The United States Criminal justice system presumes that the ultimate fact-finder—the court —will discover the truth and achieve justice through a contest between the prosecution and defense. However, those that fight for equity and honesty are chosen by us ... it is chosen by you. For such a powerful position like the prosecutor, is it vital that we all use our vote, our most capable voice, to fight for those were believe are worthy of such great authority.

Your local prosecutor is supposed to represent you, your family, your neighbors, and your community. While judges and individual police officers are expected to be apolitical and unbiased processors of offenses and offenders, prosecutors are the exact opposite. Many American prosecutors proudly claim to reflect local political and cultural values. Due to the popular election most district attorneys and county/city attorneys are subject to, it is assumed that prosecutors will be conscientious and responsive to public needs in setting policies and making judgments about individual cases. Additionally, prosecutors openly take media reactions, public opinion, and political considerations into account when deciding which cases/individuals to prosecute. Furthermore, since the majority of inmates are convicted on a state or local level by an elected prosecutor, it is imperative you determine the best man or woman to represent you and bring awareness to issues you care about.

It is no argument that the prosecutor holds a lot of power. The unique American system in which public prosecutors work is in an important sense, lawless. The discretionary prosecutorial decisions, for example, are completely immune from judicial review. Prosecutors also have a lot of free will when it comes to their work style. Impending elections can cause changes in the behavior of prosecutors: according to a study done in North Carolina, researchers found that prosecutors conducted 5 times as many jury trials, which are associated with harsher sentences than other trials, in election years than other years. Therefore, it is vital that we choose the right people to have access to this unchecked dominance and even speak up when they eventually abuse it.

The number one role of elected prosecutors is to keep the community safe. However, this expectation is often not given to every member of the community. Specifically, the unlimited decision-making discretion left to prosecutors can generate arbitrary or even prejudicial decision-making, violating the core value of equal treatment and the goal of decent uniformity in criminal justice outcomes.

A key issue in the prosecutorial system is the lack of representation of those voted into office. Bryan Stevenson, the executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative once said, “If we’re going to make progress in creating greater justice, eliminating over-incarceration and excessive punishment, we are going to have to address the shocking lack of diversity in elected prosecutors across this country.” Here are some statistics that we found that speak volumes to the issues surrounding elected prosecutors:

• There are more than 2,400 elected prosecutors in this country, and only 1% are women of color (60% of states have no black elected prosecutors at all).

• Prosecutors are 95% white and 83% male while only 76% of America is white and 49% is male

• Incumbent prosecutors win 95% of the time and prosecutors run unopposed 84% of the time

• Black Americans represent less than 4% of elected prosecutors, and Latinos less than 2%.

The unjust and racist prosecutorial system is not just seen in the lack of diversity in the office. The enormous discretional power prosecutors wield can have a racially disparate impact. A 2012 study published by the University of Michigan Law School found that prosecutorial discretion led to black defendants facing “significantly more severe charges than whites”, even after controlling for all the relevant variables. Additionally, Black Americans are more likely to be jailed while awaiting trial, Black Americans are 13% more likely to be offered a plea deal that includes prison time compared to white offenders, and Black men’s sentences were, on average, 10% longer than those of their white peers. Statistics also indicate that while Black people and white people use illegal drugs at similar rates, Black people are imprisoned for drug crimes almost six times more often. Systemic racism is alive and well in the criminal justice system, and it’s one of the big reasons people of color make up 60% of our prison population but only 30% of our overall population. On a more fortunate note, prosecutors have the authority to combat mass incarceration and racial disparities in the criminal legal system but they also have the power to reinforce it. All we can ask is that you are attentive to these types of issues when it comes to prosecutorial elections and vote for those who you believe will make our nation safe for everyone, no matter what they look like.

There is also a great effect that the under-representation of women in prosecutorial positions can have on the issue of reproductive rights. If prosecutors are overwhelmingly men who will never become pregnant or experience giving birth, then we need to ask how that experience and worldview will affect their perspective on what is criminal and how it should be punished. To look into specifics cases of how women and people of color of been treated unjustly in the criminal justice system, look at the section entitled, "Case studies" below.

The voting system in local prosecutorial elections also has a severe effect on historically marginalized groups. Voter turnout for local elections such as those for prosecutors has lagged behind state and federal races and is slowly becoming even worse. At first glance, the only problem with low voting turnout may be that the elected prosecutor will not be representing the views of the entire populace. While it is true that low-turnout elections typically aren’t representative of the electorate as a whole, they do representative the old, white and more-affluent populations. Recent research published by a UC San Diego professor found such elections contribute to poorer outcomes for minorities, including uneven prioritization of public spending. While many advocates are pushing for local races to be on the same day as federal elections, we chose to fight this problem with knowledge (that is the reason you are here now!).

There is also the issue of voter suppression in places like St. Louis, Missouri, which has the second-highest national crime rate, and a large African-American population, where recent reports show that the lack of available polling locations leads to citizens waiting hours to vote, and Memphis, Tennessee which has the third-highest crime rate and 64% black population. In Memphis, voting machines are out of date and cause major delays to the point where the Memphis NAACP stated that, "it is shameful that communities of color are still fighting for their right to vote.”

To conclude, if you do have the opportunity to vote, use it wisely. Vote not just for yourself and your family but for your neighbors, your community, and your nation. You never know who will be fighting in court next!