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Jennifer Brunner

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Jennifer Brunner
Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 2, 2021
Preceded byJudith L. French
Judge of the Ohio Court of Appeals
from the 10th district
In office
January 20, 2015 – December 31, 2020
Preceded byAmy O'Grady
Succeeded byLisa Sadler
49th Secretary of State of Ohio
In office
January 8, 2007 – January 10, 2011
GovernorTed Strickland
Preceded byKen Blackwell
Succeeded byJon Husted
Personal details
Born (1957-02-05) February 5, 1957 (age 68)[citation needed]
Springfield, Ohio, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseRick Brunner
Children3
EducationMiami University (BA)
Capital University (JD)
WebsiteCampaign website

Jennifer Lee Brunner (born February 5, 1957)[citation needed] is an American attorney, politician, and judge. She is currently an associate justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, a position to which she was elected after serving as a judge on the Ohio Tenth District Court of Appeals. A member of the Democratic Party, Brunner also served one term as Ohio Secretary of State from 2007 to 2011 and unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 2010.[1] Prior to being elected Secretary of State, Brunner worked in the Ohio Secretary of State's Office and served as a County Judge in Franklin County, Ohio.

In 2022, she was defeated by fellow associate justice Sharon Kennedy in an election to become Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court.[2]

Following Supreme Court elections being made partisan in 2021, as of 2025 Brunner is the only statewide elected Democrat in Ohio.

Career

[edit]

Brunner was born in Springfield, Ohio and raised in Columbus, Ohio.[3] She earned a B.A. in sociology-gerontology, cum laude, from Miami University in 1978 and a J.D. from Capital University Law School with honors in 1982.[1][4][5] Subsequently, Brunner worked in the Ohio Secretary of State's Office as a deputy director and legislative counsel to the Ohio General Assembly during the administration of Sherrod Brown from 1983 to 1987, working with state legislators on finance-reporting laws for campaign committees and laws for election procedures.[6][7][8]

Private practice

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From 1988 to 2000, Brunner maintained a statewide law practice focusing on election law and campaign finance.[5][7][9] During that time she also briefly served as a member of the Franklin County Board of Elections.[10]

Brunner litigated various ballot propositions in her private practice, including propositions involving alcohol sales, tax levies, rezoning, and gambling.[11][12][13][14] Brunner also represented several Ohio politicians in disputes involving redistricting and false statements in campaign literature.[15][16][17]

Early political career

[edit]

In the early 1990s, Brunner served on the Ohio Student Loan Commission, a nine-member group that guarantees loans for college students.[18] In 1995, Brunner applied for a vacant seat on the Columbus City Council, but was not selected.[19] In 2000, Brunner was elected to an unexpired term on the Franklin County Common Pleas Court.[20] She was reelected in 2002.[21][22] In 2004, Brunner, along with other Court of Common Pleas judges, created a separate drug court to reduce addiction-related recidivism.[23]

Brunner (2006-03-22)

Brunner resigned from the Court on September 1, 2005 to run for Ohio Secretary of State.[24] She ran unopposed in the May 2, 2006 Democratic Primary.[25] Her campaign received support from the Secretary of State Project, a progressive political action committee.[26] On November 7, 2006, she defeated Republican Greg Hartmann by a 55%–40% margin, taking office on January 8, 2007.[27]

Secretary of State

[edit]

During her tenure as Secretary of State, Brunner took several measures intended to improve election security and expand access to voting, including redistributing voting machines to precincts with long voting wait times and providing a higher number of paper ballots to precincts.[28] Brunner also established the Voting Right Institute (VRI) to improve voter access to elections in Ohio. The VRI instituted a "Grads Vote" program which supplies voter registration forms to all graduating high school seniors, partnered with the U.S. Postal Service to include voter registration forms in government moving packets, and partnered with the Overseas Vote Foundation to improve online absentee ballot applications for overseas and military voters.[1] She also worked to shield social security information and other private information from public view for millions of online records and coordinated with the Ohio General Assembly to prevent the filing of private information.[1]

In September 2007, Brunner announced plans to identify and correct security and reliability problems with voting machines in advance of March 4, 2008 Ohio Democratic and Republican primaries.[29] In particular, she expressed concern about local election officials taking voting machines home with them in the days before an election, and she ordered bipartisan transport teams for voting machines and proscribed storage conditions.[30] She also advocated the replacement of all Ohio voting machines with paper ballots counted by optical scanning machines,[31] although the Ohio General Assembly did not provide funding to switch to paper ballots for the November 2008 general election.[28]

