Pennsylvania Supreme Court Retention Elections Take a More Political Turn

Control of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is on the ballot this year, with three Democratic justices up for retention elections.

These yes-or-no elections are normally sleepy and almost never result in a justice being forced off the court. But Republican operatives, who have chafed at the Democratic-majority court’s decisions for a decade, say that with a flip within reach, they’re getting ready for an expensive political fight.

Judges on all three of Pennsylvania’s statewide appellate courts — the Supreme, Superior, and Commonwealth Courts — are elected in partisan, statewide elections and serve 10-year terms. The number of terms they can serve is unlimited, though they must retire at age 75.

Judges get successive terms via a retention election. These elections are not partisan, and don’t involve an opposing candidate; voters are simply asked to say yes or no to giving a judge another decade on the bench. If the vote is yes, the judge stays on. If it is no, the governor can appoint a temporary replacement subject to the approval of the state Senate. An election for a replacement to serve a full 10-year term is then held in the next odd year.




https://www.politicspa.com/pennsylvania-supreme-court-retention-elections-take-a-more-political-turn/140816/