |  Democratic |
Senate District 32 |
Incumbents defeated in primary elections
No incumbents lost in the April 28 primaries.
Retiring incumbents
There were five open seats where the incumbent legislator did not file for re-election in 2020.[2] Those incumbents were:
The five seats left open in 2020 were similar to earlier elections, but lower than in 2018. The table below shows the number of open seats in each election held between 2010 and 2020.
| Open Seats in Ohio State Senate elections: 2010 - 2020 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total seats | Open seats | Seats with incumbents running for re-election |
| 2020 | 16 | 5 (31 percent) | 11 (69 percent) |
| 2018 | 17 | 10 (59 percent) | 7 (41 percent) |
| 2016 | 16 | 6 (38 percent) | 10 (62 percent) |
| 2014 | 17 | 4 (24 percent) | 13 (76 percent) |
| 2012 | 18 | 2 (11 percent) | 16 (89 percent) |
| 2010 | 17 | 1 (6 percent) | 16 (94 percent) |
Process to become a candidate
See statutes: Title 35, Chapter 3513, Section 10 of the Ohio Revised Statutes
For all candidates
Filing fees apply to all candidates and are as follows:[3]
| Filing fees | |
|---|---|
| Office | Fee |
| Governor, United States Senator, and statewide offices | $150 |
| United States Representative and state legislators | $85 |
For partisan candidates
See statutes: Title 35, Chapter 3513, Section 05 of the Ohio Revised Code
A partisan candidate must file a declaration of candidacy and petition and pay the required filing fees. Petition signature requirements are detailed in the table below (for more information regarding petition requirements, see below).[4]
| Signature requirements for partisan candidates | |
|---|---|
| Office | Number of signatures required |
| Governor, United States Senator, and other statewide offices | 1,000 qualified electors who are members of the same political party as the candidate |
| United States Representative and state legislators | 50 qualified electors who are members of the same political party as the candidate |
| **The signature requirement for minor party candidates is one-half the number required of major parties.[4] | |
For independent candidates
See statutes: Title 35, Chapter 3513, Section 257 of the Ohio Revised Code
An unaffiliated candidate must submit a declaration of candidacy and nominating petition and pay the required filing fees. Petition signature requirements are detailed in the table below (for more information regarding petition requirements, see below).[5]
| Signature requirements for independent candidates | |
|---|---|
| Office | Number of signatures required |
| Governor, United States Senator, and other statewide offices | 5,000 qualified electors |
| United States Representative and state legislators | Varies by size of district; if 5,000 or more electors voted for the office of governor in the most recent election, 1 percent of electors; if less than 5,000 electors voted for said office, 5 percent of the vote or 25, whichever is less |
For write-in candidates
A write-in candidate must file a declaration of intent in order to have his or her votes counted. Write-in candidates may participate in either primary or general elections and are subject to the same filing fees as all other candidates.[6]
2020 ballot access requirements
The table below details filing requirements for Ohio State Senate candidates in the 2020 election cycle.
| Filing requirements for state legislative candidates, 2020 | |||||
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| Chamber name | Party | Signatures required | Filing fee | Filing deadline | Source |
| Ohio State Senate | Qualified party | 50 | $85.00 | 12/18/2019 | Source |
| Ohio State Senate | Unaffiliated | 25 or 5% of all votes cast for governor in the district, whichever is less, if fewer than 5,000 votes were cast for governor in the district in the last election (1% of all votes cast for governor in the district if 5,000 or more votes were cast for governor in the district in the last election) | $85.00 | 3/16/2020 | Source |
Qualifications
Article 2, Section 3 of the Ohio Constitution states: Senators and representatives shall have resided in their respective districts one year next preceding their election, unless they shall have been absent on the public business of the United States, or of this state.
Article 2, Section 5 of the Ohio Constitution states: No person hereafter convicted of an embezzlement of the public funds, shall hold any office in this state; nor shall any person, holding public money for disbursement, or otherwise, have a seat in the General Assembly, until he shall have accounted for, and paid such money into the treasury.
Salaries and per diem
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[7] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $71,099/year | No per diem is paid. |
When sworn in
Ohio legislators assume office the first day of January after a general election.[8][9]
Ohio political history
Trifectas
A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government.
