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09/02/2015

New website to provide info on Ohio judicial candidates

From The Canton Repository

Voters searching for more information on judicial candidates can now turn to the first statewide online voting guide.

Launched today, JudicialVotesCount.org features candidate profiles, job descriptions and the duties of various courts in Ohio.

For Stark County, the website highlights candidates for Canton Municipal Court judge in the Nov. 3 general election.

Republican Curt Werren, who was appointed to the position last February to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of former Judge Stephen Belden, faces Kristen Donohue Guardado. Guardado, domestic violence prosecutor for the Canton city prosecutor’s office, defeated Angela Alexander in the Democratic primary in May.

Belden’s term expires Jan. 1, 2018.

Biographical information is included on the website as well as answers to questions about judicial experience and qualifications for judge.

The website is part of Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor’s three-point plan to reform judicial elections in Ohio. The others include moving all judicial races to odd-numbered years and to the top of the ballot and increasing the qualifications to serve as judge.

Project partners include the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron, which houses the website; the Ohio State Bar Association; the League of Women Voters of Ohio; the Ohio Newspaper Association; and the Ohio Association of Broadcasters.

With 2015 being an odd-numbered year, municipal court judges are up for election this fall. A total of 28 counties have judicial races on the ballot.

Next year, the website will include information about candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court, appeals courts, common pleas courts and county courts, according to Court News Ohio, a service of the Ohio Supreme Court.

Creation of the website was spurred by a survey of 1,067 registered Ohio voters who said the primary reason they don’t vote for judges is because of unfamiliarity with the candidates.

“Judges affect everyone with their rulings, often profoundly,” Dennis Hetzel, executive director of the Ohio Newspaper Association, said in a posting from Court News Ohio. “Unfortunately, too many voters take these offices for granted, or helpful information about candidates isn’t readily available.

“This website helps to change that situation and should be a great resource for Ohio citizens.”

 

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