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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2010 > October > 06
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Online quiz helps voters pick judges
A new online tool developed by Ohio State University law professor Ric Simmons helps voters figure out who would best represent their views on the judicial bench.
Simmons set up www.chooseyourjudges.org, which quizzes voters on their leanings when it comes to legal issues such as malpractice cases, election law, criminal defense, insurance companies and government taxation. It also asks how important it is to the voter that the judicial candidate has experience as a criminal defense attorney or prosecutor, went to a highly ranked law school, or won a bar association stamp of approval.
Based on the answers, it spits out a report on which candidates for Ohio Supreme Court and district appellate court best match the voter’s preferences and views.
Simmons said he and his team researched all split decisions by the Ohio Supreme Court over the last 10 years, looked at decisions by appellate court judges, and reviewed credentials and experience of judges.
“The biggest complaint about judicial elections is voters know nothing at all or very little about judicial candidates,” Simmons said.
One-third of voters leave blank their choices for judicial slots and many of the ones who make a pick do so based on party affiliation or name recognition, he said.
Data is available to voters in Ohio, Iowa, Illinois and California and Michigan will be added soon, said Simmons, a former prosecutor who teaches criminal law. He noted that political scientists have used this kind of data to gauge appointed judges on the federal bench. He decided to give voters access to similar data at election time to help them make informed choices, he said.
To take the quiz, go here and click on your state and county.
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TweetDems file complaint against Mandel campaign over TV ad
The Ohio Democratic Party on Wednesday filed a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission against Republican Josh Mandel over his TV ad in the race for state treasurer.
Mandel, a state representative and Iraq war veteran, is running against incumbent Democrat Kevin Boyce, who was appointed treasurer two years ago by Gov. Ted Strickland. Mandel’s 30-second ad portrays Boyce’s administration as rife with corruption and implies that Boyce is a Muslim who attends a mosque.
Mandel is Jewish and Boyce is Christian.
“Rep. Mandel has shown that he will do anything to win a vote,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern. “Josh would rather sink to outright lies and fear-mongering because he doesn’t want to have a conversation about who is most qualified to run the Ohio treasury. His ad is nothing less than a modern-day Willie Horton smear. He should take it down immediately, and he should be ashamed.”
The Mandel campaign has refused to pull the ad, saying it’s factual.
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TweetQuinnipiac poll: Portman retains big lead over Fisher in Senate race
Republican Rob Portman continues to hold a big lead over Democrat Lee Fisher in the U.S. Senate race among likely voters, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.
Portman leads 55-36 percent in the new poll, about the same as the 55-35 percent lead he had in a Sept. 17 poll.
Fisher’s inability to gain ground contrasts with the results of a new Quinnipiac poll in the governor’s race released on Tuesday.
In that poll, Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland cut Republican challenger John Kasich’s lead nearly in half. In the new poll, Kasich led 50-41 percent, compared to a 54-37 percent lead in a Sept. 16 Quinnipiac poll.
In the new Senate poll, Portman, a former Cincinnati-area Congressman who served as budget director and trade representative under President George W. Bush, leads 67-25 percent among independent voters.
Fisher, the lieutenant governor, has a small lead among women, 47-43 percent, but Portman overwhelms Fisher among men, 63-30 percent.
“The fact that Fisher hasn’t been able to make up any ground since the last Quinnipiac University poll is a bad omen for his ability to make this a close race,” Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a press release.
The poll also finds that by a 44-33 percent margin likely voters want the GOP to take control of the Senate in the November elections. Also, likely voters, by a 54-39 percent spread, want their senator to oppose Democratic President Barack Obama’s polices.
The poll was taken Sept. 29 through Sunday, Oct. 3 with 1,025 likely voters across the state and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
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