June 25, 2004
For immediate release.
Contact: Bryan Warner, N.C. Center for Voter Education,
(919) 839-1200
'Judge for Yourself': Center Hits Internet to Highlight Judicial Races
RALEIGH - Nine out of ten voters are concerned that citizens don’t have enough information about state judicial candidates, according to studies by the NC Center for Voter Education. More than half polled admitted they had little or no information about judges on the ballot in the 2000 election.
The Center is addressing this problem head-on through a partnership with State Government Radio to produce a series of programs featuring judicial candidates running in this year’s primary election.
Chris Heagarty, the Center’s executive director, hosts the 30-minute program titled “Judge for Yourself.” The show airs statewide online at www.stategovernmentradio.com, where its broadcast schedule can be found.
Just one appellate-level seat is on the ballot for the July 20 primary. It is the only race with more than two candidates. The primary contest has Court of Appeals incumbent Judge Alan Thornburg facing challengers Barbara Jackson, Marvin Schiller and Marcus Williams.
Each program consists of an interview with one of these four candidates. The series supplements a voter guide created by the State Board of Elections in conjunction with the Center for Voter Education. The free voter guide will be accessed online at www.ncvoterguide.org.
“People want to vote in these races,” says Heagarty, “but they want to cast an informed vote. If we can help put the candidates out in front of the public, and give the candidates a forum to share their qualifications and background, then voters can decide for themselves who they’ll support, with good information to back it up.”
After its initial four-episode run, “Judge for Yourself” will return this fall in an expanded format featuring all four races for the NC Court of Appeals and NC Supreme Court.
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