State judicial elections, 2020

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2020 State
Judicial Elections

2021 »

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A total of 279 state appellate court seats were up for election in 2020. Ballotpedia provided coverage of supreme court and intermediate appellate court elections, as well as local trial court elections for judges within the 100 largest cities in the United States as measured by population.

HIGHLIGHTS

* Thirty-five states held state supreme court elections in 2020. In total, 78 of the nation’s 344 state supreme court seats were up for election.

* Thirty states held intermediate appellate court elections in 2020. There were 201 seats on intermediate appellate courts up for election.

## Contents

* 1 Overview
* 1.1 List of 2020 elections
* 2 How are judges selected?
* 2.1 Election-based methods
* 2.2 Appointment-based methods
* 3 What types of courts might appear on my ballot?
* 3.1 Limited jurisdiction courts
* 3.2 General jurisdiction courts
* 3.3 Intermediate appellate courts
* 3.4 Courts of last resort
* 4 Historical election data
* 4.1 Courts of last resort
* 4.1.1 Retention
* 4.1.2 Non-retention
* 4.2 Intermediate appellate courts
* 4.2.1 Retention
* 4.2.2 Non-retention
* 5 See also
* 6 External links
* 7 Footnotes

## Overview[edit]

The map below details which states held state judicial elections in 2020 and how many seats were up for election on each court.

### List of 2020 elections[edit]

The table below details which states held state judicial elections in 2020 and how many seats were up for election on each court. Each cell contains a link to more information about the supreme court or intermediate appellate court elections in the specified state.

2020 State Judicial Elections

State  | Supreme court  | Intermediate appellate court
Alabama | 2 seats | 4 seats
Alaska | 1 seat | 1 seat
Arizona | 3 seats | 11 seats
Arkansas | 1 seat | 4 seats
Colorado | 2 seats | 2 seats
Florida | 1 seat | 25 seats
Georgia | 2 seats | 5 seats
Idaho | 2 seats | 1 seat
Illinois | 3 seats | 9 seats
Indiana | 1 seat | 6 seats
Iowa | 4 seats | 4 seats
Kansas | 1 seat | 5 seats
Kentucky | 1 seat | 1 seat
Louisiana | 2 seats | 14 seats
Maryland | 3 seats | 4 seats
Michigan | 2 seats | 11 seats
Minnesota | 1 seat | 4 seats
Mississippi | 4 seats | 0
Missouri | 1 seat | 6 seats
Montana | 2 seats | 0
Nebraska | 2 seats | 2 seats
Nevada | 2 seats | 1 seat
New Mexico | 2 seats | 4 seats
North Carolina | 3 seats | 5 seats
North Dakota | 1 seat | 0
Ohio | 2 seats | 21 seats
Oklahoma | 5 seats | 3 seats
Oregon | 3 seats | 5 seats
South Dakota | 1 seat | 0
Tennessee | 0 | 1 seat
Texas | 7 seats | 24 seats
Utah | 1 seat | 6 seats
Washington | 4 seats | 7 seats
West Virginia | 3 seats | 0
Wisconsin | 1 seat | 3 seats
Wyoming | 2 seats | 0

## How are judges selected?[edit]

See also: Judicial selection in the states

Methods of judicial selection vary substantially across the United States.[1] Though each state has a unique set of guidelines governing how they fill their state and local judiciaries, there are five main methods. Three methods are primarily election-based; two methods are primarily appointment-based.

### Election-based methods[edit]

* Partisan elections: Judges are elected by voters, and candidates are listed on the ballot alongside a label designating political party affiliation.
* Nonpartisan elections: Judges are elected by voters, and candidates are listed on the ballot without a label designating party affiliation.
* Legislative elections: Judges are selected by the state legislature.

### Appointment-based methods[edit]

* Gubernatorial appointment: Judges are appointed by the governor. In some cases, the state's legislative body must approve the governor's choice.
* Assisted appointment: A nominating commission reviews the qualifications of judicial candidates and submits a list of names to the governor, who appoints a judge from the list. After serving an initial term, the judge must be confirmed by voters in a yes-no retention election to continue serving.[2] This method is also known as merit selection or the Missouri Plan.

States may use more than one method across different levels of courts. For example, appellate court judges in New York are chosen by assisted appointment, but the state’s trial court judges are chosen in partisan elections. Some states may even select judges of the same court level differently depending on the population of an area or local opinion.[1][2]

## What types of courts might appear on my ballot?[edit]

Depending on your state, judges from several different levels of courts may appear on the ballot.

### Limited jurisdiction courts[edit]

Limited jurisdiction is a type of jurisdiction conferred on courts with legal authority restricted to specific subjects, cases, or persons. Examples of limited jurisdiction courts include family courts, traffic courts, probate courts, and military courts.[3] Forty-six states have clearly defined limited jurisdiction courts. Washington, D.C., and four states (California, Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota) do not have such courts.[4]

### General jurisdiction courts[edit]

See also: Trial courts and judges

General jurisdiction is a term used to describe courts that do not have limits on the type of cases they can hear. Cases typically originate in general jurisdiction courts, and their decisions can be appealed to intermediate appellate courts. All 50 states and Washington, D.C., have general jurisdiction courts. General jurisdiction courts are sometimes referred to as trial courts or district courts.

