Voters in a northern Arizona county will decide if five superior court judges are selected through a merit-based system.
The Arizona Daily Sun reports Coconino County supervisors decided Tuesday to ask voters on the November ballot if the judge selection process should change from a partisan election to a merit selection by appointment.
Under the merit-based system, a committee would nominate judge candidates and the governor would make the final selection. Voters would decide if judges should be retained at the end their terms.
The selection committee would include five attorneys and 10 non-lawyers from the county.
Kim Musselman, a special assistant to the county manager, says the supervisors' decision came after the proposal received support from the Coconino County Bar Association and a focus group of residents.
