Uncertain ruling for judiciary party labels

Some say voters might become better equipped to cast their ballots in judicial elections, as N.C. House Bill 8 outlines the addition of partisan labels next to candidates’ names.

The bill would affect elections for the N.C. Supreme Court and the N.C. Court of Appeals, and supporters argue it aims to provide more contextual information to voters.

N.C. Sen. Andrew Brock, R-Davie, said he hopes the addition of partisan labels will improve the decision-making of voters — especially students — when they are unaware of the candidates.

In the current system, Brock said he is unsure how voters cast their ballots when they cannot identify the candidate.

“A lot of times, when people go in and they don’t know who to vote for, either they’ll guess, or maybe they like the name better,” he said.

Michael Crowell, a professor at the UNC School of Government, said judges often receive less attention from voters because they are so low on the ballot.

“A lot of people don’t even know the judicial races, and most don’t know anything about their candidates,” he said.

Maggie Bill, a UNC junior, said labels could help people who rarely keep up with judicial elections.

“I don’t know anything about the judges in North Carolina, to be honest,” Bill said. “I definitely think (partisan labels) would help how I vote just because I don’t know much about it in the first place.”

Brock said he doubts the bill will politicize judicial elections.

“It doesn’t make for partisan elections, it just identifies them,” he said. “I think for the most part people are just looking for a way to make an informed vote.”

But partisan labels might interfere with judges’ impartiality and independence, said John Lappie, a post-doctoral research associate at Rice University.

“There’s really this tension between independence in the judiciary — that they should be insulated from public pressure, and their accountability — that they should be responsive to the public,” Lappie said.

While partisan elections maximize the accountability of candidates through competition, Lappie said it might take a toll on their wallets — which might give influence to private interest groups with larger budgets.

Crowell said Republican majorities in the N.C. legislature should also be taken into account.

“I assume that Republican legislators believe that this will help Republican candidates for judicial candidates for judicial offices,” Crowell said.

Brock said that partisan labels could increase efforts to remain impartial. Judges are already expected to dismiss themselves from cases that present a conflict of interest, he said.

“The party identification almost may make (judges) go against the party even if it is more legitimate of a case (not to),” he said.

Brock said he does not foresee any major roadblocks to the bill’s passage.

“I think it’ll pass; it’ll do well. A lot of people have asked for it on both sides — Republicans and Democrats.”

Crowell said the ultimate question is not information, but whether judges should even be elected.

“I can tell you that for everybody — every student commission, every bar association group, everyone who’s looked at the issue for the last 50 years — has recommended that judges be appointed rather than elected,” Crowell said. “But it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen any time soon.”

state@dailytarheel.com