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Are you good with names? Try these.
Carolyn Nichols, Maria McLaughlin, Deborah Anne Kunselman and Geoff Moulton! If you don't recognize these try another group: Wade Kagarise, Craig Stedman, Emil Giordano and Mary Murray.
Still a little fuzzy about whom they are? You are not alone.
Probably 95 percent of the voters that head to the voting booths on Nov. 7 won't recognize them either. The first four names are the Democratic candidates for the state Superior Court. The latter four names are the Republican candidates for the same court.
Adding the names of candidates for other appeals courts would yield the same puzzlement. Altogether there are seven vacancies on Pennsylvania's three appeals courts. In addition, three judges will stand for retention, allowing voters to decide vote "yes" or "no" whether they will get another ten years to serve.
It's hard to exaggerate the significance of these courts, handling appeals on a wide variety of civil and criminal matters. Wouldn't it be nice if we knew enough about these candidates to make a rational choice? Wouldn't it be nice if we just recognized...