Parties, Interest Groups, and Systemic Change

If we are going to get from point A to B - if we are going to change a state system of judicial selection - what must be done? How does one get from a judicial election system to a merit-selection system? Generally it is going to take a state constitutional amendment to make the change. That is usually going to mean that a constitutional amendment must be approved by the legislature in order to be submitted to the people for a vote.

To do this, key interest groups must be considered. The story of changing to merit selection is the story of interest group politics, and, as Professor Schotland points out, it is a story of an increasingly difficult process.