Prop 137 - Arizona Ballot Initiatives 2024 - Better Together Arizona

Learn about Proposition 137 Arizona, a measure that would end retention elections for state Supreme Court Justices. This is one of the 2024 AZ ballot initiatives.

In this episode of the Better Together Arizona podcast, ONE Community President & Co-Founder Angela Hughey is joined by Executive Director of the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Tom Collins.

Angela and Tom discuss AZ Prop 137, a 2024 Arizona ballot measure that would end retention elections for state Supreme Court justices. Currently, voters have the power to remove judges from the bench at the end of their term. If Prop 137 is passed, a judicial review commission would determine which judges behaved poorly enough to merit voters deciding their fates. 

 

 

Arguments against Prop 137: Our current judicial retention system was passed by the voters and has served Arizona well for decades. Voters decide if judges are enforcing the law and doing their jobs properly. The overwhelming majority of judges have been retained, only a few who were clearly not up to the job have been removed by the voters. This misguided proposition effectively eliminates term limits for judges in all but the most extreme cases. Another troubling element of Prop 137 is its retroactivity. If passed, it could overturn voter decisions about judges in this election cycle. Should voters this year exercise their right not to retain a judge, that decision would be nullified.

Arguments for Prop 137: This measure protects judges from political retribution for their decisions. The ballot is very long because of these retention elections and few voters know who they are voting on. This ballot initiative ensures that only judges with real issues are put before voters.