"World's First"... 881 Supreme Court Justices and Judges to Be Directly Elected by Citizens

Direct Election of 881 Federal Judges
Polling Stations at Half the Number Used in Presidential and General Elections
Some Predict Low Voter Turnout

A special election has begun in Mexico where citizens directly elect judges. On June 1 (local time), Yonhap News reported that the National Electoral Institute (INE) of Mexico is conducting the voting for judge selection from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., for a total of 10 hours. A total of 105,378,28 eligible voters are expected to participate in this election, which will select 881 federal judges, including 9 Supreme Court justices, from among 3,396 candidates. Initially, about 18,000 applicants participated, but the electoral commission narrowed the list down to 3,422 candidates. Some candidates withdrew during the campaign process. Guadalupe Taddei, chairperson of the Mexican electoral commission, stated, "Today, we will choose an example for justice."

A special election in Mexico where citizens directly elect judges has begun. On the 1st (local time), Yonhap News reported that the National Electoral Institute (INE) of Mexico is conducting the judge election voting from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. for 10 hours. EPA·Yonhap News

Previously, the Mexican parliament approved a constitutional amendment centered on introducing a direct election system for all judges through a national vote. This amendment also included reducing the number of Supreme Court justices from 11 to 9, shortening their term from 15 to 12 years, abolishing lifetime pensions for justices, and prohibiting judges’ salaries from exceeding the president’s salary. According to AFP, Mexico is the first country where all judges in the judiciary are directly elected by the people. In the United States, some states also allow voters to directly elect judges. The Mexican electoral commission explained that it is expected to take about ten days to complete the entire vote count. Local media outlets such as El Universal and Reforma predicted a low voter turnout due to insufficient publicity and lack of interest. Only about 8,400 polling stations were set up, which is about half the number used in presidential or general elections (about 17,000).

As a special election in Mexico began for citizens to directly elect judges, President Claudia Sheinbaum participated in the election. Photo by AP and Yonhap News Agency

Meanwhile, there are concerns in some quarters about possible election fraud. Because there are so many positions to be filled, some voters received up to 13 ballots each, and it was found that some voters tried to bring a type of "cheat sheet" into the polling stations. The electoral commission, having been alerted to this in advance, took measures to prevent voters from bringing such materials into the polling stations. This sheet, which is folded several times like an instrument and is locally called an "accordion," contains the names of judicial candidates. On the previous day, in the southern state of Chiapas, 25 boxes containing ballots went missing, prompting an investigation by the prosecutor's office.