During the 2008 presidential primaries, Ohio experienced record voter turnout, but the primary was marred by paper ballot shortages, bomb threats, ice storms and power failures.[32] In addition, flooding forced the relocation of some polling places in southeastern Ohio.[33] 21 precincts in the Cleveland metropolitan area were held open for an extra 90 minutes due to paper ballot shortages.[34]

Between January 1, 2008 and mid-October 2008, over 666,000 Ohioans registered to vote either for the first time or with updated voter information, and over 200,000 of them provided driver's licenses or Social Security numbers that do not match government records. Many of the newly registered voters were the result of voter registration drives to register voters for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for the March 4, 2008 Ohio Democratic primary.[35] The voter registrations that did not match government records were challenged in federal court, on the basis that they did not comply with the federal Help America Vote Act, which mandates that states corroborate voter registration applications with government databases.[36] The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled against Brunner, deciding that extra steps must be taken to authenticate these registrants. However, that decision subsequently was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.[35]

During the 2008 general election, Ohio experienced an unintended consequence of a new statute that resulted in a brief period of overlap voting, when absentee voting has started and before the close of voter registration. This period ran from September 30 until October 6, due to the newly instituted early voting policy.[28] On August 13, 2008, Brunner ordered county election board officials to establish procedures to enable voters who register to be immediately issued an absentee ballot.[37] Brunner's order was challenged in state and federal court by Ohio Republican Party officials and Republican voters, who argued that Ohio law requires voters to be registered for 30 days before they cast an absentee ballot.[38] Brunner's order ultimately was upheld by both state and federal courts.[39]

In November 2008, two supporters of Republican congressman Steve Stivers supporters sued Brunner over the validity of approximately 1,000 provisional ballots in the race for Ohio's 15th congressional district, which at the time of recounting had a 149-vote margin with and 27,000 absentee ballots still to be counted.[40][41] The case was consolidated with other cases in the United States District Court upon Brunner's request.[42] On December 5, 2008, Stivers' supporters won a ruling in the Ohio Supreme Court that the 1,000 provisional ballots that lacked signatures or had names and signatures in the wrong places be thrown out.[43]

Brunner speaks in Denver during the 2008 Democratic National Convention. (2008-08-26)

2010 campaign for U.S. Senate

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On February 17, 2009, Brunner announced that she would be a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010,[44] running against Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher for the Democratic nomination.[45] In September 2009, DSCC Chairman Bob Menendez, who supported Fisher and had been trying to clear the field for him,[46] stated he would actively work against any underfunded candidate. By February 2010, Brunner had significantly less cash on hand than Fisher or likely general election opponent Rob Portman (who would eventually win the seat), but claimed, "I only need enough money to win."[47] Polling in late 2009 and January 2010 showed Brunner to be more competitive than Fisher in a general election matchup against Portman, while Fisher and Brunner were deadlocked in Democratic primary polling.[48] Brunner ultimately lost to Fisher in the May 4, 2010 party primary, 55% to 45%.[49]

Following her defeat in the 2010 Senate primary, Brunner sat on several public commissions and boards. Republican Governor John Kasich appointed Brunner to a Democratic seat on the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission in 2011, which she held until the commission's abolition in 2013.[50] In October 2012, Kasich also appointed her to the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, Marriage and Family Therapist Board.[51] In 2013, Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman appointed Brunner to the board of the Central Ohio Transit Authority.[52]

2014 campaign for Ohio Tenth District Court of Appeals

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Brunner was certified as the sole Democratic candidate running for the Ohio Tenth District Court of Appeals seat occupied by incumbent judge Amy O'Grady, who was appointed to the seat by Governor John Kasich in 2013.[53] The 2014 judicial elections were notable for the number of judges on the ballot, with The Columbus Dispatch stating that it was the first time 12 contested judicial seats would appear on the ballot in Franklin County, Ohio.[54] She was the only Democratic nominee for the appellate seat.[54][55] Brunner defeated O'Grady and was elected to a two-year term as Franklin County appeals judge unexpired term in the General Election.[56]

2020 Campaign for Ohio Supreme Court

[edit]
Results by county:
Map Legend
  •   Brunner—60–70%
  •   Brunner—50–60%
  •   French—50–60%
  •   French—60–70%

