Straight ticket voters send most Republican judges packing

[DogPoundPup]

Source: khou.com

HOUSTON -- Harris County voters sent 21 Republican judges packing Tuesday. Only four incumbents held onto their jobs.

Most Republican judges will soon be leaving their courtrooms behind.

Most voters have never heard of Brock Thomas, Mark Davidson or Sherolyn Wood. They likely voted against them simply because they're Republican.

Few voters do their homework when it comes to judicial races, so they choose according to political party.

Experts said straight ticket voters are responsible for the shift of power. That's exactly why some states are removing the option of straight ticket voting.

Read more: http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou081105_mh_republican_judges.18437ef96.html

[Tarheel_Dem]

1. In NC, judges are "unaffiliated", so you have to vote for them separately.

I don't understand why they would want to remove the straight ticket option, for those of us who like that option. I think that should be left to the voters.

[Doctor Cynic]

7. I think straight ticket voting should be banned altogether.

You're voting for the person, not necessarily the party. If you're such a partisan hack you can always check the Democrat on every page. Besides, not all Democrats are good people.

Judges should not be elected given that they are supposed to be impartial. But that's another issue.

[Tarheel_Dem]

8. Whatever. I think a plurality of the electorate should make that decision.

Not you, and not me.

[barbtries]

11. also in NC,

i voted straight ticket and learned after the election from a co-worker that the democratic candidate for sec of agriculture is a "perennial candidate" who simply throws his name onto the ballot without necessarily knowing anything about the job. he lost but my co-worker said it was very close.

what i don't get is why the NC dem party still endorsed the straight party ticket - they must have known that. i think we'd be better off having to choose who we want for each race even though it would take more time.

[Cirque du So-What]

2. The Repuke brand is damaged goods

so they can attempt to run by doing away with straight-ticket ballots, but many voters will seek out and destroy the 'R's - no matter where they hide. These people figure that judges who identify with the puke party are more likely to side with corporations over individuals...or possibly use a penis pump while on the bench.

[BanTheGOP]

3. If they were COMPETENT judges in the FIRST place...

...they wouldn't have run as republicans in the first place! 'Nuff said.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

4. In Texas the judges are elected by party affiliation.

I used to work at the courthouse. We have not had any Democratic judges, trial or appellate, in Harris Co. since about 1996.

Now, I think that 22 out of 26 District Judges that were up for re-election this year, 22 of them went Democratic. WE also have a new Democratic County Attorney and Democratic Sheriff.

There are 59 district judges in Harris County, so 22 is a good start.

The woman who won the DA's office, Patricia Lykos, is a Repuke who used to be a criminal district judge. Everybody hates her because she terrorizes her staff. Nobody who works for her is ever good enough, whether clerks, coordinators, court reporters, prosecutors, process servers, or bailiffs. She is also a drunk and left her staff & a roomful of lawyers waiting for her to drag her butt onto the bench about 10:30 am for docket call--every single weekday.


She once got on my case for being tired after a hard day of selecting a jury and hit me in the head with a rolled up piece of paper. She also lied to a meeting of the district judges and said I was imcompetent and was not to be hired again. She had judicial immunity and I could do nothing about it except wait for it to blow over.

[Indenturedebtor]

5. Good. Pukes tend to side with Corporations over Citizens n/t

[burrowowl]

6. Did Harris County go Democratic!

Amazing if it did.

[PDittie]

13. Strongly.

Obama won the nation's third-largest county with 50%+ (first Democrat to do so since LBJ in '64). Democrats also captured 30 of 35 county executives and judicials, including sheriff, county attorney, and county clerk ...

http://brainsandeggs.blogspot.com/2008/11/good-bad-and-ugly-from-yesterday-good.html

[evilkumquat]

9. Get Rid of Party Affiliation on Ballots, Too

Make people actually do a modicum of homework before voting, so at least they'll know who or what they're voting for.

It's too easy to go down the ticket and just circle whoever has a (D) or an (R) next to their name.

Here in my area of Indiana at least, most of the political ads, posters and billboards didn't list the candidate's party on them. The Democrats seldom do because there's so much prejudice against us, while this time around, the Republicans knew their brand was shit.

Can you imagine what Indiana could have looked like (where we went Blue for Obama, yet every single Republican won every other race) if voters were forced to know the names and positions of the candidates when casting their vote?

[DUlover2909]

10. I voted straight DEM ticket in Harris County and I'm very glad I did.

[lennytee]

12. Been votin' straight Dem ticket for years

Have no problem with it. I do that for 2 main reasons. #1 - I've always felt the Democrats, regardless of individual issues, better represent the workin' folks. #2 - The worst damned Democrat is a hundred times better than the best goddamned republican...

[Catherine Vincent]

14. I voted Straight Ticket but I took the scenic route. :) nt

[WolverineDG]

15. Me too

I wanted to darken the oval next to Barack's name. :)

dg

[kath]

16. That's what I do - it's fun to vote against the Republican over and over and over!