By Richard Winger On April 20, the North Carolina House passed HB 8 by a vote of 69-48. It converts elections for Justice of the Supreme Court, and Judges on State Appeals Courts, from non-partisan elections to partisan elections. These judicial elections had been partisan in the past, but were converted to non-partisan elections effective with the 2004 election.
Other states with partisan judicial races for State Supreme Court are Alabama, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Michigan and Ohio political parties do nominate judicial candidates, but the ballot omits party labels. West Virginia had partisan elections for those offices, but …read more