Solutions:

Below is a list of possible solutions for judicial election reform in Texas

• Non-partisan elections

• Merit Selection

• Limit the influence of a swing vote, increase Texas supreme court to 19 justices

• Mandatory retirement age of 65

• Term limits: each justice will serve two, four year terms

• Ranked Choice Voting

 

Common Dreams – A Bigger, Better Supreme Court: The Case for Reform

American Bar Association – Fact Sheet on Judicial Selection Methods in the States

Money and Justice: Is Texas Ripe for Judicial Reform?

Think Progress – The Texas Supreme Court Just Upended Houston’s LGBT Protections

New York Times – Judicial Elections and the Bottom Line

The Atlantic – An Elected Judge Speaks Out Against Judicial Elections

PBS – How should judges be selected?

PBS – Interview with Rodney Ellis – He would like judges to be appointed, not elected.

Are appointed judges better than elected judges?

Merit Selection and Retention Elections Keep Judges Out of Politics

PBS – Merit Selection: Current Status, Procedures and Issues

Yes, Texas elects its judges. But should it?

Center for American Progress – Partisan Judicial Elections and the Distorting Influence of Campaign Cash

Center for American Progress – Texas, Where Are the Judges?

Time – Study: Judicial Vacancies Are Jamming Up the System

The Brennan Center – Bankrolling the Bench: The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2013-2014

Mother Jones – Huge Sums Are Pouring Into Judicial Elections, But That Would Never Affect the Courts, Right?

History of Reform Efforts: Texas

USA Today – Lawsuit targets statewide judicial elections

Judicial reform farce may put North Carolina Supreme Court in a pickle

Perryman Group – The Potential Economic Benefits of Improving the Judicial Infrastructure in the Eastern District of Texas