How do you know which judges to vote for?

Judges hold a lot of power in the U.S. criminal justice system, and they’re elected in most states. But often, little information is known about judicial candidates. So The Marshall Project - Cleveland and Signal Cleveland created a guide to judge candidates in Cuyahoga County.

✍️: Doug Livingston, Brittany Hailer, Dakotah Kennedy, Rachel Dissell / The Marshall Project - Cleveland and Signal Cleveland; 🎥: Chris Vazquez & Andrew Rodriguez Calderón / The Marshall Project

Transcript:
CHRIS VAZQUEZ: Welp, I voted

JUDGE CHRIS 1: Hey, what about us?

CHRIS: Who are you?

JUDGE CHRIS 1: Ouch!

JUDGE CHRIS 2: Rude!

JUDGE CHRIS 3: We’re judge candidates.

CHRIS: I didn’t even know you could run to be a judge.

JUDGE CHRIS 1: Well, you can!

JUDGE CHRIS 2: In most U.S. states.

JUDGE CHRIS 3: Which will you pick, voter boy?

CHRIS: I’m just gonna skip this part.

JUDGE CHRIS 1: Woah.

JUDGE CHRIS 2: We’re, like, really important.

JUDGE CHRIS 3: And powerful, too.

CHRIS: I don’t know enough about you, or what you’ll do if you’re elected.

JUDGE CHRIS: Well, here in Cleveland, 23 judge candidates are on the ballot. And 14 are running unopposed.

CHRIS: Why are we focusing on Cleveland?

JUDGE CHRIS (breaking character): We have a local news team there. They and our partners heard that people needed this information, so they put a guide together.

CHRIS: But what about judge elections in other places? Won’t I just know who to vote for based on my party?

JUDGE CHRIS: Not all judicial races are partisan, if that’s how you vote.

CHRIS: Meaning?

JUDGE CHRIS: Judges don’t always run as Democrats or Republicans. Sometimes, they just run.

ELECTED OFFICIALS 1: And sometimes, voters don’t pick judges.

ELECTED OFFICIALS 2: We do.

CHRIS: But how do I decide on the ones I can vote for?

JUDGE CHRIS: You could try looking up candidates, but local news outlets used to gather this information. With fewer and fewer reporters, voters can’t rely on that. Still, you might learn about what people like and don’t like about a candidate, find news stories about their careers and personal histories, learn about their past court decisions and more.

CHRIS: So I might find a ton of information, but I also might find nothing?

JUDGE CHRIS: Welcome to the judicial election system. Want to run through it again?

CHRIS: No, I think I’m good—

JUDGE CHRIS: Loop the video!

[Rverth]

I cannot stress enough how important it is to vote for the justice you want. PLEASE VOTE AT EVERY AVALIABLE OPPORTUNITY, OR THE OPPORTUNITY WILL BE TAKEN AWAY

[TaiJustWatches]

Meanwhile, my local ballot:
Directions: Pick four judges
Options: Exactly 4 Judges to choose from 😐

[timothyhoytbsme]

Ah yes, the most consequencial positions, filled by the unknown

[toulousegoose]

I use ballotopedia and make a list. Since judges don't have party affiliation listed it gives you a list of their voting record all in one place. You're allowed to bring in a sheet of paper, so you can write down who all you want to vote for and how you want to vote on articles/bills.

[mcarp]

As a Florida voter, I found out that all the judges running for the state Supreme Court are all members of the Federalist Society. So I voted "no" to all of them.

[yaboicolleen]

I was JUST talking about this with my roommate since she voted early today! It's so frustrating!!!

[LynDewey]

I’m newly 18 and while I see incredible importance in using my right to vote I don’t even know where to start. I don’t know where to look for the information either. Channels like this are very helpful for me

[rebeccaa]

You can sometimes figure out someone's party affiliation by party endorsements alone.

[MyChannel-htxu]

If you can't find articles about judges, check out your state's bar association. They will usually have information about them.

[joaovitormatos]

As a non american, voting for judges and cabinet-level positions (like state attorney General) sounds insane to me

[iamNotHereB]

Electing judges is insane. Same with Sherrifs.

[hancocki]

Thank you for one of the most honest and creative loop transitions I have seen in a long time 😊

[katjacobs]

People can also check to see if the local bar association has published a voter’s guide.

[I.m-Me]

I have been so incredibly frustrated with this!!!

[ggad]

SO IMPORTANT! Especially since most judges rotate into Family Court, where the shady ones can and often will side with abusers. Please research judicial candidates thoroughly.

[godiwishthatwereme]

Woah finally a video about my area that’s helpful this election season 😅 I’m glad it’s coming from you guys too

[wildfire]

Especially important for North Carolina this year.

[sidoniegabrielle]

in massachusetts there's an organization called the massachusetts league of women voters that tries to collect information on every candidate so you can actually be informed when voting for people in positions you don't know that much about. you just enter your district and it'll show you all the info they have on the people on the ballot. presumably they do it for judicial elections as well as everything else, they're also super helpful for local elections where there's not many places that collect info on all the candidates onto one page. idk what the equivalents in other states are called but it's worth looking for organizations that inform voters about their choices in your state.
i really wish the little booklets that come with the ballots had more information on candidates instead of just explaining the couple of questions, it'd be really helpful. but it would also assume that the state wanted an informed populace, which.... lol

[mattwalker]

My favorite is here in Michigan. We have judges nominated based on party, but they are still all listed as nonpartisan on the ballot.

[theblurjay]

I wish I knew this existed sooner! I live in Cleveland, but I already sent in my ballot early. Will send this to friends and family though!