The Costly and Controversial Practice of Electing Judges in the US

The Wisconsin supreme court race, the most expensive state supreme court election in US history, has raised questions about why partisan groups are allowed to get involved in the selection of supposedly nonpartisan judges and why judges are directly elected at all. Thirty-eight states elect the people who sit on their highest courts in some way, and judges often have the last word on major policy decisions in their states. While some states have moved towards merit selections, the vast majority of state judges are still selected through judicial elections. The increased political spending in these races has led to concerns about the influence of money on judicial election campaigns and the potential impact on how judges rule once elected to the bench.