Ohio county government

Ohio county government is the structure of official managerial and legal bodies of the counties of Ohio, USA. It is marked by a loose organization and a diffusion of power, the basic framework not having been changed since the Nineteenth century. The Ohio Constitution allows counties to set up a charter government as many cities and villages do, but only Summit and Cuyahoga counties have done so. Counties operating under a constitutional government do not possess home rule powers and can do only what has been expressly authorized by the Ohio General Assembly. However, Article X of the Ohio Constitution gives county government benefits similar to those conferred on cities and villages under the home rule amendments of 1912.

Eighty-six of Ohio's 88 counties (all except Summit in 1981 and Cuyahoga in 2011) have the following elected officials as provided by statute:

All of these officials are elected to four-year terms in November of even-numbered years after being nominated in partisan primary elections. One commissioner and the auditor are elected in the same year as the governor in one cycle; the other two commissioners and the other officials are elected in the same year as the president of the United States. The clerk, coroner, prosecutor, recorder, and sheriff begin their terms on the first Monday in January. The auditor's term begins on the second Monday in March. The treasurer's term begins on the first Monday in September. The commissioner who is elected with the governor begins his term on January 1. Of the other two seats, one term begins on January 2 and the second on January 3.

Any citizen of Ohio and the United States who is 18 years of age or older and lives in the county may run for commissioner, auditor, treasurer, clerk of courts, or recorder. The other offices have specific additional requirements: candidates for prosecutor must be licensed to practice law; candidates for coroner must be licensed to practice medicine for two years; candidates for engineer must be both licensed surveyors and engineers; and candidates for sheriff must have either a two-year college degree or five years of supervisory experience in law enforcement.

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