* Correction appended.

A little internet research reveals that Gisela Triana has been on the bench for more than two decades; that Jerry Zimmerer, now running for office as a Democrat, has in the past run as a Republican; and that as a judge and attorney, Tina Clinton has tried more than 400 criminal cases. But as Texas primary voters walk into the polls March 3, most are unlikely to have that or any information about the 14 Democratic candidates competing this year for seats on the state’s two high courts.

What they will be able to discern is that many of the primary races for Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals pit men against women, a happenstance that could prove more influential than any individual candidate’s qualifications.

When voters don’t know much about who they’re choosing among — as is typically the case in judicial races — “what you do is grasp at whatever information shortcuts you can get,” said Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, who studies identity and politics at the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs. “Demographic cues that come through in our names are important.”

Thanks to fundraising limits, subdued campaigns and voter ignorance, statewide judicial races in Texas tend to be high-stakes, low-excitement affairs. This year’s experimental design — a high-turnout presidential primary, a slate of low-information judicial races, many gender-split contests — makes the 2020 Democratic primary seem like a better test of ballot names and gender preferences than it is a referendum on candidate qualifications.

That leaves the 14 Democratic candidates vying for seven seats on the courts working hard to drum up name recognition and support in a primary election that in 2008 drew nearly 2.9 million voters — but knowing that their hard work and experience can only take them so far.

“I never want to stand on the sidelines and let things happen,” said Triana, an appellate justice in Austin who is running this year for Supreme Court. “But at the same time, 90% of the people who vote are not going to know who I am, and you shouldn’t take that personally.”

When voters know little about candidates, they seek out “free information” on the ballot, said Bob Stein, a Rice University political scientist who studies voting behavior. That may mean choosing an incumbent over a newcomer or voting based on party affiliation during a general election. But Texas’ two high courts are populated entirely by Republicans, meaning no Democrat has an incumbency advantage, though some who have served for years in a particular part of the state may see a boost from voters there. Newspaper endorsements can also help candidates at the margins, experts said.

But “your default advantage is going to be to the woman,” said Keir Murray, a Democratic consultant in Houston who is working for Peter Kelly, an appellate judge running for Texas Supreme Court. “In my experience, if voters don’t know much of anything about these candidates, we’re likely to see a lot of women voters voting for women candidates. … The women in races where they’ve got a matchup with a man have a big advantage going in.”

Women make up a larger share of the electorate than men.