We the qualified voters of Virginia, hereafter referred to as THE PEOPLE, request a constitutional amendment to modify the judicial selection process in Virginia (according to VAC Article XII, Section 2) to include a vote by the people for district and circuit court judges.

That the people vote on election of public officials is a fundamental principal of a democracy (VAC Article I, Section 2).

In only two states, Virginia and South Carolina, The People are NOT ALLOWED to vote on election & retention of judges. Wherein, judges are appointed by State legislators and at times by the Governor, an elite group.

In Virginia, legislators and judicial selection committees, whose members are mostly lawyers, may vet and nominate judges who embrace political agendas.

Appointed judges may render rulings out of deference to political movements and accountability to the lawyers & members of the legislative body who nominated them without objective oversight.

Wrongful judicial determinations have wide-spread public health implications such as: increase in bankruptcies, adverse childhood experiences, housing insecurity, job loss, wrongful convictions, poor health and mental health conditions affecting not only the individuals involved, but communities at large- impacting Our Nation's Health.

No branch of governments in a democracy shall have unbridled or unlimited power nor act without accountability to the people.

Additionally, on matters of judicial accountability, judicial misconduct complaints shall be public records and subject to the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

I SUPPORT THIS CAUSE AND AFFIRM THE DEMAND FOR A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION TO ENSURE THE PEOPLE'S VOTE ON ELECTION & RETENTION OF LOWER COURT JUDGES - AN IMPORTANT CHANGE TO THE VIRGINIA STATE CONSTITUTION.

(I attest that I am a legal resident of the United States of America and not a minor).