Voting for state judges can feel like a ‘guessing game.’ Start here

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A woman drops off a ballot

(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

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Why is voting for state judges such a headache?

By now, many voters in L.A. County and across the state have received their sample ballots and even official ballots to begin filling out.

It’s not difficult to find information on the presidential race, state and national congressional contests or ballot measures to review before making your decision.

But there’s one section of our ballots known to generate confusion and frustration: Choosing California Superior Court judges.

Those state offices typically aren’t decided by voters, as most judges are appointed by the governor. And once on the bench, incumbents rarely face a challenge for their seat.

Illustration of an inclusive swath of voters standing at voting booths.

(Li Anne Liew / For The Times)

I’ve heard from many people who have established their own voting systems over the years: always filling the first or second bubble; alternating between the two; voting only for candidates identified as prosecutors; selecting only those listed as public defenders; or just skipping the section altogether.

Judicial races were among the frustrating parts of the democratic process our readers mentioned in our citizens agenda survey or in follow-up emails.

“We do not receive any viable information on voting for judges,” L.A. resident Aida Sandoval shared.

“Judge races are a guessing game,” wrote August Steurer from Santa Monica. “It’s hard for them to campaign effectively.”

“Doing a long search for information on each candidate, one at a time, is impractical even for a retiree and ridiculous for anyone currently working and raising kids,” said Michael Shannon of Huntington Beach.

Even though information is scant, it matters whom we pick to be judges.

“People end up in courtrooms more than they think,” said Jessica Levinson, professor of constitutional and election law at Loyola Law School. She noted that individuals, their family or friends can face a number of legal situations, like divorce, a business dispute or criminal prosecution.

“Then your judge makes a world of difference in your life,” she said. “The vast majority of people who end up in a courtroom will end up in a state trial court, and they want to know that they can get a fair shake by a learned jurist.”

But judicial candidates face some limitations that people running for other offices don’t.

Judges are expected to be nonpartisan and their campaign ethics guidelines discourage candidates for the office from expressing political views, party affiliations or critiquing their opponents. It makes sense that our judges be impartial, but it does present a challenge to voters who tend to fill out their ballots based on political ideology.

“Candidates for judge are not permitted to discuss things that voters want to know about candidates for other offices, like: ‘What are you going to do once you get elected? How will you rule?’” Times editorial writer Robert Greene explained. “Every judge’s argument basically comes down to one thing: ‘I will be fair.’”

Greene is also a member of the Times Editorial Board, which operates separately from our newsroom. His advice: Cast your ballots on a case-by-case basis and don’t “focus as much on ideology,” since the vast majority of California’s judges aren’t elected, but appointed. Only 5% to 10% are chosen by voters, he said.

“Imagine if you only got to elect 5 to 10% of the Legislature and all the other members were appointed by the governor,” he said. “You’re not going to change the balance on the court all that much.”

What should people know to make informed decisions? Where can they find it?

One of the few resources L.A. voters have: Candidate ratings made by the Los Angeles County Bar Assn. (LACBA) which, despite its name, is not actually affiliated with the State Bar of California.

LACBA’s Judicial Elections Evaluation Committee undertakes an extensive review process with each candidate, including questionnaires, interviews and references.

Each is then ranked as either: “exceptionally well qualified,” “well qualified,” “qualified” or “not qualified.” This year’s rankings and more details about the evaluation process can be found in this report.

For this election, LACBA did not rank any candidate “exceptionally well qualified,” but several were deemed to be “well qualified.” That’s defined as candidates found to have “experience, competence, integrity and temperament indicative of superior fitness to perform the judicial function with a high degree of skill and effectiveness.”

“Qualified” candidates have those same attributes, but only at a satisfactory level, according to the committee’s standards.

The committee’s investigations into each candidate are confidential, so voters can’t judge the findings for themselves — only the final determination of the panel.

While it’s one of the few resources voters have to get a sense of candidates’ qualifications, LACBA’s ratings have faced criticism. Previous candidates have accused the committee of bias, arguing that it’s mostly white men, prosecutors and corporate lawyers doing the evaluating.

“It’s not that it is a perfect place to look,” Levinson said, but “it is the best place we have.”

Another resource voters find useful are endorsements from political leaders, organizations or newspaper editorial boards such as the one at The Times, which shared its endorsements last month.

“We do our best to do our homework to figure out who would be the best judge,” Greene told me.

That includes watching candidates arguing cases in court and talking with other lawyers, along with bailiffs, court reporters and clerks.

Should we stop electing judges?

Levinson thinks so. She wrote as much in an Op-Ed for The Times in 2014, writing that state judges should all be appointed by the governor, as most of their peers in other courts are. She argues that judges should not have to contend with political pressure.

“You want judges to look at the facts and look at the law and make a decision regardless of how it could play in a future election,” Levinson told me.