### Intermediate appellate courts[edit]

See also: Intermediate appellate courts and State intermediate appellate court elections, 2020

Intermediate appellate courts, as their name suggests, serve as an intermediate step between the trial courts and the courts of last resort in a state. Their jurisdiction varies from state to state.

Forty-one states have at least one intermediate appellate court. Some states have more than one of these types of courts. For example, Alabama has one intermediate appellate court for civil matters and another for criminal matters. Pennsylvania's superior court and commonwealth court are both appellate courts but have different jurisdictions. Other states, such as Illinois and California, have multiple divisions of intermediate appellate courts with varying degrees of independence from each other. Intermediate appellate courts are sometimes called courts of appeal.

### Courts of last resort[edit]

See also: State supreme courts and State supreme court elections, 2020

A state court of last resort is the highest judicial body within a jurisdiction's court system. It is a court with the highest appellate authority, meaning that its rulings are not subject to review by any other court in the state. A court of last resort is often, but not always, referred to as a supreme court.[5]

All 50 states and Washington, D.C., have at least one court of last resort. Oklahoma and Texas both have two courts of last resort, one for civil appeals and one for criminal appeals.

## Historical election data[edit]

There were 615 state judicial elections held from 2016 to 2019—265 in 2016, 21 in 2017, 312 in 2018, and 17 in 2019.

State judicial elections, 2016-2019

Year  | Court of last resort seats  | Intermediate appellate court seats  | Total
2019 | 3 | 14 | 17
2018 | 68 | 244 | 312
2017 | 4 | 17 | 21
2016 | 76 | 189 | 265
Total | 151 | 464 | 615

### Courts of last resort[edit]

#### Retention[edit]

From 2016 to 2019, retention elections took place for 59 judicial seats on courts of last resort. All 59 of those judges were retained.

#### Non-retention[edit]

There were 92 non-retention elections held from 2016 to 2019, with 57 races contested (62.0%). Incumbents ran for re-election 72.8% of the time. Of the incumbents who ran for re-election, 86.6% won re-election.

The table below is organized by year and includes the total number of seats up for election, the number of contested seats, the number and percentage of incumbents who sought re-election, the number and percentage of incumbents who faced opposition, and the number and percentage of incumbents who won another term.

Court of last resort elections, 2016-2019

Year  | Total seats  | Seats contested  | Incumbents who
sought re-election  | % incumbents who
sought re-election  | Incumbents who
faced opposition  | % incumbents who
faced opposition  | Incumbents who
were re-elected  | % incumbents who
were re-elected
2019 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0%
2018 | 45 | 25 | 34 | 75.6% | 19 | 55.9% | 28 | 82.4%
2017 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 100% | 1 | 50.0% | 2 | 100%
2016 | 42 | 28 | 31 | 73.8% | 17 | 54.8% | 28 | 90.3%
Total | 92 | 57 | 67 | 72.83% | 37 | 55.2% | 58 | 86.6%

### Intermediate appellate courts[edit]

#### Retention[edit]

From 2016 to 2019, retention elections took place for 191 judicial seats on intermediate appellate courts. All 191 of those judges were retained.

#### Non-retention[edit]

There were 273 non-retention elections from 2016 to 2019, with 120 races contested (44.0%). Incumbents ran for re-election 76.2% of the time. Of the incumbents who ran for re-election, 81.7% won re-election.

The table below is organized by year and includes the total number of seats up for election, the number of contested seats, the number and percentage of incumbents who sought re-election, the number and percentage of incumbents who faced opposition, and the number and percentage of incumbents who won another term.

Intermediate appellate court elections, 2016-2018

Year  | Total seats  | Seats contested  | Incumbents who
sought re-election  | % incumbents who
sought re-election  | Incumbents who
faced opposition  | % incumbents who
faced opposition  | Incumbents who
were re-elected  | % incumbents who
were re-elected
2019 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 50.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 5 | 100.0%
2018 | 142 | 69 | 112 | 78.9% | 44 | 39.3% | 82 | 73.2%
2017 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 37.5% | 3 | 50.0% | 4 | 66.7%
2016 | 105 | 33 | 85 | 81.0% | 20 | 23.5% | 79 | 92.9%
Total | 273 | 120 | 208 | 76.2% | 67 | 32.2% | 170 | 81.7%

## See also[edit]

* Judicial elections on Ballotpedia

* State supreme court elections, 2020

* State intermediate appellate court elections, 2020

* Local trial court judicial elections, 2020

## External links[edit]

* Search Google News for this topic

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection," archived February 2, 2015
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 American Bar Association, "Judicial Selection: The Process of Choosing Judges," June 2008
3. ↑ US Legal, "Limited Jurisdiction Law & Legal Definition," accessed December 17, 2015
4. ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Limited Jurisdiction Courts—Challenges, Opportunities, and Strategies for Action," accessed September 23, 2015
5. ↑ U.S. Legal, "Court of last resort Definition," accessed August 25, 2013

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2020 State Judicial Elections

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