Re: “Politics shouldn’t skew judicial selection” (editorial, 9-17).
I would add an additional solution to that given in your editorial. Two states, North Carolina and New Mexico, have adopted pubic financing for statewide judicial races in order to keep politics from skewing their elections.
North Carolina has the longest history of using public funding for those candidates who choose to use it. In 2004, four of the five winners of appellate court seats used public funding for their campaigns. In 2006, eight of 12 candidates used the program, including five of the six winners.
In 2005, a poll conducted by the North Carolina Center for Voter Education, a Republican voting firm, found 74 percent of North Carolina voters approved the new system while 18 percent opposed it.
It is estimated that here in Washington it would cost 50 cents per resident to provide effective public funding for state supreme court candidates willing to use a public funding system.
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