In August 2019, Brunner announced her candidacy to be a justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio, challenging incumbent Judith L. French.[57] On November 3, 2020, she went on to win the general election with 55% of the vote.[58]

2022 Campaign for Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court

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On June 8, 2021, Brunner announced her candidacy for Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court in the November 8, 2022, general election.[59] In a virtual news conference on September 13, 2021, Brunner released a campaign platform that includes support for a statewide criminal sentencing database, a proposal for a permanent Commission on Fairness and Equality in Ohio’s Courts and Legal System, expansion of specialized dockets like drug courts, and what the Cleveland Plain Dealer called "good-government reforms."[60] At the general election held on November 8, 2022, she was defeated by her Republican opponent, fellow associate justice Sharon Kennedy, in a landslide, winning less than 44% of the vote.[61]

International work

[edit]

Brunner worked with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as a consultant on campaign finance, elections, and ballot issues in the Republic of Serbia during 2012 and 2013, assisting the Serbian Minister of Justice with judicial reform.[62] Brunner also served as an adviser to Serbian misdemeanor court judges as part of its Judicial Reform and Government Accountability project on outreach strategies to rebuild the public's confidence in elections systems and to better detect and prevent corruption in the government.[63][64]

Brunner also served as an international election observer in Egypt for the 2014 Egyptian constitutional referendum.[65]

Personal

[edit]

Brunner is a resident of Columbus, Ohio. She and her husband, Rick, have been married since 1978 and have three adult children.[1] They have also been foster parents to three children.[66] Brunner is an alumna of Whetstone High School in the Clintonville neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio.[67]

In March 2008, Brunner was awarded the Profile in Courage Award by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum for challenging the reliability of electronic voting in order to protect the right to vote in Ohio.[68]

General election results

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Office Year Votes for Brunner % Republican Votes % Non-Partisan Votes % Non-Partisan Votes %
Judge of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas[8][22] 2000 147,487 50.94 John Bender 141,567 49.06
2002 109,713 51.8 Michael J. Holbrook 102,050 48.2
Ohio Secretary of State[27] 2006 2,104,114 55.03 Greg Hartmann 1,546,454 40.45 John A. Eastman 94,706 2.48 Timothy J. Kettler 78,080 2.04
Ohio's Tenth District Court of Appeals[69] 2014 124,701 53.07 Amy O'Grady 110,293 46.93
2016 340,698 100.00
Ohio Supreme Court 2020 2,695,072 55.34 Jennifer French 2,174,820 44.66

