We at Minnesota Lawyer were interested in how members of the general public decide whom to cast their ballot for in judicial elections, so we sent intrepid associate editor Barbara Jones -- along with our one-man video crew -- on the road to find out. They stopped off at a polling place in downtown Minneapolis to talk with some voters. As you will find out from this video, judicial election choices can be like sausages, those who love them may not want to see how they are made ...
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4 comments:
I researched the judge candidates so I knew who I was planning to vote for. But I work for the Judicial Branch. However, half a dozen friends and families called me to ask who to vote for, and I gladly gave them my recommendations. I even researched the races in other districts so I could give sound advice. Your blog is a great argument for switching to a yes/no retention model of judicial elections.
Agree 100% - Joe and Jenny Six Pack shouldn't be choosing judges. The retention model is the way to go and I hope that is changed soon.
I agree. Judicial appointments are much too important to be left to ordinary voters. Once we have a sound system whereby respected, intelligent, upright lawyers pick our judges for us, we can implement a system where those judges pick our Presidents, Governors, Senators, Mayors, city councils, school boards, park commissioners, dog catchers, etc. etc. Joe and Jenny Six Pack, Joe the Plumber and 106-year-old grannies simply don't have the smarts to choose their own representatives intelligently. Heck, let's scrap the whole Constitution and pick us a King while we're at it. Democracy is far too complicated to be left to the people. At least there should be a literacy test or a poll tax or a property requirement or something.
I have to admit I walked into the polls knowing nothing about the soil and water commissioners up for election. I bet Joe the Plumber would have done better than I did on those ...
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