Here's a quick quiz:

Do you remember which candidate received your vote for Superior Court Judge in last week's election? How about for Commonwealth Court?

Thought so.

In fact, most voters had no idea who they were casting ballots for even when they marked the box in front of the candidate's name. And that raises the question: Is this any way to statewide select judges?

Voters &tstr; even those who take time to inform themselves &tstr; often have little idea about who they are electing to the state bench. And since judicial candidates cannot talk about specific issues because those cases could come before them, they are reduced to speaking in generalities.

At the same time, these candidates are required to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars &tstr; much of which comes from special interest groups &tstr; simply to heighten their name recognition.

The final numbers are not yet in on what it cost statewide judicial candidates to run in this year's elections, but the combined totals already exceeded $1.3 million in the weeks leading up to the election.

That's a lot of money, but it's just a drop in the bucket compared to past election cycles.

According to a report "New Politics of Judicial Elections 2009-10," conducted by the Brennan Center for Justice and The National Institute on Money and State Politics, Pennsylvania's 2009 Supreme Court race cost $5.4 million. Furthermore, the report notes that Pennsylvania candidates have raised and spent $15.5 million on judicial races since 2007 &tstr; the highest in the nation.

David Wecht, who defeated Vic Stabile last week for the open seat on the state Superior Court, raised more than $500,000 leading up to the election. The largest contribution &tstr; $300,000 &tstr; came from the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association's PAC Committee for a Better Tomorrow. Stabile, a Republican, received $25,000 from the same group. Anne Covey, the Republican who won the Commonwealth Court seat, raised $343,000, and her opponent, Kathrym Boockvar, raised $352,000.

State Rep. Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, has sponsored two bills that would amend the state Constitution to allow for merit selection &tstr; that is, allow a qualified panel to select judges at the statewide level based on their qualifications.

"I want a process that depends on credentials and qualifications, not who can get out the most voters," Cutler told the website judgesonmerit.org.

Bert Brandenburg, executive director of the Justice at Stake Campaign, a nonpartisan legal reform group, told PoliticsPA that "Pennsylvania has become a national symbol of special-interest pressure on our courts of law."

It's time to change that by endorsing Cutler's bills and bringing merit into the selection process.