You might have heard there's a state and national election that's going to take place on Nov. 4.

There are two guys competing for the U.S. presidency, and they're getting most of the ink and airtime. But another branch of government bears watching: the judiciary.

"It's kind of a sleeper issue in this election, with so much else going on," said Wendy Long , counsel for the Judicial Confirmation Network, to the McClatchy Newspapers. Added People for the American Way President Kathryn Kolbert: "The Supreme Court is on the ballot this fall, and the stakes could not be higher for Americans."

The Supreme Court isn't actually on the ballot, but either John McCain or Barack Obama is expected to be able pick either two or three justices in the coming term. A McCain presidency would likely mean the Supreme Court, currently split 5-4 with a deciding justice that leans conservative, would become more conservative. An Obama presidency would likely only maintain the status quo. Six of the nine sitting justices, who are appointed for life, will be at least age 70 in September. Liberal Justice John Paul Stevens is 88.

Michigan has its own set of black-robed candidates on the ballot, Hundreds of district court, circuit court, probate and other varieties of judge will be on local ballots this general election. It matters who is chosen: the right judge can mean the right ruling on numerous cases involving worker issues likes wages and safety and health. On most ballots in Michigan, those races are going to be at the end of the ballot - in the (supposedly) nonpartisan section) where they are sometimes ignored by voters.

"We're out encouraging people to remember the bottom of the ballot, because that's where the judicial candidates are," said Michigan Supreme Court Justice candidate Diane Marie Hathaway, who is facing off against incumbent Justice Cliff Taylor.

Hathaway, endorsed by the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council, is seeking to unseat Taylor, whose rulings are part of a five-member conservative bloc of state Supreme Court justices who have issued numerous pro-business, anti-worker rulings over the years.