judgesonmerit.org

The Herald Standard of Uniontown, PA  calls for Pennsylvania to adopt Merit Selection for the appellate courts.  Rejecting the current electoral system, the editorial argues:

Electing appellate court judges is Pennsylvania’s version of “Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Moe.” Voters blindly select candidates based on extraneous factors such as gender, ethnicity, home county (which appears on the ballot), party endorsement and ballot position.

The editorial goes on to criticize the electoral process in which it is difficult for voters to make meaningful decisions about candidates and in which success is too often tied to factors unrelated to qualifications to serve on the bench.  This, combined with the role of party politics and the influence of campaign contributions, leads the Herald Standard to proclaim:

We join organizations such as Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts and the Pennsylvania Bar Association in calling for merit selection of appellate judges.

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