Chris Heagarty Quotations

Our research shows that the number-one reason why qualified voters don't go to the polls on Election Day is not that they don't care, but that folks simply don't know enough about the candidates. The State Judicial Voter Guide goes a long way to empower voters with the facts they need to cast a confident ballot.

The only big races that all North Carolinians will have to judge will be our court races. And they should be interesting.

There are judges at all levels who may face a situation where there is a potential conflict of interest, either a situation where an attorney presenting a case before them has given a large sum of money or where the judge, as a candidate, has made statements implying favor or bias for one side of a case over the other. Many judges will remove themselves from a case if a conflict is apparent, but there are no official standards. A conflict that one judge might step aside for, another judge might not see as a problem. Rather than a standard set of guidelines for everyone to use it really is, forgive the pun, a judgment call.

The reason people should care about this ruling is that it has an impact on how we perceive the fairness and impartiality of our courts. Our research study from last year shows that while most voters have a fairly positive opinion about our judges, 86 percent of voters are concerned that large campaign contributions to judges can too often lead to conflicts of interest. Ninety-four percent, an overwhelming number, think that campaign contributions made to elected officials have an influence over their decisions. Fifty-seven percent think these contributions have a great deal of influence.

The races for the N.C. Supreme Court and N.C. Court of Appeals are the only statewide contests on the ballot this year, so it's key that voters across North Carolina have the facts on these candidates. The State Judicial Voter Guide does just that.

The more attention that's coming out of the trials and hearings, the more legislators are saying we need to take a look at this and fix some of these problems.

Depending on how they turn out, you could see a dramatic shift in the experience, temperament and philosophy on the Supreme Court. The candidates in these races offer some very clear choices.

It's not like the governor or a Senate candidate is sucking all the money up.

You don't have to be a celebrity. Even those of us who live a relatively simple life can make a real difference and improve our elections by saying yes to the Public Campaign Fund on our state income tax forms.