Can Someone not Registered to Vote in Nevada County be Elected to Superior Court Judge in Nevada County?

Within the last few weeks, I have been fielding a bunch of phone calls as to whether or not the elections office ever should have issued nomination papers to judicial candidates that do not live in Nevada County and as to whether or not they are eligible to be elected superior court judge during the June 2014 primary election. 

Cal. Const., art. VI, § 15, provides as follows:

"A person is ineligible to be a judge of a court of record unless for 10 years immediately preceding selection, the person has been a member of the State Bar or served as a judge of a court of record in this State."

At the same time, Cal. Elec. Code § 201, provides as follows:

"Unless otherwise specifically provided, no person is eligible to be elected or appointed to an elective office unless that person is a registered voter and otherwise qualified to vote for that office at the time that nomination papers are issued to the person or at the time of the person's appointment."

Some county election officials in their candidate handbook state that the candidate for judge must be eligible to vote for in that county while others state that the judicial candidate simply has to have practiced law in California for 10 years. So which is it?

Contrary to popular belief, there is no county residency requirement for superior court judges.

"[W]here the constitution prescribes the qualifications for state office, the legislature can neither add to, nor detract from, the qualifications so prescribed."   Wallace v. Superior Court (1956) 141 Cal. App. 2d 771, 776.

Where the California Constitution provides solely that no person could be eligible to the office of judge a superior court unless he had been admitted to practice before the California Supreme Court, the reviewing court held that the Constitution by its language had provided the exclusive qualification for the office and that the Legislature had no power to adopt a statute which required a judge of the superior court to have certain residence requirements.  Wallace v. Superior Court (1956) 141 Cal. App. 2d 771.

So in conclusion while some candidates for superior court judge are not registered voters in Nevada County, the California Constitution makes such candidates eligible to run for judge in any county.