Senate Moves Bill To Add Judge’s Political Affiliation To Ballots

During Wednesday morning’s floor session, lawmakers debated requiring judicial candidates in West Virginia to provide their political affiliations on the ballots.

Senate Bill 521 would require candidates running for the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, court magistrates and circuit and family court judges to indicate their party membership on ballots for primary and general elections in the state.

The legislature removed party affiliation from those same ballots in 2015. West Virginia is one of 13 states across the nation that conducts the election of judges on a fully nonpartisan basis.

The bill passed 22-12 during Wednesday’s Senate floor session, despite opposition arguing it politicizes the judiciary branch of the government.

Senator Mike Woefel, D-Cabell, debated at length with Sen. Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha, about politicizing elections.

Stuart called the bill a gift to West Virginians, claiming it would help overwhelmed voters understand whom they cast their ballot for.

“There’s no question voters are confused with the length of our ballots, with the number of names on the ballots, with how highly commercialized and media-centered these campaigns have become, it’s a challenge for voters,” Stuart said. “This is a gift to the voters of West Virginia to be able to give them some idea of who they’re voting for when they go to the polls in May and November.”

Woefel argued the bill wouldn’t provide clarity in elections but muddy voters’ trust in the state’s elections by rescinding the 2015 legislation.

“I think the gift should be returned, whatever gift he’s talking about, Mr. President,” Woefel said. “We have nonpartisan elections, and if the bill passed (in 2015) the bill passed 33 to one in this chamber to go with nonpartisan elections that our judicial officers shouldn’t be down in the weeds talking R and D issues, people know who their judges are.”

Senator Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, also rose in opposition to the bill.

“I’ve never heard someone say this court system that we have in the state of West Virginia is terrible and we should have left it as on a partisan basis,” Weld said. “I’ve never heard anybody say that. I don’t know who’s asking for this bill. I just cannot figure it out because of the difference between the two systems.”

Opponents of the bill argued that lawmakers in favor of the bill were underestimating the intelligence of their constituents. Proponents say their constituents need the political affiliation listed on the ballots because their lives are too busy to research candidates thoroughly.

Sen. Tom Willis, R-Fayette, said this legislation was drafted directly from concerns from his constituents.

“They don’t have a lot of time to do a lot of research, but they’re smart,” Fuller said. “They’re smart. They understand that people come into these jobs with an ideology. We don’t live in a perfect world where you can honestly say somebody’s coming in without an ideology. I wish that were the case, but we don’t live in that world. This is a tool to help voters make a smart decision, and West Virginia voters are concerned about liberal judges slipping through the cracks.”

The bill was sent to the House for its consideration.