Six former members of the Alabama Supreme Court, including three Republicans, have signed a letter urging voters to pick Jefferson County Circuit Judge Bob Vance as the state's next chief justice.
The former justices endorsed Vance, a Democrat, over Republican Associate Justice Tom Parker in the Nov. 6 election. Parker is a current member of the court.
In the letter endorsing Vance, the justices wrote he is "clearly the most qualified candidate for this high office."
The three Republicans who signed the letter are former Chief Justice Drayton Nabers, former Associate Justice Tom Woodall and former Acting Chief Justice Gorman Houston.
The Democrats signing the letter are former Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb and former associate justices John England and Mark Kennedy.