If you live in California, you should have already received your mail-in ballot for the Primary Election March 3, 2020. No matter where you live, however, it is important that you check to be sure you are registered! I have quite a few friends who thought they were registered, but when they checked, they were not. Here is how you can find out — you can go to vote. org or just click this URL or type in https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/ .
Other voting things to know — in California at least, you must request a Democratic ballot to vote in the Primary March 3rd if you are not registered as a Democrat. You can make that request at the polling place. Also, you can vote at ANY voting place, which is a new convenience, and if you are not a first time voter you don’t have to show identification.
Some people like to vote in person but voting by mail is very convenient for people who don’t have cars or are not able to stand in long lines. The LAST day to request a mail in ballot in California is next week, Tuesday February 25th! And if you have requested a mail in ballot but decide you want to vote in person, you can do that too by bringing your mail ballot to the voting place and giving it directly to them. Since this election is one of the most important in which we will ever vote, be sure to check your status.
The remainder of this post is mainly relevant to our subscribers who live in Southern California, but the methodology could be applied to any state in which you vote. Many counties and states have a number of Judges on the ballot. But how do you know who is good? Check out your local Bar Association to see what they recommend re. judges in your area.
LA County Superior Court – Election of Judges
The ballot contains 26 candidates for 12 offices of the LA Superior Court. Here is a listing of the candidates and their ratings by the LA County Bar Association’s Judicial Elections Evaluation Committee (JEEC). It’s an “at-a-glance” reference, but you may want to read the full report via the link provided below, which explains the JEEC’s rigorous process. The JEEC rated six candidates Well Qualified, 13 candidates Qualified, and four candidates Not Qualified. They did not rate three candidates, each of whom is running unopposed.
You may also use as an additional data point, endorsements by the LA Times. The Times has just begun to publish its endorsements and their endorsements page says that they intend to endorse for judicial elections. But it doesn’t give a date by which they will announce these endorsements, and you may want to fill out your ballot sooner. On February 3, 2020, the LA Times editorial stated: “Perhaps the ballot’s most baffling decisions for voters are in the races for Superior Court judge. Little information circulates about the candidates or their qualifications. We’ll do our best to sort through the fog and guide voters to what we believe to be the most responsible choices.” In the meantime, here are the recommendations by the LA County Bar Association.
Office 17:
Shannon Kathleen Cooley – not rated (unopposed)
Office 42:
Robert “Bob” Villa – Well Qualified
Linda L. Sun – Qualified
Office 72:
Myanna Dellinger – Not Qualified
Steve Morgan – Well Qualified
Robert F. Jacobs – Qualified
Office 76:
Judge Mike Cummins – Not Qualified (please note that “Judge” is not a title; the candidate legally changed his first name to “Judge”)
Emily Cole – Qualified
Office 80:
Nick C. Rini – Qualified
Klint James McKay – Well Qualified
David A. Berger – Qualified
Office 97:
Sherry L. Powell – Qualified
Timothy D. Reuben – Well Qualified
Office 129:
Kenneth M. Fuller – Qualified
Mark MacCarley – Qualified
Bruce A. Moss – Qualified
Office 131:
Michelle Kelley – not rated (unopposed)
Office 141:
Lana Kim – not rated (unopposed)
Office 145:
Adan Montalban – Qualified
Troy Slaten – Qualified
Office 150:
Manuel Alejandro – Qualified
Sherri Onica Valle Cole – Not Qualified
Tom Parsekian – Qualified
Office 162:
Caree Annette Harper – Not Qualified
Scott Andrew Yang – Well Qualified
David D. Diamond – Well Qualified
Complete information can be found at:
Ratings by the LA County Bar Association’s Judicial Elections Evaluation Committee (JEEC), issued January 22, 2020 : https://www.lacba.org/docs/default-source/jeec-reports/jeec-2020-final-report-for-official-release.pdf
In addition to providing their ratings, this document explains the JEEC’s evaluation and rating process. In particular, the JEEC’s standards for ratings are:
- To be “Exceptionally Well Qualified,” the candidate must possess qualities and attributes considered to be of remarkable or extraordinary superiority so that, without real doubt, the candidate is deemed fit to perform the judicial function with distinction.
- To be “Well Qualified,” the candidate must possess professional ability, experience, competence, integrity and temperament indicative of superior fitness to perform the judicial function with a high degree of skill and effectiveness.
- To be “Qualified,” the candidate must possess professional ability, experience, competence, integrity and temperament indicative of fitness to perform the judicial function satisfactorily.
- To be “Not Qualified,” the candidate lacks one or more of the qualities of professional ability, experience, competence, integrity and temperament indicative of fitness to perform the judicial function satisfactorily.
If there are two equally qualified judges, you may want to consider voting for a candidate who offers diversity to the bench–A woman or a minority, for example.
Our thanks to Wendy Shiba for this information re. LA County Judges.