2019 State Judicial Elections
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Seventeen appellate court judgeships were up for election in 2019, including three supreme court seats and 14 intermediate appellate court seats. Ballotpedia provided coverage ofsupreme court andintermediate appellate court elections, as well aslocal trial court elections for judges within the100 largest cities in the United States as measured by population.

Overview

How are judges selected?

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

• 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

• 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-noretention 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 inNew York are chosen byassisted appointment, but the state’s trial court judges are chosen inpartisan 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?

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

Limited jurisdiction courts

Limited jurisdiction is a type ofjurisdiction 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, andMinnesota) do not have such courts.^[4]

General jurisdiction courts

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 tointermediate appellate courts. All 50 states andWashington, D.C., have general jurisdiction courts. General jurisdiction courts are sometimes referred to as trial courts or district courts.

Intermediate appellate courts

See also:State intermediate appellate court elections, 2019

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 forcivil matters and another forcriminal matters. Pennsylvania'ssuperior court andcommonwealth court are both appellate courts but have different jurisdictions. Other states, such asIllinois andCalifornia, 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

See also:State supreme court elections, 2019

A statecourt 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 asupreme court.^[5]

All 50 states andWashington, 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

There were 598 state judicial elections held from 2016 to 2018—269 in 2016, 21 in 2017, and 312 in 2018.

Courts of last resort

Retention

From 2016 to 2018, retention elections took place for 59 judicial seats on courts of last resort. All 59 of those judges were retained.

Non-retention

There were 89 non-retention elections held from 2016 to 2018, with 54 races contested (60.6%). Incumbents ran for re-election 75.3% 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.

Intermediate appellate courts

Retention

From 2016 to 2018, retention elections took place for 187 judicial seats on intermediate appellate courts. All 187 of those judges were retained.

Non-retention

There were 263 non-retention elections from 2016 to 2018, with 113 races contested (43.0%). Incumbents ran for re-election 77.2% of the time. Of the incumbents who ran for re-election, 81.3% 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.

See also

• Judicial elections

• 

  State supreme court elections, 2019

• 

  State intermediate appellate court elections, 2019

• 

  Local trial court judicial elections, 2019

Footnotes

v • e Judicial elections by state Alabama •Alaska •Arizona •Arkansas •California •Colorado •Connecticut •Delaware •Florida •Georgia •Hawaii •Idaho •Illinois •Indiana •Iowa •Kansas •Kentucky •Louisiana •Maine •Maryland •Massachusetts •Michigan •Minnesota •Mississippi •Missouri •Montana •Nebraska •Nevada •New Hampshire •New Jersey •New Mexico •New York •North Carolina •North Dakota •Ohio •Oklahoma •Oregon •Pennsylvania •Rhode Island •South Carolina •South Dakota •Tennessee •Texas •Utah •Vermont •Virginia •Washington •West Virginia •Wisconsin •Wyoming