Anita Laster Mays

Anita Laster Mays (Democratic Party) is a judge of the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals. She assumed office in 2015. Her current term ends on February 11, 2027.

Mays (Democratic Party) is running for re-election for judge of the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals. She declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on May 5, 2026.^[source]

Elections[edit]

2026[edit]

General election

The primary will occur on May 5, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals

Incumbent Anita Laster Mays (D) is running in the Democratic primary for Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals on May 5, 2026.

		Candidate
		Anita Laster Mays

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Republican primary

Republican primary for Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals

Anthony Alto (R) is running in the Republican primary for Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals on May 5, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Anthony Alto

	There are no incumbents in this race.
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Endorsements[edit]

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2020[edit]

General election

General election for Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals

Incumbent Anita Laster Mays won election in the general election for Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Anita Laster Mays (Nonpartisan)	100.0	324,766

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 324,766
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals

Incumbent Anita Laster Mays advanced from the Democratic primary for Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals on April 28, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Anita Laster Mays	100.0	92,609

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 92,609
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Campaign finance[edit]

2014[edit]

See also: Ohio judicial elections, 2014
Mays ran for election to the Eighth District Court of Appeals.
Primary: She was successful in the Democratic primary on May 6, 2014, receiving 58.8 percent of the vote. She competed against Brian J. Corrigan.
General: She was unopposed in the general election on November 4, 2014. ^[1]^[2]

Cleveland bar association ratings[edit]

According to the compiled results at Judge4Yourself.com, Mays received an average rating of 2.75 out of 4 by local Cleveland bar associations in 2014. Those broke down as:

Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association: Adequate
Cuyahoga Criminal Defense Lawyers Association: Good
Norman S. Minor Bar Association: Excellent
Ohio Women's Bar Association: Adequate^[3]

Campaign themes[edit]

2026[edit]

Ballotpedia survey responses

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2020[edit]

Anita Laster Mays did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary[edit]

Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.

Education[edit]

Mays received her undergraduate degree in accounting and information management systems from the Ohio State University and her J.D. from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.^[4]

Career[edit]

Mays started her legal career in private practice. She then went on to serve as an assistant prosecutor for the City of Cleveland and as an attorney for the Cleveland Municipal Court’s Domestic Violence Coordinating Council and the DUI Committee. In l996, Mays became the director of operations for the criminal division of the Clerk of Courts Office. She was then elected to the Cleveland Municipal Court in Cuyahoga County in November 2003 and re-elected in November 2009. She served on the municipal court until her election to the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals.^[4]^[5]

Awards and associations[edit]

Member, Ohio Supreme Court Specialized Docket Advisory Board
3R Board member, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
Former secretary/vice-president/president, Northern Ohio Municipal Judges Association
Former member, Ohio Supreme Court's Education Committee ^[4]

External links[edit]

Search Google News for this topic

Officeholder

Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals

Personal

Footnotes[edit]

Ohio courts

Federal courts:

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Ohio • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Ohio

State courts:

Ohio Supreme Court • Ohio District Courts of Appeal • Ohio Courts of Common Pleas • Ohio County Courts • Ohio Municipal Courts • Ohio Court of Claims

State resources:

Courts in Ohio • Ohio judicial elections • Judicial selection in Ohio

[elec-1] Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "2014 Candidate List," February 26, 2014

[prim-2] Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "Unofficial Race Results All - May 6, 2014 Primary Election," accessed June 22, 2014

[3] Judge4Yourself.com, "2014 Democratic Primary Ratings," accessed June 22, 2014

[bio-4] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 Cleveland Municipal Court, "Judge Anita Laster Mays," accessed June 22, 2014

[5] Office of the Ohio Secretary of State, "Judiciary Election Roster 2009-2010," accessed June 22, 2014

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[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

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