Voters who do not have a strong preference, or who belong to the party of a president running for a second term may be tempted to skip primary elections. However, there are often important judicial races on primary election ballots. Some judicial races are considered non-partisan, meaning that the candidates are not running under the banner of a political party, and there is often a limited amount of information available about candidates, which can make choosing who to vote for difficult for many voters. Consider using these research strategies to choose your next judicial candidate.
Check Bar Association Ratings
Candidates for judicial positions are usually either attorneys or current judges. As such, you should be able to find some information about them from your local bar association. Some bar associations will specifically rank candidates based on their determination of how fit they are for a position.
Browse Local Election Websites
In many states, voter information resources have been created to help voters find information about local candidates. For example, VoteforJudges.org gathers information from 13 local bar associations and media outlets in the Chicago, IL area.
Read Voter Guides
Court systems and other local authorities may publish voter guides with information about judicial candidates. For instance, the New York court system publishes biographies of local candidates, organized by county.
Check Ballotpedia
Ballotpedia does not have information on every judicial race, but it can be a good resource for some. Click on the page for your state to find when and what the next elections are, the rules for those elections, term limits, filing fees and links to other sites that may help you in your research. You can also search on individual candidate’s names to find out what information they have about that candidate.
Evaluate Candidates’ Work Experience
The jobs a candidate has held before they decided to run for office should be a matter of public record. Most judicial candidates have been judges or lawyers. You should be able to get an idea of how qualified they are for the position by investigating how many cases they have handled and what the outcome of those cases was. If any complaints have been made against them, you should also be able to find this information.
Read Local Media
Local newspapers and TV stations often cover local elections. They also publish stories about notable cases that may have involved a candidate who is running. If your local paper has an archive, you can try searching the archive for the candidate’s name. You may also want to read the letters to the editor to get a sense of what public opinion about a candidate is. Additionally, local papers may publish editorials about local elections or voter guides that can be useful. For more in-depth information, look for interviews like this one with Judge Mike Tawil.
Read the Candidates Website and Social Media Pages
Most candidates have a website for their campaign that should have information about why that candidate thinks they are qualified to hold the position they are running for. Additionally, many candidates also post information about their campaign and other subjects on their social media pages. Social media pages can be particularly good for judging how your values align with the candidate and getting a feel for their personality and the issues they feel are important.
Judges play an important role in communities. Finding information about judicial candidates can sometimes be difficult, but there are a variety of information sources available. With a little research, you can find the information you need to make an informed decision at your next judicial election.