He became president in 1963 after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. .map(categoryPreference => parseInt(categoryPreference.split(':')[0], 10)); As arbiters of our nation's laws, judges play an indispensable and honorable role. ', window.location); Originally, the Congress consisted of both elected and appointed officials, but the passage of the 17th Amendment led to the popular election of senators. In the end, the question really centers on the job we believe judges are doing. He was the only president not to belong to a political party. The Constitution grants state governors the power to appoint Congressional replacements when an elected Congressman dies. This can lead to a situation where judges are out of touch with the needs and values of the community. Given these two facts, this website attempts to inform voters about the judicial candidates that are running for office. And finally, reformers argued that judgesas their own independent branch of governmentshould derive their power and their legitimacy directly from the voters, and not be dependent upon the other two branches. The country was becoming bigger and more anonymous; voters no longer knew the names of the judicial candidates on the ballot. If a candidate wins that state's popular vote, then he or she takes all of that state's electors in the electoral college. In the 1940s, some states began experimenting with retention electionsknown as merit selection as a compromise between appointments and competitive elections. Jason has taught Political Science courses for college. Gubernatorial appointment. Elected judges are also believed to be more in tune with public sentiment. The first objection is that voters are simply unqualified to choose their own judges. But there is growing evidence that money not only helps shape the ideological composition of courts but also puts direct pressure on the decisions judges make. Special Interest Groups | Overview, Types & Examples, What Is Common Law? The leader of the Supreme Court is called the chief justice. All political leaders are governmental leaders, but not all government leaders are political leaders. Government leaders who are bureaucrats achieve their power through a series of promotions throughout their careers. This system allows for both elected and appointed judges. Supporters of judicial elections still cite two of the original arguments from the early 19th century: first, that the judiciary deserves (and requires) independence from the other two branches, and second, that in a democratic society, government officials who wield this amount of power should be chosen byand answerable tothe electorate. mps.response.dart.adunits[i].data = ''; If you require such advice, we recommend consulting a licensed financial or tax advisor. Commentary by Steve Odland, CEO of the Committee for Economic Development and former CEO of Office Depot and AutoZone. Create your account. return false; Legislative elections. // execute Taxpayer money is saved when appointing officials, This can lead to a judiciary that is more representative of the community it serves. d.setTime(d.getTime() + 60 * 60 * 24 * 30 * 1000); var _regex = /([^=&/<>()[].,;:s@"]+(.[^=&/<>()[].,;:s@"]+)*)@(([[0-9]{1,3}.[0-9]{1,3}.[0-9]{1,3}.[0-9]{1,3}])|(([a-zA-Z-0-9]+. } 5 Significance. The Democratic and Republican parties are the two main political parties in the United States. };