Merit selection
Definition
Merit selection is a method for choosing judges in which a nominating commission screens applicants and sends a short list to the governor, who appoints one. The judge later faces an unopposed retention election, where voters decide only whether to keep them, not who else should have the seat.
Why it matters
Merit selection is designed to reduce partisan and money influence over who becomes a judge, compared to systems where judges run in contested partisan or nonpartisan elections. Critics argue it just moves the political fight to who sits on the nominating commission instead of removing it.
Seen in the wild
Missouri voters adopted the original merit selection model by ballot initiative in 1940, and it became known nationally as the Missouri Plan, later copied in some form by other states for at least part of their court systems.1