Issue 1 Defeated In Ohio

Insiders had predicted a defeat for Issue 1, which would have raised the mandatory retirement age for judges to 75. The vote upholds a 1973 law that caps judicial age at 70. The state’s Prosecuting Attorneys Association supported a no vote, as did Democrats, who said raising the age would keep the lock Republicans have had on the Ohio Supreme Court and lower courts. But Republicans urged a yes vote, and the state’s top vote getter last year, Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, appeared in ads to argue that older judges offer valuable experience. The defeat potentially affects 10% of sitting judges over the next six years.