Free speech, especially political free speech, is rightly protected by the First Amendment and the Supreme Court. America is the greatest nation because educated voters decide who will best serve the public. Democracy thrives on openness and balance.

In 39 states, voters have decided that judges should be elected. Several academic and statistical studies of judicial elections conclude that increased campaign spending adds voter interest, engagement and turnout by giving people a meaningful choice and power in an open process.

For years, liberal billionaires, powerful union bosses and self-interested trial lawyers have spent untold millions to elect activist judges rather than reasonable judges who apply the law as written. As one AFL-CIO official is quoted: "We figured out a long time ago that it's easier to elect seven judges than to elect 132 legislators." In one week, six trial lawyers spent $1.9 million against Illinois Justice Lloyd Karmeier, who isrecommended for retention by the Illinois Bar Association.

The solution isn't bemoaning decades of leftist control, nor to put democracy on trial. The solution is a more open, engaging process with balanced information so people can make educated choices about what's best for their communities. That's why the Republican State Leadership Committee launched the Judicial Fairness Initiative.

Some lament the broader shortcomings of elections and demand publicly funded campaigns. However, public financing is a tax that families will reject. It constrains free speech while coercing them to support candidates they oppose.

When discussing the costs of elections, perspective is imperative. The total cost of themost expensive election in American history is less than the amount non-profits pay annually to advertise and comprises about 4% of the total annual advertising budget in America.

Democracy is an imperfect system, but it is the best system. Rather than hoping to be saved by a closed, top-down government solution, we should be informing people and encouraging greater engagement in the original ground-up, crowd-sourced experiment — American Democracy.