Now that I'm back in my ancestral area, I have some questions for you.
What exactly does a prothonotary do? And what's with electing somebody to be "registrar of wills"? Can't you just place a classified ad and hire a clerk to do that for about $50K a year?
Why do you let candidates cross-file on the ballot of the other party, but voters have to declare a party and can vote for only that party's candidates? If a candidate gets to play both sides of the ballot, why can't voters do the same?
Also, I'm not too keen on electing judges. Before heading to vote, I looked up who the bar association said was qualified, but that was about all I knew before making my decision.
In Alaska, a nonpartisan agency screens the professional qualifications of judicial applicants and makes recommendations to the governor, who makes the final choice. Every so often, voters get a chance to throw out or retain the judge. The same nonpartisan agency evaluates the judge's performance, so voters can have some basis for their decision.
That system has worked pretty well. A handful of duds have been voted out, but the judiciary has been free of scandal. Nothing like that outrageous cash-for-kids deal they had up there in anthracite country.
Even if you don't have corrupt pols getting onto the bench, filling the judicial branch with elected judges is risky. They have to cater to a party organization, then raise lots of money from lawyers and companies whose cases they'll be handling, before finally pandering to the people who elect them. Like the Founders, I'd prefer a judiciary that's more insulated from the corruption of politics and the passions of the masses.
Speaking of candidates raising money: You let special interests and rich people give as much money as they want to a candidate. Are you crazy?
