This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system, and Signal Cleveland. Sign up for The Marshall Project’s Cleveland newsletter, and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and Facebook.
Early voting is underway in Ohio. Ahead of the upcoming general election on Nov. 5, The Marshall Project and Signal Cleveland published a judges guide designed to help voters make informed decisions about judicial candidates in Cuyahoga County.
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The guide was developed in response to residents' questions about the judicial system and the challenges voters face in finding reliable information about judges. The publishers also solicited questions for candidates directly from Greater Cleveland residents.
Cuyahoga County has 34 elected Common Pleas judges who handle felony criminal cases and civil disputes. On Nov. 5, voters will select judges for six of those seats. In addition, seven candidates are on the ballot who have no opponent. Four are already on the bench, and three – Carl J. Mazzone, Lauren C. Moore and John J. Spellacy – will be new to the court.
The Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court has six elected judges. Candidates running for three of those seats are unopposed.
The Ohio Supreme Court is the highest court in the state system. The seven elected justices decide cases that raise constitutional questions and cases appealed from lower courts about everything from abortion access and the death penalty to the advertising of boneless chicken wings. Six candidates are running for three seats on the court in races that carry partisan labels. Republicans currently have a 4-3 majority on the court.
Here's the full list of judges and everything you need to know when deciding who to vote for:
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