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Biography". sos.state.oh.us. Ohio.gov. Archived from the original on October 8, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  2. ^ "Republicans sweep Ohio Supreme Court race". News 5 Cleveland. November 9, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  3. ^ "Dinner with Judge Jennifer Brunner - Enjoy a Unique Take on this Year's Most Unusual Election Season! | United Way of Lake County". www.uwlc.org.
  4. ^ "Stakes high in contests to fill key state offices". The Toledo Blade. Newsbank. November 5, 2006. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  5. ^ a b "Brunner is better to guide Ohio elections". Dayton Daily News. Newsbank. October 2, 2006. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  6. ^ "Local Brief". Chillicothe Gazette. Newsbank. September 3, 2005. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  7. ^ a b Bischoff, Laura A. (November 4, 2006). "Candidates share some common ground – Democrat and Republican part ways on the details of office, major needs". Dayton Daily News. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  8. ^ a b Includes unofficial results from Doulin, Tim (November 8, 2000). "Brunner apparently squeaks by Bender – Franklin County Common Pleas Court". The Columbus Dispatch. Newsbank. Archived from the original on January 11, 2001. Retrieved January 31, 2009.
  9. ^ "Your Letters ELECTION 2006". Dayton Daily News. Newsbank. November 3, 2006. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  10. ^ "The DSCC is attacking one of Ohio's best progressive candidates... - Democratic Underground". www.democraticunderground.com.
  11. ^ Smith, Susan (September 8, 1988). "Blossom Petitions Protested". Akron Beacon Journal. Newsbank. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
  12. ^ Dreitzler, Bob (March 22, 1989). "Election Claims Continue". The Columbus Dispatch. Newsbank. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
  13. ^ "Petition's Validity Questioned". The Columbus Dispatch. Newsbank. September 13, 1989. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
  14. ^ Johnson, Alan (August 15, 1990). "Ballot Board Tosses Out Dicey Terms". The Columbus Dispatch. Newsbank. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
  15. ^ Hoffman, Steve (June 11, 1991). "Challenge To Committee On Redistricting Delayed Democrats Contend Private Group Is Really Political". Akron Beacon Journal. Newsbank. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
  16. ^ Hoffman, Steve (June 26, 1991). "State Panel To Continue Probe Elections Commission Wants More Details On Ohioans For Fair Representation". Akron Beacon Journal. Newsbank. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
  17. ^ O'Malley, Michael (August 7, 1991). "Mayor's Campaign Flier A Capital (Letter) Offense". The Plain Dealer. Newsbank. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
  18. ^ "Voinovich Names 4 To Student Loan, Fire Commissions". The Plain Dealer. Newsbank. March 27, 1992. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
  19. ^ "13 Apply To Replace Lazarus On Columbus City Council". The Columbus Dispatch. Newsbank. January 13, 1995. Retrieved January 30, 2009.
  20. ^ "For Common Pleas Court – Six incumbent judges merit re-election in Franklin County". The Columbus Dispatch. Newsbank. October 10, 2002. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
  21. ^ "Democratic Judge Of Court Of Common Pleas: Official Tabulation: May 7, 2002". sos.state.oh.us. Ohio.gov. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2008.
  22. ^ a b "Judge Of Court Of Common Pleas: Official Tabulation: November 5, 2002". sos.state.oh.us. Ohio.gov. Archived from the original on October 9, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2008.
  23. ^ Kemper, Kevin (September 2, 2005). "Franklin County joins list of drug courts in the state". Columbus Business First. American City Business Journals, Inc. Retrieved October 13, 2008.
  24. ^ "Ex-judge seeks Democratic nomination for secretary of state". The Blade. Newsbank. September 2, 2005. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
  25. ^ "Democratic Secretary Of State: May 2, 2006". sos.state.oh.us. Ohio.gov. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2008.
  26. ^ "Secretaries of state give Dem firewall". Politico. November 2, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  27. ^ a b "Secretary Of State: November 7, 2006". sos.state.oh.us. Ohio.gov. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2008.
  28. ^ a b c "Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner on Voter Rights, Faulty Electronic Voting Machines, Voter Fraud and GOP Voter Challenges". democracynow.org. October 9, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2008.
  29. ^ Driehaus, Bob (September 27, 2007). "Ohio to Test Vote Systems Before March". The New York Times. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  30. ^ O'Connor, Anahad (August 19, 2008). "Mom, Can My Voting Machine Spend the Night?". The New York Times. Retrieved October 11, 2008.
  31. ^ Driehaus, Bob (December 15, 2007). "Ohio Elections Official Calls Machines Flawed". The New York Times. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  32. ^ Urbina, Ian; Randy Kennedy (March 6, 2008). "Turnout, Technology and Nature Marred Balloting in Ohio". The New York Times. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  33. ^ Phillips, Kate (March 4, 2008). "Ohio Flooding Thwarts Some Voting". The New York Times. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  34. ^ Urbina, Ian (March 5, 2008). "Ballot Shortages Plague Ohio Election Amid Unusually Heavy Primary Turnout". The New York Times. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  35. ^ a b Stohr, Greg (October 17, 2008). "Ohio Democrats Win at Top U.S. Court in Voting Fight (Update3)". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved October 17, 2008.
