Ohio's conservative chief justice slams GOP for partisan attack on judge who made mail voting easier

A state judge in Ohio recently ruled against Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose's order restricting mail-in ballot drop boxes to one per county, saying that his interpretation of the law lacked merit and that local election boards were free to install additional drop boxes if they wished.

The Ohio Republican Party immediately attacked the decision, claiming in a statement, "After the corruption and deceit we have seen from Ohio Democrats, it comes as no surprise to discover they have colluded with a Democrat Common Pleas Court judge regarding a ruling on ballot drop boxes."

This attack on the judiciary earned a sharp rebuke from Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor — herself a conservative Republican — who issued her own statement firing back at the state party.

"I condemn in the strongest possible terms both the statement released by the Ohio Republican Party on September 15, 2020, and its unsigned authors," wrote O'Connor. "Every one of Ohio's 722 judges, 800 magistrates, and numerous active-retired judges should be greatly concerned and voice their dismay at the irresponsible Republican Party allegation that politics controlled the judge's decision. This is a blatant and unfounded attack on the independence of the Ohio judiciary."

"The Republican Party's statement should be seen for what it is: part of a continuing string of attacks against any decision that doesn't favor a political end, regardless of party, even if that decision may be legally correct and indeed legally required," O'Connor continued. "Attacks such as these, no matter the source, reflect poorly, not on the judiciary, but on the leadership of those who would perpetrate them."

Read Justice O'Connor's full statement below: