Litigation

How IA Retention Elections Were Transformed

By Peter Hardin

Even before Iowa’s polling places closed today, analysts were struck by the transformation of once-sedate retention elections for state justices into a raging political battle.

The cause? The white-hot gay marriage issue. Three Iowa justices up for retention elections faced an ouster drive funded by outside interest groups, and others who voted with them last year to legalize same-sex marriage will probably face challenges later, an Associated Press article reported.

Here is how David Goldford, who teaches political science at Drake University, explained it:

“The whole issue of same-sex marriage has become a very threatening issue to a significant portion of the population.

“Kicking out those three justices would be a warning shot across the judiciary’s bow.”

When Justices Marsha Ternus and Michael Streit last faced a retention vote, in 2002, almost half of 1.1 million people who cast ballots didn’t bother to vote on the judges.

This year, by contrast, the reelection votes for them and Justice David Baker got almost as much attention as contests for governor and U.S. Senate, along with TV ads, visiting out-of-state politicians and dueling bus tours.

Former Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack said these groups seeking to remove justices over a single controversial issue want to intimidate judges.

“Judges are selected on their merit. They’re not selected on their ideology,” said Vilsack, now the U.S. secretary of Agriculture.

You can read more about the Iowa elections in Gavel Grab and from Justice at Stake?s Iowa news page.

Full post as published by The Gavel on November 02, 2010 (boomark / email).