AGO 1993-052.

• Case Date: December 02, 1993
• Court: Ohio

Ohio Attorney General Opinions 1993. AGO 1993-052. December 2, 1993OPINION NO. 1993-052The Honorable Stephen M. Stern Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Suite 1200 Bank One Building Steubenville, Ohio 43952 Dear Prosecutor Stern: You have requested an opinion on the following questions:(fn1)

1. May an individual seek the position of Township Trustee, a non-partisan office to be determined during the general election, while at the same time seek a county office such as county commissioner in the partisan primary of the same election year[?] If the individual wins the partisan primary, he would then appear twice on the general election ballot for two separate positions.

2. May an individual seek two county positions at the same time in the partisan primary election, e.g., county commissioner and county auditor[?]

3. May an individual seek two county positions, one as a candidate for party nomination such as county commissioner and the other as an independent candidate for another office, such as county auditor, the latter elected position to be determined at the general election[?] If the individual wins the partisan primary election, can he appear on the general election ballot for two different positions, one as a party nominee and the other as an independent candidate[?]

Your first question concerns the potential candidacy of a particular individual for two elected positions at the same general election. The individual you describe plans to seek nomination as a party candidate for the position of county commissioner. You question whether the same individual may seek election to the office of township trustee during the general election held in the same year.

Scheme for Primary and General Elections

Article XVII, §1 of the Ohio Constitution, which prescribes the time for holding elections for various public offices, states, in pertinent part: "Elections for state and county officers shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even numbered years; and all elections for all other elective officers shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in the odd numbered years." (Emphasis added.) See also R.C. 3501.02(C) and (D) (general elections for elective state and county officers shall be held in even-numbered years; elections for township officers are held in odd-numbered years). The time for holding primary elections is prescribed by R.C. 3513.01, which states, in pertinent part: "on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May of each year, primary elections shall be held for the purpose of nominating persons as candidates of political parties for election to offices to be voted for at the next succeeding general election." The position of county commissioner is a county office. See State ex rel. DeChant v. Kelser, 133 Ohio St. 429, 14 N.E.2d 350 (1938). Thus, a...