COLUMBIA - The procedure has become so routine that House Majority Leader Jim Merrill jokingly dubbed it Name That Judge during one recent Republican caucus meeting.

House members stand up and introduce so-and-so, a candidate for the fill-in-the-blank judgeship. Lawmakers welcome the person, another legislator stands up, introduces so-and-so, a candidate for the fill-in-the-blank judgeship, and so on.

It's a weekly ritual that some lawmakers say is part of the sometimes-tiresome process South Carolina has for selecting judges: When the Judicial Merit Selection Commission recommends candidates for judgeships, it kicks off weeks of campaigning by judicial hopefuls.

It can be tedious for legislators - and for the candidates who trek back and forth between Columbia and their home districts.

"They don't want to do it, and I think the legislators don't want to be there every day, shaking their hands," said Rep. Bill Clyburn, D-Aiken. But, he added, "If they're not there, their chances (of becoming a judge) are not as good as those who are."

MR. CLYBURN THINKS the process could be improved by, for example, banning candidates from lobbying for lawmakers' votes until two weeks before the election.

That proposal isn't on the table, but lawmakers are pushing a measure to keep the lobbying process from starting any earlier than it has to, and another measure is aimed at increasing diversity on South Carolina's judicial benches.

Mr. Clyburn says efforts to improve the selection process are gaining traction.

Three women, one of them black, might be poised to join the state judicial ranks when the General Assembly votes to approve judges Wednesday, said Rep. Leon Howard, D-Columbia.

Those pushing diversification say judges' personal experiences affect their perspectives and that it's only fair to have a judicial bench that reflects the diversity of South Carolinians' experiences.

So far, that's not reality.

According to the U.S. Census, females made up 51.3 percent of South Carolina's population in 2005, and blacks 29.2 percent. Women, though, account for about 17 percent of judges on the state's supreme, appeals, circuit and family courts, although the Supreme Court and appeals court are led by the only women on those panels. Blacks, meanwhile, make up less than 1 percent of those benches. Lawmakers think they can boost those numbers.

UNDER THE CURRENT system, the selection commission can recommend no more than three candidates for the General Assembly's consideration.

Last year, the House approved Mr. Howard's proposal to lift that three-candidate cap. Proponents of lifting the cap say it would decrease the likelihood that a qualified female or minority candidate will be screened out before having the opportunity to make a case to lawmakers.

Last year's bill passed over to the Senate, which raised the cap to five before dropping the bill for the rest of the session. Mr. Howard said he thinks the Senate just ran out of time. This session, though, the Senate is picking up where it left off last year.

The Judiciary Committee is considering a proposal to increase the number of candidates the screening committee can recommend, and the Senate has approved a bill to keep potential candidates from seeking support and advice from lawmakers before they file an application.

Current law bans applicants from approaching lawmakers until the selection committee's work is through, said the bill's sponsor, Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg. But some would-be judges have tried to get around that by waiting to file candidacy papers so they can lobby for legislators' support before being constricted by the rules governing applicants.

"It is becoming a growing concern that potential applicants for judgeships are beginning the campaign prior to actually applying for the seat or before the seat is even open," Mr. Ritchie said.

Reach Kirsten Singleton at (803) 414-6611 or kirsten.singleton@morris.com.