2016 State Judicial Elections
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Part 1: Overview
Part 2: Supreme Courts
Part 3: Partisanship
Part 4: Changes in 2016

Sixty-three state supreme courts and intermediate appellate courts across 34 states held elections in 2016.

Out of 265 total seats elected in 2016, 31 seats were elected prior to November 8; 234 were elected on November 8.

Click here for information on local trial court elections.

Overview

In 19 states, elections were contested inpartisan ornonpartisan elections; in 13 states, judges were up forretention elections. Two states, Illinois and New Mexico, had both contested races and judges standing for retention.

In apartisan election, candidates may be nominated by political parties or declare their party affiliations upon filing to stand in the election. Primaries are typically held to narrow down the candidates to one per party before the general election; some states hold primaries in which candidates of all parties compete with each other and the top vote-getters advance, regardless of party. In anonpartisan election, some states require candidates to declare their party affiliations while some states prohibit them from doing so. If primaries are held, they do not narrow the candidates to one per party; instead, they typically narrow the candidates to two for each seat, regardless of party.

In aretention election, an incumbent judge does not face an opponent. A question is placed on the ballot asking whether each judge shall be retained for another term, and voters choose "yes" or "no." Judges must receive majority "yes" votes in order to remain in their seats.

To learn more about judicial selection methods,click here.

Noteworthy elections

Main article:State supreme court elections, 2016

North Carolina

One seat on theNorth Carolina Supreme Court was up for nonpartisan election. This seat was held by JusticeRobert H. Edmunds Jr., who ran for re-election. The 2016 election was to have marked the first time a North Carolina justice would face aretention election, due to a June 2015 law that changed elections for incumbent justices. But a panel of three Wake County judges ruled this law unconstitutional on March 4, 2016, and theNorth Carolina State Board of Elections opened a filing period of March 16 through March 25 for a contested election for the seat. The state appealed the ruling to the North Carolina Supreme Court. On May 6, the supreme court issued a divided ruling (3-3, withJustice Edmunds recused) upholding the ruling of the lower court.^[1] The 2016 election was therefore contested rather than a retention election.

Justice Edmunds was defeated by challenger JudgeMichael R. Morgan. The state supreme court held a 4-3 Republican-affiliated majority going into the election. With JusticeRobert H. Edmunds, Jr. defeated, the balance shifted to a 4-3 Democratic-affiliated majority.

Ohio

TheOhio Supreme Court had a 6-1 Republican majority heading into the election. Three seats were up for election in 2016. Incumbent JusticeMaureen O'Connor (R) was unopposed. JusticesJudith Ann Lanzinger andPaul Pfeifer both reachedmandatory retirement age, and both Republican and Democratic candidates vied for their seats.Republican candidates won both seats, preserving the Republican majority at 6-1.

Wisconsin

One seat on theWisconsin Supreme Court was up for nonpartisan election on April 5, 2016. Going into the election, the seat was held by Republican-affiliated JusticeRebecca Bradley, who was appointed to the court in 2015 byGovernorScott Walker. Since Bradley's appointment, there has been a 5-2 conservative majority on the court. Bradley and Democratic-affiliated JudgeJoAnne Kloppenburg won a primary election on February 16, 2016, defeating third candidateJoe Donald.

In the general election on April 5, Bradley defeated Kloppenburg in an election with the highest voter turnout for a state supreme court race inWisconsin history, overlapping with thepresidential primary.

Partisan balance of state supreme courts

Six states usepartisan elections to choose justices for theircourts of last resort.

Republicans controlled four courts of last resort in 2016:

• Alabama Supreme Court
• Louisiana Supreme Court
• Texas Supreme Court andTexas Court of Criminal Appeals

Democrats controlled three state supreme courts in 2016:

• Illinois Supreme Court
• New Mexico Supreme Court
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court

In addition to these partisan elections, some states have judges nominated by political parties at state conventions:

• Michigan Supreme Court (5-2 Republican)
• Ohio Supreme Court (6-1 Republican)

And inWest Virginia, where judicial elections were partisan until a 2015 law was passed, Democrats held a 3-2 advantage in the state supreme court heading into thenew nonpartisan 2016 elections and continued to hold it in the wake of the race.

See also

• State supreme court elections, 2016
• Judicial elections on Ballotpedia

Footnotes

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