Plus, the current process puts an unfair burden on voters, she explained:

“We spend so much time telling people to engage and vote. And then once people do, you open up the ballot and [it’s] very difficult to sort out. We basically drag people kicking and screaming to the polls, and then we don’t provide them with a lot of help once they’re there.”

Looking at the judicial races and scratching your head?

Many of California’s 58 counties don’t have judge races on the ballot this year, a sign of the power of incumbency. But there are at least a couple of benches up for grabs outside L.A. That includes Office No. 4 in Riverside County, where prosecutors Gerald Pfohl and Elizabeth Tucker are running; and the race for Office No. 5 Santa Clara County between prosecutors Jay Boyarsky and Johnene Linda Stebbins.

And for L.A. County voters, here’s a bit more info on the local contests that could help inform your decision-making process.

Office No. 39

Office No. 48

Office No. 97

Office No. 135

Office No. 137

Today’s top stories

A photo of the Golden Gate Bridge with the San Francisco skyline in the background.

(Josh Edelson / For The Times)

Tech titans pour millions of dollars into the San Francisco mayor’s race, hoping to set the city on a new course

  • Wealthy industry leaders see a chance to boost more centrist politics in this famously liberal city, backing moderate Democrats who have vowed to dismantle tent encampments and bolster police powers.
  • The race’s sole progressive candidate is seen as an underdog with more San Francisco residents rejecting the city’s far-left image.

A man arrested at a Trump rally in Coachella denied he was plotting an assassination

  • The man told The Times he brought weapons to the rally for self-protection and threatened to sue the Riverside County sheriff, who had claimed his deputies “probably stopped another assassination attempt.”
  • Authorities investigating the armed man have found no evidence so far that he was planning to try to kill Trump, sources told The Times.

A program for struggling Black students at LAUSD is upended after a civil rights complaint from a conservative Virginia group

After thousands of fish were found dead in Kern River, state officials back environmentalists in a court case

  • California Attorney General Rob Bonta and other officials joined a legal effort to restore water to the Kern River after an abrupt shutoff dried up the river and killed thousands of fish in Bakersfield.
  • In other environmental news, the Western burrowing owl, which nests underground, is closer to being designated as an endangered species by the state.

What else is going on

  • Vice President Kamala Harris will do her first Fox News interview on Wednesday.
  • Troubled L.A. financial services firm B. Riley is selling its liquidation business to lower its debt and recover from a scandal that spooked investors.
  • The Dodger lost to the Mets in Game 2 of the NLCS after the team’s bullpen game blew up in grand fashion.
  • Most Californians can expect cooler temperatures for the next few days, but the risk of wildfires remains.
  • Outfest, the struggling nonprofit that had hosted a prominent Los Angeles LGBTQ+ film festival, faces a defamation lawsuit from its former executive director.

Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.

Commentary and opinions

  • Trump flipped on EVs, but he still loathes windmills. That’s a problem for California, columnist Doyle McManus writes.
  • Is there room for a non-MAGA Republican in Trump’s GOP? This purple patch of Oregon will tell, columnist Mark Z. Barabak writes.
  • Skipping your COVID booster could reduce your IQ, write Ian Ayres, a professor at Yale Law School, and Lisa Sanders, a professor and the director of Yale’s Multidisciplinary Long Covid Care Center.

This morning’s must reads

A photo of Mary Serritella, 71, performing in front of a live audience during the Comedy Pole Show at the Bourbon Room.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

This 71-year-old pole dancer defies expectations — and gravity — in an age-obsessed L.A. “I just didn’t want to absorb that ‘I can’t’ attitude,” said Mary Serritella, who started pole dancing at 57 and is inspiring others who are decades her junior.

Other must reads

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected].

For your downtime

Aerial view of the corn maze at the Cool Patch Pumpkins in Dixon.

(Taylor Cooley)

Going out

Staying in

And finally … what’s your favorite restaurant in California?

Elsa writes: “Foreign Cinema in SF! Why? It’s always filled with cheerful diners in an open, welcoming space (either indoor or outdoor). And it has an inventive menu of seasonal dishes plus favorite old standbys. A film, a small art gallery and a lively cocktail bar? Who could ask for anything more?”

Wallis writes: “Chúla Artisan Eatery in La Quinta is my favorite for original Mexican food! Check it out for a delicious brunch or lunch, plus Joshua Tree coffee!”

And Barry writes: “Tadich Grill in San Francisco. This is THE restaurant that is truly ‘essential California.’ Old, been around forever, little changes, the place I take out of towners and the place I’ve gone since my childhood. There’s simply no other like it!”

What’s your favorite restaurant? Feel free to email us at [email protected], and your response might be included in the newsletter this week.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Andrew Campa, Sunday reporter
Hunter Clauss, multiplatform editor
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.

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