On Tuesday, Nov. 6, voters in Kosciusko County will get to exercise an option on the ballot that should be expanded, that option being the vote to retain in office or not for Indiana Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Slaughter and Robert Altice, District 2 appeals justice. Whatever voters may decide for these two justices will be determined at the polls.
What should be done on future ballots is to place the vote to retain or not to retain in office for elective offices also. This can be placed on the ballot for those offices whether local, state or federal during an off-election year when their term or office does not come up for renewal. This will become an annual performance evaluation for the office holder and would provide voters a way of showing their support for an office holder who they feel is doing well or if they feel that candidate is doing horrible and causing harm to the people and areas that they represent. They would be able to vote that person out of office without having to wait two, four or six years to do so.
When voters here in Kosciusko County are given this option as they are with Indiana judges, such as in the 2016 election, they clearly take advantage of it.
2016 Results
Indiana Court of Appeals District 3
Shall Judge Terry A.Crone be retained in office?
Yes, 19,653; no, 6,596.
Indiana Court of Appeals District 4
Shall Judge Patricia A. Riley be retained in office?
Yes, 20,121; no, 6,119
Judging by the results above and in previous elections, along with local news stories and letters to the editor over the years about local, state and federal officials, most voters in this county are ready to implement and make use of this option. If such measures are adopted, voters would see the following on ballots: a mix of offices up for election and vote to retain or not retain, such as the sample ballot below.
Sample ballot used for purpose of illustration
Federal Offices
U.S President: Shall President Donald Trump be retained in office? Yes No
U.S Senator (lndiana): Shall U.S Sen. Todd Young be retained in office? Yes No
U.S Senate Race (Indiana)
• Republican-Mike Braun
• Democrat- Joe Donnelly
• Libertarian- Lucy Brenton
This sample ballot would of course extend further through the various other federal, state and local offices in Indiana and Kosciusko County.
If an officeholder is removed, such as for a local or state office depending on the type of office, one of the following would happen: A special election would take place or a replacement would be appointed by a party caucus or multi-partisan commission or the vacancy would be filled in by a deputy office holder. For a federal office, a replacement would be found according to guidelines in the Constitution or act of Congress.
