On April 26, the Michigan Judicial Selection Task Force recommended unanimously that Michigan change its method of electing State Supreme Court Justices. Michigan and Ohio are the only states in which parties nominate candidates for the State Supreme Court, and then voters elect them, but no party labels are permitted on the ballot.

Here is the report of the Task Force. The Michigan system has been in place since 1963. Not all members of the State Supreme Court must run in partisan elections. Justices who are running for re-election need not go through the partisan system. But justices who are running for their first term must be nominated in state party conventions. Voters are kept somewhat in the dark, however, because in the multi-candidate elections held after the party conventions, party labels are omitted from the ballot.

Qualified minor parties have the same right to nominate candidates for Supreme Court Justice, and when minor parties do nominate such candidates, they usually get a very large vote. For instance, in 2010, Libertarian nominee Bob Roddis received 262,654 votes, whereas no statewide Libertarian nominee running in a race with party labels received more than 79,407 votes. But the large vote for Roddis didn’t give the Libertarian Party of Michigan any increased attention or status, because virtually no one knew that Roddis had been the Libertarian nominee.

A majority of task force members recommends continued election of State Supreme Court Justices, without involvement by party conventions. A minority favors gubernatorial appointment, with input from neutral bodies so as to limit unfettered discretion by Governors. Thanks to Steve Shumaker for the link.