Kentucky judicial elections
Judges in Kentucky participate in nonpartisan elections. Judges must run for re-election in nonpartisan elections for subsequent terms.
Kentucky is one of 12 states that uses nonpartisan elections to select judges and does not use retention elections for subsequent terms. To read more about how states use judicial elections to select judges across the country, click here.
| Supreme Court | Court of Appeals | Circuit Court | District Court |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan elections - Eight-year terms | Nonpartisan elections - Eight-year terms | Nonpartisan elections - Eight-year terms | Nonpartisan elections - Four-year terms[1] |
Elections
- Kentucky Supreme Court elections, 2024
- Kentucky Supreme Court elections, 2022
- Kentucky intermediate appellate court elections, 2022
- Kentucky Supreme Court elections, 2020
- Kentucky intermediate appellate court elections, 2020
- Kentucky Supreme Court elections, 2019
- Kentucky intermediate appellate court elections, 2019
- Kentucky Supreme Court elections, 2018
- Kentucky intermediate appellate court elections, 2018
- Kentucky local trial court judicial elections, 2018
- Kentucky judicial elections, 2016
- Kentucky judicial elections, 2014
- Kentucky judicial elections, 2012
- Kentucky judicial elections, 2010
- Kentucky Supreme Court elections, 2008-2010
Election rules
Primary election
All candidates participate in nonpartisan primaries. If more than two candidates compete in a race, the two with the highest number of votes advance to the general election.
Qualifications of candidates
Candidates seeking election to a judicial office in Kentucky must:
- Be a United States citizen, a Kentucky resident, and a resident of the district to which they are seeking election for at least 2 years;
- Be licensed to practice law in the state of Kentucky; and
- Be a licensed attorney for at least 8 years if seeking election to the Kentucky Supreme Court, the Kentucky Court of Appeals, or the Kentucky Circuit Courts); 4 years if seeking election to the Kentucky District Courts [2]
All judicial candidates must pay a filing fee of $200.[2]
Notes
County judges in Kentucky serve as executives for the county and are not actually judges.
See also
External links
Footnotes
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Federal courts:
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky
State courts:
Kentucky Supreme Court • Kentucky Court of Appeals • Kentucky Circuit Courts • Kentucky District Courts • Kentucky Family Court
State resources:
Courts in Kentucky • Kentucky judicial elections • Judicial selection in Kentucky
