I voted against retaining any of the state or county judges on the ballot for performance review this year. I used to do the same thing as a voter in Illinois.
I always felt a little guilty for voting against all of them. I felt like perhaps I didn’t do my homework as a voter to learn where they stand on the issues. But why would I? Such information is not widespread or easily accessible. If I had an attorney friend, I would ask them about the judges. They would know.
But if judges were elected, they would have to campaign and be held accountable. During a campaign, voters theoretically would get to know about the judges’ values.
Scholars differ on whether appointed or elected judges are better for democracy. According to the Colorado Judicial Institute website, “Judges in Colorado are selected based on their skills and qualifications in a process known as judicial merit selection. When there is a vacancy for a judge’s position, people who want the job apply to a group known as a judicial nominating commission.”