HPU Poll Finds Support For Direct Election Of NC Judges

As state lawmakers consider changes to how judges are chosen, a new poll from High Point University finds strong support among North Carolina voters for keeping things the way they are.

Among the possible changes the Republican-led General Assembly are pondering is allowing those legislators to appoint judges rather than having voters choose them.

The new poll found that only about half of those surveyed knew such changes were being considered.

When asked who should select the judges, three of four supported the current way - direct election by voters in the candidate's district. Only 10 percent wanted lawmakers to pick, and fewer than that wanted the governor to do so.

The support for direct election held up across demographic groups.

Lawmakers are also considering redrawing the lines of judicial districts. The poll did not ask about that aspect of the proposed changes.

Earlier this month, North Carolina voters went to the polls for the primary without a chance to pick their candidates for state judges. A law passed last year by the Republican-led legislature canceled the judicial primaries while they work to retool the state's courts. Democrats and others had sued to have those races reinstated. The courts ultimately sided with the legislature in cancelling them.  

The High Point University Survey Center and the Department of Criminal Justice conducted the poll of 513 adults in February and released the results Friday. The poll has a margin of error of 4.3 percent.