OHIO STATE JOURNAL ON DISPUTE RESOLUTION (Vol. 27:2 2012( directly to the State Supreme Court. 25 In Nebraska, one district court is designated to hear all election disputes. 26 In Ohio, contests involving races for statewide office are heard by the Chief Justice of the State Supreme CourtP Some states make use of judicial panels, perhaps demonstrating a recognition that election disputes are both too important and too political to be entrusted to one judge. In Iowa, the Chief Justice of the Iowa State Supreme Court selects three district judges to make up a panel to hear disputes in statewide elections, and selects four district judges to sit with him or her to hear disputes regarding elections_ for national office, including presidential electors.2 8 For ballot initiatives, Iowa's resolution-by-panelsystem ventures even further from standard judicial resolution: the contesting party nominates one panelist, the county commissioner nominates an opposing panelist, and the two nominated panelists mutually agree on a third person, all three of whom sit together to adjudicate the dispute. 29 The range of alternatives to standard litigation indicates dissatisfaction among the states with traditional adjudication as the sole method of resolving election disputes. By allowing county and state administrative boards to resolve local election disputes, holding special legislative sessions, or convening special judicial panels, states routinely acknowledge that some election disputes are ill-suited, for a variety of reasons, to standard litigation. While litigation remains a default solution, states appear open to exploring alternative methods to reach more efficient and satisfying results. Although there has been increasing interest in the use of ADR in election disputes, mediation has not been promoted in the post-election context. The next section examines likely reasons why. III. THE DRAWBACKS OF MEDIATION IN THE POST-ELECTION CONTEXT Good mediators work with parties to help them understand their interests and generate options to meet those interests. A skilled mediator can help parties identify their interests even if they came to the table armed only with 25 10 ILL. CoMP. STAT. ANN. 5/23-l.la (LexisNexis 2011) ("[t]he Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction over contests of the results of any election, including a primary, for an elected officer provided for in Article V of the Constitution, and shall retain jurisdiction throughout the course of such election contests."). 2 6 NEB. REv. STAT. ANN.§ 32-1102 (LexisNexis 2011). 2 7 OHIO REv. CODE ANN.§ 35.1508(B) {LexisNexis 2011). 28 IOWA CODE§ 61.1, 60.1 (LexisNexis 2011). 29 IOWA CODE§ 57.1 (LexisNexis 2011). 330 HeinOnline -- 27 Ohio St. J. on Disp. Resol. 330 2012