Polarization and Partisanship in State Supreme Court Elections
Herbert M. Kritzer (2021–22) “Polarization and Partisanship in State Supreme Court Elections.” 105 Judicature 65–75.
12 Pages Posted: 11 Jan 2022
Date Written: January 7, 2022
Abstract
This paper examines the partisan patterns in state supreme court elections for the period 1981 through 2020. It shows that those elections have become more partisan across all election formats: partisan, semi-partisan, nonpartisan, and retention. The greatest change has been in nonpartisan elections where the correlation measured used as an indicator of partisanship has increased from an average of .30 to .63
Keywords: Judges, Judicial Selection, Judicial Elections, State Supreme Courts
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