Come election time, in addition to candidates facing off in partisan races, the ballot asks voters whether state judges should keep their jobs. But some state lawmakers think voter guides in those elections aren't up to snuff.

"I believe they're worthless, and I plan to show why," said Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan and co-chairman of the Judicial Retention Election Task Force. "The average citizen -- none of them believe it's helpful."

The task force meets at 8 a.m. today at the Capitol complex in Salt Lake City.

In a process adopted in 1985, judges are nominated by a panel that submits names to the governor, who appoints one of the candidates and submits the appointment to the Senate for confirmation. Judges then must face voters in an unopposed retention election at the end of each term.

A body called the Judicial Council evaluates judges on criteria such as integrity, knowledge of the law and management skills, and certifies judges as being qualified for the retention vote.

The council gathers information by surveying attorneys who practice before the judges. Judges who preside over jury trials are also evaluated by the jurors.

Buttars was tight-lipped about what he thinks should be changed.

"I'll be making recommendations," he said. "Not 'til the next meeting in detail, but I plan to give an overview of where I think we need to go."

Rep. Curt Oda, R-Clearfield and the task force's other co-chairman, said there's a lot of good in Utah's judicial selection system, which was adopted in an effort to depoliticize the judiciary. Judges used to be elected in partisan races.

"We've got a pretty good system overall," he said. "It's just the fact that, if we're going to have retention elections, let's make them accessible to the voter."

He said the voter information can be confusing.

"What does that really mean to the average voterfi" he said. "I hear it all the time. I've felt the same way."

In fact, people can get so frustrated with the voter guide that "a lot of them have just been voting 'no' on everybody," he said. "Is that really fairfi"

The information is in a "somewhat indigestible format," said Rick Schwermer, assistant state court administrator. The Administrative Office of Courts compiles the information, then sends it to the Lieutenant Governor's Office for inclusion in the statewide voter guide.

Lawmakers have asked for more and more information over the years, Schwermer noted. The judge profiles now include a photo, a biography, a list of the requirements the judge met to stand for election, and charts containing responses to as many as 26 questions about the judge's job performance.

"We take up more and more of (the voter guide) the more information we put in there," said Schwermer. "At best, we can fit two judges per page."

At its last meeting, task force members arrived at the idea that "maybe the information is great but the presentation's not," he added. "I think Sen. Buttars has in mind changing some of the questions. We're just barely starting the process, and we'll have lots of time to come up with options."

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D1.