Fifteen Los Angeles County Superior Court judge seats are up for grabs, and each race has as many as four candidates, making it the biggest chunk of the June primary ballot for county voters.
Superior Court judges handle criminal cases, evictions, family matters and more. The way each one interprets the law impacts real people every day, which is why these races are critical for voters to understand.
But experts say getting informed about these candidates can be a challenge.
“Ninety-five percent of Angelenos who are going to vote have never heard of these judges, have no idea who they are, didn’t even know we were supposed to vote for judges,” Dr. Fernando Guerra, professor of political science at Loyola Marymount University, told NBCLA.
Because these are county races, there’s no political party affiliation on the ballot, just the candidates’ current role, which is usually where they work as an attorney.
“It’s just hard to wrap your mind around it. It feels like you’ve got to really focus and try to research all of them,” LA County voter Aileen Kyoko said.
Here’s how you can decide who to vote for when it’s time to cast your vote:
Search the State Bar of California
Using the “Attorney Search” function, you can enter each candidate’s name to see if they are in good standing as an attorney or if they have any disciplinary record.
See the LA County Bar’s ratings
A committee from the Los Angeles County Bar Association puts out a recommendation for each race, rating how qualified each candidate is to be a Superior Court judge.
Members of the Judicial Elections Evaluation Committee give their ratings after doing background checks, assessing qualifications and interviewing each candidate, according to the LACBA’s website. Attorneys and judges familiar with each contender receive questionnaires, and committee members conduct phone interviews with people in the legal community.
You can see the full report here.
Check election tracking websites
Some of these websites, like Ballotpedia, have biographies and endorsements for each candidate up for a seat.
Review voter guides
Organizations like the non-partisan League of Women Voters have an online guide for the qualities voters can think about when selecting a strong candidate to be a judge.
Some voters say these resources will make them feel more prepared.
“That’s tough, but I want to try to do it,” Kyoko said. “It’s absolutely so important because you need to make sure that you’re behind their values and what they’re talking about.”