State judicial elections, 2017
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The states of Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin will each hold supreme court or court of appeals elections in 2017. A total of 20 state-level judges' terms are scheduled to end in 2017 or early 2018, and their seats are up for either competitive election or retention. In Louisiana, four seats are vacant not because of expiring terms, but because former court of appeals Judge James Genovese was elected in 2016 to the state supreme court, Judge Paul Bonin was elected in 2016 to a local court, and two other court of appeals judges retired. In the course of the year, it's possible that other states may schedule supreme court elections or that judicial seats may be added to or subtracted from the election total, as judges retire or resign and new judges are appointed.
Click here for information on local trial court elections.
Overview
| 2017 State Judicial Elections | |
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| State | 2017 Elections |
| Louisiana | 4 seats |
| Pennsylvania | 10 seats |
| Washington | 2 seats |
| Wisconsin | 4 seats |
In Washington and Wisconsin, judicial elections are nonpartisan. In a nonpartisan 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 Louisiana, elections are partisan in that candidates' party affiliations are listed, but Louisiana does not hold primaries to narrow down the candidates to one from each party. Candidates participate in what is sometimes called a "jungle primary," in which all candidates from all parties are on the ballot. If a candidate is elected with more than 50 percent of the vote, he or she is elected. If not, a runoff election is held between the top two vote-getters during the general election.
Pennsylvania holds both partisan elections and retention elections. In a partisan 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 a retention 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 more than 50 percent "yes" votes in order to remain in their seats.
To learn more about judicial selection methods, click here.
State by state
Louisiana
Three seats on the Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal were up for special election on March 25. Of the judges who formerly held these seats, James Genovese was elected to the Louisiana Supreme Court in November 2016, leaving his court of appeals seat open; Judges Dennis Bagneris and Ernest Drake retired.
At the March 25 jungle primary, Republican candidates Candyce Perret and Susan Theall defeated Republican candidate Vanessa Waguespack Anseman and advanced to the April 29 general election for the seat formerly held by James Genovese. Also on March 25, Democratic candidate Paula Brown defeated Democratic candidate Tiffany Gautier Chase for the seat formerly held by Dennis Bagneris.
At least one more court of appeals seat will be elected at a separate election in 2017. Paul Bonin was elected to a local court in 2016, leaving his court of appeals seat open.
Pennsylvania
- Main article: Pennsylvania judicial elections, 2017
Pennsylvania has one court of last resort and two intermediate appellate courts and holds elections for these courts every two years in odd-numbered years. The Pennsylvania Superior Court is the court of appeals most similar to many other states' intermediate appellate courts; it hears routine appeals of criminal cases and civil disputes, depending upon the subject matter. The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court hears cases of particular parties and subject matter, including most governmental agency cases and cases concerning matters such as banking, insurance, taxation, utilities, elections, labor practices, and workers' compensation. Three justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, four judges of the Pennsylvania Superior Court, and two judges of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court have terms ending in January 2018. In addition, there is a vacancy on the superior court to be filled by partisan election. One supreme court justice and five appeals court judges were appointed in 2016 and must stand for competitive partisan election in order to remain on the bench. Two supreme court justices and one appeals court judge were previously elected in partisan elections and must stand for retention by voters in 2017 in order to remain on the bench. Elected judges' new terms will begin in January 2018.
Pennsylvania is the only state holding judicial elections in 2017 that uses partisan elections to choose its state-level judges. Democrats control the Pennsylvania Supreme Court by a 5-2 majority. This control cannot change in 2017 since only one justice, Republican Sallie Mundy, is up for partisan election.
Washington
- Main article: Washington judicial elections, 2017
Washington holds state-level judicial elections every year. Two judges on the Washington Court of Appeals have terms ending in January 2018 and must stand for nonpartisan election in 2017 in order to remain on the bench. Elected judges' new terms will begin in January 2018.
Wisconsin
- Main article: Wisconsin judicial elections, 2017
Wisconsin holds state-level judicial elections each year; during some years, however, no supreme court justice's term will end, and therefore no supreme court elections will be held. Only one justice from the Wisconsin Supreme Court and one judge from each of the four districts of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals may be up for election in any given year. One justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and three judges on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals have terms ending in July 2017. Justice Annette Ziegler of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Judges William Brash and Brian Hagedorn of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals filed to stand for election; all were unopposed. Judge Paul Higginbotham of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals declined to file for re-election; Judge Michael R. Fitzpatrick filed to run for Higginbotham's seat. He too was unopposed. Because all four candidates were unopposed, there was no primary for these seats on February 21. The candidates appeared on the ballot at the general election on April 4, 2017. Elected judges' new terms will begin in August 2017.
Local trial court elections
Ballotpedia provides coverage for judicial selection in all 50 states. Six states will be holding regular elections for judges in general and limited jurisdiction trial courts in 2017.
The states with regular elections in 2017 are Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin. Connecticut will also hold special elections for probate court judges in 2017. Ballotpedia is also covering certain municipal jurisdiction trial court elections in Ohio.
In 2016, Ballotpedia covered local judicial elections across 39 states. In total, 3,723 seats were up for election across general and limited jurisdiction trial courts. Incumbents ran for re-election in 3,070 (82.5 percent) of those races, and were defeated by challengers 69 (2.2 percent) times. In 2,644 races (71.0 percent), candidates ran unopposed.
See also
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