Should Texas Should Retain The Partisan Election Of Judges

In this essay, I will explain why Texas should retain the partisan election of judges. Texas is one of the few states that choose their judges using a Partisan voting method. Partisan elections can be unreliable and deceitful. A high legal position such as a judge should never be chosen in such a manner. Judges are not chosen based on merit or skills. Partisan elections do not represent the population accurately. The public is usually uninformed about the candidates they choose. In addition, partisan elections cost more than many other election methods. Therefore, Partisanship voting does not belong in the courts of Texas and Texas should make the changes needed to improve the system.

First, partisan elections cost more than nonpartisan elections due to the campaigning expense. The states that have the highest campaign cost are those that hold partisan judicial elections. In nonpartisan elections, one does not have to campaign for the political party in order to win. The voters must do their own research on the candidates and decide on who they wish to vote for. In partisan elections, judges are not chosen based on merit or skills but based on their political party. So, Democratic and
Straight ticket voting assumes candidates of the same party have identical beliefs to the party’s beliefs. Straight ticket voting also assumes that party association ensures that the candidates are qualified for the position. However, the party affiliation does not guarantee qualification as a judge. Another problem with straight ticket voting is that most people do not know the candidates and vote for people they might not support if they knew more about them. Lastly, straight ticket voting does not vet their candidates from each political party. Texas is one of the only two states that re-elects its judges in partisan elections casting a straight-ticket