(A) All municipal court judges shall be elected on the nonpartisan ballot for terms of six years. In a municipal court in which only one judge is to be elected in any one year, that judge's term commences on the first day of January after the election. In a municipal court in which two or more judges are to be elected in any one year, their terms commence on successive days beginning the first day of January, following the election, unless otherwise provided by section 1901.08 of the Revised Code.

(B) All candidates for municipal court judge may be nominated either by nominating petition or by primary election, except that if the jurisdiction of a municipal court extends only to the corporate limits of the municipal corporation in which the court is located and that municipal corporation operates under a charter, all candidates shall be nominated in the same manner provided in the charter for the office of municipal court judge or, if no specific provisions are made in the charter for the office of municipal court judge, in the same manner as the charter prescribes for the nomination and election of the legislative authority of the municipal corporation.

If the jurisdiction of a municipal court extends beyond the corporate limits of the municipal corporation in which it is located or if the jurisdiction of the court does not extend beyond the corporate limits of the municipal corporation in which it is located and no charter provisions apply, all candidates for party nomination to the office of municipal court judge shall file a declaration of candidacy and petition not later than four p.m. of the ninetieth day before the day of the primary election in the form prescribed by section 3513.07 of the Revised Code. The petition shall conform to the requirements provided for those petitions of candidacy contained in section 3513.05 of the Revised Code, except that the petition shall be signed by at least fifty electors of the territory of the court. If no valid declaration of candidacy is filed for nomination as a candidate of a political party for election to the office of municipal court judge, or if the number of persons filing the declarations of candidacy for nominations as candidates of one political party for election to the office does not exceed the number of candidates that that party is entitled to nominate as its candidates for election to the office, no primary election shall be held for the purpose of nominating candidates of that party for election to the office, and the candidates shall be issued certificates of nomination in the manner set forth in section 3513.02 of the Revised Code.

If the jurisdiction of a municipal court extends beyond the corporate limits of the municipal corporation in which it is located or if the jurisdiction of the court does not extend beyond the corporate limits of the municipal corporation in which it is located and no charter provisions apply, nonpartisan candidates for the office of municipal court judge shall file nominating petitions not later than four p.m. of the day before the day of the primary election in the form prescribed by section 3513.261 of the Revised Code. The petition shall conform to the requirements provided for those petitions of candidacy contained in section 3513.257 of the Revised Code, except that the petition shall be signed by at least fifty electors of the territory of the court.

The nominating petition or declaration of candidacy for a municipal court judge shall contain a designation of the term for which the candidate seeks election. At the following regular municipal election, the candidacies of the judges nominated shall be submitted to the electors of the territory on a nonpartisan, judicial ballot in the same manner as provided for judges of the court of common pleas, except that, in a municipal corporation operating under a charter, all candidates for municipal court judge shall be elected in conformity with the charter if provisions are made in the charter for the election of municipal court judges.

(C) Notwithstanding divisions (A) and (B) of this section, in the following municipal courts, the judges shall be nominated and elected as follows:

(1) In the Cleveland municipal court, the judges shall be nominated only by petition. The petition shall be signed by at least fifty electors of the territory of the court. It shall be in the statutory form and shall be filed in the manner and within the time prescribed by the charter of the city of Cleveland for filing petitions of candidates for municipal offices. Each elector shall have the right to sign petitions for as many candidates as are to be elected, but no more. The judges shall be elected by the electors of the territory of the court in the manner provided by law for the election of judges of the court of common pleas.

(2) In the Toledo municipal court, the judges shall be nominated only by petition. The petition shall be signed by at least fifty electors of the territory of the court. It shall be in the statutory form and shall be filed in the manner and within the time prescribed by the charter of the city of Toledo for filing nominating petitions for city council. Each elector shall have the right to sign petitions for as many candidates as are to be elected, but no more. The judges shall be elected by the electors of the territory of the court in the manner provided by law for the election of judges of the court of common pleas.

(3) In the Akron municipal court, the judges shall be nominated only by petition. The petition shall be signed by at least fifty electors of the territory of the court. It shall be in statutory form and shall be filed in the manner and within the time prescribed by the charter of the city of Akron for filing nominating petitions of candidates for municipal offices. Each elector shall have the right to sign petitions for as many candidates as are to be elected, but no more. The judges shall be elected by the electors of the territory of the court in the manner provided by law for the election of judges of the court of common pleas.

(4) In the Hamilton county municipal court, the judges shall be nominated only by petition. The petition shall be signed by at least one hundred electors of the judicial district of the county from which the candidate seeks election, which petitions shall be signed and filed not later than four p.m. of the day before the day of the primary election in the form prescribed by section 3513.261 of the Revised Code. Unless otherwise provided in this section, the petition shall conform to the requirements provided for nominating petitions in section 3513.257 of the Revised Code. The judges shall be elected by the electors of the relative judicial district of the county at the regular municipal election and in the manner provided by law for the election of judges of the court of common pleas.

(5) In the Franklin county municipal court, the judges shall be nominated only by petition. The petition shall be signed by at least fifty electors of the territory of the court. The petition shall be in the statutory form and shall be filed in the manner and within the time prescribed by the charter of the city of Columbus for filing petitions of candidates for municipal offices. The judges shall be elected by the electors of the territory of the court in the manner provided by law for the election of judges of the court of common pleas.

(6) In the Auglaize, Brown, Carroll, Clermont, Crawford, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Madison, Miami, Morrow, Paulding,Perry, Putnam, Sandusky, and Wayne county municipal courts, the judges shall be nominated only by petition. The petitions shall be signed by at least fifty electors of the territory of the court and shall conform to the provisions of this section.

(D) In the Portage county municipal court, the judges shall be nominated either by nominating petition or by primary election, as provided in division (B) of this section.

(E) As used in this section, as to an election for either a full or an unexpired term, "the territory within the jurisdiction of the court" means that territory as it will be on the first day of January after the election.

Amended by 132nd General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 215, §1, eff. 3/23/2018.

Amended by 132nd General Assembly File No. TBD, SB 25, §1, eff. 6/13/2017.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.141, HB 509, §1, eff. 9/28/2012.

Amended by 2011 File No. 6, HB 29,§1, eff. 3/22/2011.

Amended by 128th General AssemblyFile No.52, HB 338, §1, eff. 1/1/2011.

Amended by 128th General AssemblyFile No.37, HB 238, §1, eff. 1/1/2011.

Amended by 128th General AssemblyFile No.29, HB 48, §1, eff. 7/2/2010.

Effective Date: 12-29-1993; 06-17-2004; 05-02-2006; 01-02-2007; 2008 HB420 12-30-2008 .