Pa. Supreme Court Election To Be One Of The Most Competitive And Historic Races In 3 Centuries
By Cherri Gregg
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Election Day is one week from today and many area voters are snoozing on what could be one of Pennsylvania's most historic judicial elections in three centuries.
It's been more than 300 years since the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has had three open seats, making the November 3rd election one of the most historic in Philadelphia history.
But it's also one of the most competitive, with three democrats, three republicans and an independent vying for a seat on the high court bench. Then, and of course, there's the money.
"There are millions being spent in the race, which is crazy given how low-level the turnout is going to be," says Liz Jaff of CrowdPac.com.
The political tech start-up teamed up with the Committee of Seventy to provide detailed information on all of the candidates for office in the upcoming election, including the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Recent finance reports show that $10 million has been pumped into the race, making it one of the most expensive state Supreme Court races ever in Pennsylvania.
Jaff says Crowdpac.com is making details of the money trail available to the public online.
"Even though judges are meant to be independent and stay independent in many ways, it's definitely going to impact how they vote and what they do," she says, "so on our website you can follow the money and see who is influencing who."
The new court will decide how voting districts are drawn and could rule on whether fair education funding is a constitutional right.
For more on the candidates, go to crowdpac.com/philly.