  36. ^ Liptak, Adam; Ian Urbina (October 17, 2008). "Justices Block Effort to Challenge Ohio Voters". The New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2008.
  37. ^ "New Ohio Voter Registration Rules Irk GOP". FoxNews.com. FOX News Network, LLC. August 14, 2008. Archived from the original on October 5, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  38. ^ Provance, Jim (September 30, 2008). "Courts OK Ohio's same-day voting, registration – Republicans win right to have election observers watching". The Blade. Newsbank. Retrieved February 5, 2009.
  39. ^ Merrick, Amy (October 1, 2008). "Ohio Gets Green Light on Same-Day Registration and Voting". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  40. ^ Stelzer, Paul (November 15, 2008). "Franklin Canvassing Underway". nbc4i.com. Media General Communications Holdings, LLC. Retrieved November 19, 2008. [dead link‍]
  41. ^ Miller, Justin (November 14, 2008). "Brunner wants OH-15 lawsuit moved to federal court". PolitickerOH.com. Retrieved November 19, 2008. [dead link‍]
  42. ^ Niquette, Mark; Barbara Carmen (November 14, 2008). "Brunner tiebreaker or court ruling Saturday to decide race". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2008.
  43. ^ Miller Justin (December 5, 2008). "Stivers supporters win Supreme Court case". PolitickerOH.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
  44. ^ "Jennifer Brunner announces candidacy for U.S. Senate". cleveland. February 17, 2009.
  45. ^ "Senate 2010: Brunner & Fisher Eye DC - Ohio Politics". Archived from the original on November 20, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
  46. ^ "N.J. Sen. Menendez proves himself a force to be reckoned with on national stage", Josh Margolin. New Jersey On-Line. May 2, 2010. Retrieved 7 mar 2017
  47. ^ "CQ Politics | the Eye - Brunner's Unconventional Senate Campaign in Ohio". Archived from the original on February 9, 2010. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
  48. ^ "Real test of U.S. Senate candidate Jennifer Brunner coming soon". cleveland. January 19, 2010.
  49. ^ "Election 2010 Primary Results Ohio". New York Times. December 10, 2010.
  50. ^ As Ohio Goes, So Goes the Nation, Jennifer Brunner Named to Cultural Facilities Commission (Oct. 5, 2011), http://asohiogoes.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/jennifer-brunner-named-to-cultural-facilities-commission/
  51. ^ Dayton Daily News, Kasich Names Ex-elections Chief to Board (Nov. 9, 2012), http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/ohio-headlines/nS3W9/
  52. ^ Central Ohio Transit Authority, New Trustee Joins COTA Board, http://www.cota.com/News-Releases.aspx?id=301 Archived 2014-10-27 at the Wayback Machine (last visited Oct. 20, 2014)
  53. ^ Futty, John (June 4, 2013). "Court of Appeals appointee O'Grady takes the bench". The Columbus Dispatch. Columbus, Ohio. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  54. ^ a b Jarman, Josh (January 19, 2014). "12 judicial races may be on Franklin County ballot". The Columbus Dispatch. Columbus, Ohio. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  55. ^ "Certified Candidate List 2014 Primary" (PDF). Franklin County Board of Elections. March 3, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 17, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  56. ^ Gray, Kathy Lynn (November 4, 2014). "Schuster, Brunner win Franklin County court of appeals races". Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  57. ^ "Ex-Ohio elections chief Brunner seeks seat on high court". AP NEWS. August 20, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  58. ^ Ludlow, Randy. "Ohio Supreme Court: Jennifer Brunner ousts Judith French to narrow GOP majority to 4-3". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  59. ^ "Democratic Justice Jennifer Brunner vying for chief justice". AP NEWS. June 8, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  60. ^ Pelzer, Jeremy; clevel; .com (September 14, 2021). "Democrat Jennifer Brunner's campaign for Ohio Supreme Court chief justice will focus on good-government reforms". cleveland. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  61. ^ "Republicans sweep Ohio Supreme Court race". News 5 Cleveland. November 9, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  62. ^ "Law Firm Expands Services Nationally, Internationally". Hannah News Service, Inc. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  63. ^ "Brunner Quinn Goes Global". Brunner Quinn Law Firm. Archived from the original on December 18, 2013.
  64. ^ "Judicial Reform And Government Accountability". U.S. Agency for International Development. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  65. ^ "Ex-Ohio Elections Chief To Observe Egypt Vote". Associated Press. January 12, 2014. Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  66. ^ "Statewide racess – Auditor of State – Treasurer – Attorney General – Secretary of State". The Daily Sentinel (Pomeroy, OH). Newsbank. November 3, 2006. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  67. ^ Niquette, Mark (May 17, 2008). "Brunner touts value of voting at high schools – Whetstone seniors among those urged to be active at polls". The Columbus Dispatch. Newsbank. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  68. ^ Carney, Brent (March 18, 2008). "California and Ohio Secretaries of State Named 2008 JFK Profile in Courage Award Recipients – Former Mississippi Governor Honored for Lifetime Achievement". John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. Archived from the original on September 24, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  69. ^ "VoteOhio.gov - Ohio Secretary of State". www.ohiosos.gov.
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Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Ohio Secretary of State
2006 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of State of Ohio
2007–2011 		Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by Associate Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court
2021–present 		Incumbent
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