Ohio Party Control: 1992-2024
No Democratic trifectas • Twenty-six years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| Senate | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| House | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
Presidential politics in Ohio
2016 Presidential election results
| U.S. presidential election, Ohio, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine | 43.6% | 2,394,164 | 0 | |
| Republican |  Donald Trump/Mike Pence |
51.7% | 2,841,005 | 18 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 3.2% | 174,498 | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka | 0.8% | 46,271 | 0 | |
| Other | Richard Duncan/Ricky Johnson | 0.4% | 24,235 | 0 | |
| - | Other/Write-in | 0.3% | 16,314 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 5,496,487 | 18 | |||
| Election results via: Federal Election Commission | |||||
Voter information
How the primary works
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Ohio utilizes an open primary system. In an open primary system, a voter does not have to register with a political party beforehand in order to vote in that party's primary. In Ohio, voters select their preferred party primary ballots at their polling places on Election Day.[10][11][12][13]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Poll times
In Ohio, all polling places are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Voters who are in line at 7:30 p.m. are permitted to vote.[14]
Registration requirements
- Check your voter registration status here.
To register to vote in Ohio, an applicant must be a United States citizen, a resident of Ohio for at least 30 days before the election, and at least 18 years old by the day of the election. Individuals who are incarcerated for a felony conviction, have been declared by a court to be incompetent for voting purposes, or have been permanently disenfranchised may not register to vote.[15]
Applicants may register to vote online, in person, or by mail. The Ohio Voter Registration and Information Update Form is available online and can be requested by mail. In-person voter registration is available at various locations including the secretary of state and board of elections offices, Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices, public libraries and high schools, and other state agencies. A full list of locations is available here.
The deadline to register to vote is 30 days before the next election. An Ohio driver’s license number, state ID card number, or the last four digits of a SSN is required in order to register to vote or update a voter registration.[16][17]
Automatic registration
Ohio does not practice automatic voter registration.[18]
Online registration
- See also: Online voter registration
Ohio has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.
Same-day registration
Ohio does not allow same-day voter registration.[18]
Residency requirements
Prospective voters must be residents of Ohio for at least 30 days before the election.[18]
Verification of citizenship
Ohio does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, "whoever commits election falsification is guilty of a felony of the fifth degree."[19]
All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment.[20] Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.
Verifying your registration
The Ohio Secretary of State’s Office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website.
Voter ID requirements
Ohio requires voters to present photo identification while voting.[21]
The following list of accepted ID was current as of April 2023. Click here for the Ohio Secretary of State page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.
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All photo IDs must have the following:
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Early voting
Ohio permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.
Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.
Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia permit no-excuse early voting.
Absentee voting
All voters are eligible to vote absentee in Ohio. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee.[23]
Absentee ballots may be requested for each individual election beginning on January 1, or 90 days before the date of an election, whichever is earlier. The request must be received by the local county board of elections by the close of business on the seventh day before the election. A returned absentee ballot must then be postmarked at least one day before Election Day and received by the elections board no later than 4 days after the election.[23][24]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "County Boards of Elections Directory," accessed January 21, 2020
- ↑ Ballotpedia defines an incumbent as retiring if the incumbent did not file for office or filed for office but withdrew, was disqualified, or otherwise left a race in a manner other than losing the primary, primary runoff, or convention. If an incumbent runs as a write-in candidate, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring. If an incumbent runs in the same chamber for a different seat, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring.
- ↑ Ohio Revised Code, "Title 35, Chapter 3513, Section 10," accessed March 4, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ohio Revised Code, "Title 35, Chapter 3513, Section 05," accessed March 4, 2025
- ↑ Ohio Revised Code, "Title 35, Chapter 3513, Section 257," accessed March 4, 2025
- ↑ Ohio Revised Code, "Title 35, Chapter 3513, Section 041," accessed March 4, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ Ohio Constitution, "Article 2, Section 02," accessed November 1, 2021
- ↑ Ohio.gov, "A Guidebook for Ohio Legislators," accessed November 1, 2021
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed October 25, 2019
- ↑ FairVote, "Primaries," accessed October 25, 2019
- ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
- ↑ LAWriter Ohio Laws and Rules, "3501.01 Election procedure - election officials definitions.," accessed October 25, 2019
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, “Election Day Voting,” accessed April 12, 2023
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, “Voter Eligibility & Residency Requirements,” accessed April 12, 2023
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, “Register to Vote and Update Your Registration,” accessed April 6, 2023
- ↑ Democracy Docket, “Ohio Governor Signs Strict Photo ID Bill Into Law,” January 6, 2023
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 NCSL, "State Profiles: Elections," accessed August 7, 2024
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Voter Registration and Information Update Form," accessed November 2, 2024
- ↑ Under federal law, the national mail voter registration application (a version of which is in use in all states with voter registration systems) requires applicants to indicate that they are U.S. citizens in order to complete an application to vote in state or federal elections, but does not require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the application "may require only the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and permit State officials both to determine the eligibility of the applicant to vote and to administer the voting process."
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Identification requirements," accessed Aprl 6, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Ohio Secretary of State, "Voting Absentee by Mail," accessed April 6, 2023
- ↑ Democracy Docket, "Ohio Governor Signs Strict Photo ID Bill Into Law," January 6, 2023
