Funny enough I used to not really care a whole helluva lot about judicial votes in the elections... they get so little publicity and you rarely ever hear anything about the candidates or even have any idea who they are...

But if the last few years have told us anything, it's that while the executive branch is running about being abusive and the legislative branch is sitting back allowing that to happen and failing in its duties to enforce any kind of balance or accountability, the judicial might very well be the only thing keeping us from total disaster.

State supreme courts, state appellate courts, and on down to even more local levels, are oftentimes the real frontline when it comes to the battle for civil liberties and rights. We can't vote for US supreme or federal judges that get appointed by the president, but we often can vote on judges at the state level.

Sometimes, what the right-wingers call "activist judges" might be the only bits of sanity and reason left within the government.