my ballot has six judges listed, asking if each should be retained

[orleans]

i do NOT want to vote for someone who is R

i'm googling and can't really find anything on most of them.
ballotready . org isn't showing any detail about any of these judges (no party affiliation)


what do voters do in this case?

[Wishful-Thinking]

1. I have the same question...

Thanks for asking!

[unc70]

2. Which states?

[orleans]

19. illinois nt

[Sympthsical]

3. Check local newspapers

There are often election write ups about the people on the ballot.

Also, find out if an organization you support and trust has a voter guide.

[brooklynite]

4. Which State?

[orleans]

20. IL nt

[brooklynite]

26. The Supreme Court is currently 4D-3R

3rd District: Mary Jane Theis (D) up for retention (likely D rating)
3rd District: Michael J. Burke (R) vs Mary O'Brien (D)
2nd District: Elizabeth M. Rochford (D) vs Mark Curran (R) (Lead R rating)

[orleans]

30. not for supreme court

[iemanja]

5. all of the judges on my ballot are uncontested

so I'm not voting for any of them.

[Johnny2X2X]

6. Call your local Democratic Party

They'll let you know if they recommend any of those judges.

[vanlassie]

7. This. 👆

[Johnny2X2X]

9. It's actually thread worthy

I get calls from my local Democratic Party and they asked me about judges, a lot of judges won't list party, so you have to be prepared to know who to vote for before getting there. Getting a list of judges your party supports is important.

[JustAnotherGen]

13. +1

[dameatball]

11. Yup. Do this. You can also google them and find out who appointed them if that might help.

[we can do it]

27. Was just going to suggest this.

[Chainfire]

8. Here we get them listed independently, and they are, in theory, non-partisan.

I bet half of the people generally just skip that part of the ballot.

[orleans]

21. the ballot site i linked to in op says they are non partisan -- but

a google search turned up 2 or 3 that showed more detail of them and that they were republican.

i don't trust this non partisan thing--especially in this era

[In It to Win It]

10. What state are you in? Even though they are facing retention, were they ever appointed?

If so, go by who appointed them.

[jimfields33]

16. A lot of mine were appointed by Charlie crist.

But he was a republican then. Do I vote against the judges he chose while voting for him for governor. It’s so weird.

[In It to Win It]

18. I'm also in Florida. I will be voting against every Crist, DeSantis, and Scott appointee

Especially for our state supreme court. If I recall correctly, Crist said he regrets appointing Canady and Polston to the Supreme Court.

I will not be voting to retain them.

All 5 state supreme court justices that are facing a retention election this year must be voted out. It's possible to take the governor's mansion and gain a majority on the state supreme court in this election.

[jimfields33]

28. That's what I will do as well.

I didn’t realize crist mentioned ones he doesn’t support now. Your post was so helpful. Thank you!!

[AmBlue]

32. Me three!

Last edited Fri Oct 7, 2022, 08:37 AM - Edit history (1)

I really appreciate knowing about these Florida judges and will vote accordingly. Ya'll are a virtual wealth of information!!

[Ligyron]

37. Me four!

I’ve actually been dreading this task of trying to figure out what’s what with the judges.

This really helps thanks!

[Hekate]

12. I'm surprised to be the first Rec, as this is an important question

Try the local Dems. I used to have access to a local liberal weekly whose endorsements I respected — but even the comments of a lesser paper will give you something to go on: “We love it because he believes in trying juveniles as adults” gives you a strong heads-up.

I hope others can give you more concrete advice.

[JustAnotherGen]

14. Contact your local Democratic Committee Members

In NJ - we are easily found as we are elected by the party during our primaries every two years. See if you can find who was on your local party ballot - and contact them. They will know and have the info at hand to help you make the best decision possible for your own interests.

[orleans]

22. i'll look up the local dem org and give them a call

two years ago i was checking websites of various surrounding towns (for the democratic party) and there was NOTHING on their websites about judges. i think one town/area had a list of the judges that would appear on the ballot but did not specify who was safe to vote for and who wasn't. it was absolutely no help just telling me they were all on the ballot b/c i was looking at my mail in ballot.

[rsdsharp]

15. We have retention elections in my state. The governor appoints the judges

choosing between two or three nominees put forward by a judicial nominating committee. If your state is similar, google the judge and find out which governor appointed them.

[orleans]

24. i'm illinois. i googled to see who appointed them. it shows they were elected so that isn't helping

but it was a good idea

[Elessar Zappa]

17. I googled my state

and it took me to a link on ballotpedia.org. Try that and see if you can find anything.

[FakeNoose]

23. If you have a local (or state) LWV website you should find good info there

They used to call themselves "League of Women Voters" but now they go by LWV because lots of men support them too. It's non-partisan or bi-partisan group and they have good info for local & state elections.

You should understand that sitting judges - whether Federal or State - should not have any affiliation to any political party. That's why it's difficult to know where their politics lie. Sometimes I've been able to search judges out and learn who appointed them, but the info is not always available. It's frustrating sometimes.

Good luck

[demmiblue]

25. In addition to the above comments, google their names plus the word endorsements.

Or go to their websites to see if they have their endorsements listed.

[orleans]

31. the word endorsements got me across the finish line

2 of judges googled showed they were republicans

1 was originally appointed by a republican governor

1 had a controversial ruling that allowed a nonvaxed dr. have temporary privileges so he was able to access a local hospital and give a covid patient ivermectin (in november 2021) -- i'm just gonna assume that judge is an R

and the final 2?
i used the word endorsement.
lol -- i didn't find anyone endorsing either of them, BUT they were both on a website for another judge that was clearly a republican, endorsed by republican mayors, republican parties in various towns, AND the two judges i was looking for were endorsing this other republican! (so, once again i'm just gonna assume those two are republicans)

[crickets]

29. K&R for the post and the discussion.

This is a a timely thread about a common source of confusion. I have the same issue with wondering about whether to vote for certain judges or not, and the ideas presented here are appreciated.

[USALiberal]

33. Caps??

[Sancho]

34. Check your local unions for recommendations...

...they usually vet the candidates.

[A HERETIC I AM]

35. Ballotpedia can help.

I had the same issue with the ballot here in NE Florida.

Ballotpedia gives a good overview of each candidate, but Judges sometimes are listed as “Nonpartisan”, so looking at their associations and biographies can give clues as to their political leanings.

https://ballotpedia.org/Main_Page

[Emile]

36. I always vote them out!