In Canada, we do not have any elections for senior civil servants. Not even for the commissioners/judges of those important public inquiries. All appointed.

I can see the frustration of reaching a ballot box to get a list of "unknowns." How does a voter do any kind of democratic vigilance in this situation? . . . . Oh I know! Vote the party line.

The mail-in ballot fixes this problem to some extent. But I suspect more Americans vote the party line than do a little research before casting that vote.