Don't Overlook Critical State Supreme Court Races

At the core of ACS’s Run.Vote.Work. initiative, is the idea that every elected officeholder has the potential to shape our democracy and drastically impact our fundamental rights. In the lead up to Election Day 2024, ACS is spotlighting several down ballot races that will be on the ballot for many voters this year. This week we explore a set of offices that the legal community intuitively understands as powerful actors, still is often overlooked at the ballot box: State Supreme Courts.

In November, voters in 32 states will cast ballots in State Supreme Court races. In eighteen of those contests, there is at least one candidate for the position. In the other fifteen, State Supreme Court justices are up for retention elections, where an incumbent judge is on the ballot and the question to the voter is whether that person should remain in office.

State court systems are incredibly meaningful, not only for their impact on critical issues such as abortion access, voting rights, and racial justice, but also for the straightforward administration of justice. Roughly 95 percent of court cases in the country are brought in state courts and the composition of the judges in the state court system has significant influence on the public’s perception of the legal system as a whole. Despite this, roll-off rates, where citizens vote for candidates at the top of the ballot but not the bottom, for judicial elections remain high.

Below is information about some of the 32 states where State Supreme Court seats are on the ballot:

Alabama

• Five of the Alabama Supreme Court’s nine seats are up for election.
• The Chief Justice race features Sarah Stewart, a Republican Associate Justice on the court, against a Democratic challenger, Greg Griffin.
• Three Republican incumbents are running unopposed.
• One seat has one Republican lower-court judge running unopposed.

Arizona

• Two Arizona Supreme Court justices face retention this year, Clint Bolick and Kathryn Hackett King.
• The court, and its retention elections, have received additional attention this year after an April 2024 Arizona Supreme Court ruling upheld a 1864 law banning nearly all abortions across the state. A legislature-approved repeal of the law subsequently went into effect.
• Both Justice Bolick and Justice King joined the ruling upholding the abortion ban.

Kentucky

• Judicial elections in Kentucky are nonpartisan and state supreme court seats are not statewide elections.
• The 2024 Kentucky Supreme Court election will be held in the 5th district, which is composed of eight counties in the Lexington area.
• The incumbent justice, Laurance VanMeter, is retiring.
• Pamela Goodwine, an appellate judge, and Erin Izzo, an attorney in Lexington, are running for this vacancy.

Michigan

• Two seats on the seven member Michigan Supreme Court are contested this year.
• Supreme Court elections in Michigan are technically nonpartisan, but delegates at state party conventions determine who advances to the November ballot.
• Both major political parties nominated their preferred candidates at state party conventions in late-August.
• One seat features Justice Kyra Harris Bolden, who was appointed in 2023 and was nominated by Michigan Democrats, facing against Patrick William O’Grady, a circuit court judge nominated by Michigan Republicans.
• The other race is to fill the seat of retiring Justice David Viviano. Kimberly Ann Thomas, the director and co-founder of the Juvenile Justice Clinic at Michigan Law was nominated by Michigan Democrats. Andrew Fink, a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, was nominated by Michigan Republicans.

Minnesota

• Three incumbents of the seven member Minnesota Supreme Court are on this year’s ballot in nonpartisan elections.
• Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, who was elevated to the position by Governor Tim Walz in 2023, is being challenged by Stephen Emery.
• Justice Karl Procaccini, who was appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court by Gov. Walz in 2023 is being challenged by attorney Matthew Hanson.
• Justice Anne McKeig is running unopposed.

Mississippi

• The Supreme Court of Mississippi has three electoral districts in the state and three justices are elected from each.
• Four incumbents of the nine member Mississippi Supreme Court are on this year’s ballot in nonpartisan elections.
• Justice Jim Kitchens, who has served on the court since 2009, faces four challengers.
• Justice Dawn Bean, who has served on the court since 2016, faces attorney David Sullivan.
• Justices Robert Chamberlin and Jimmy Maxwell are running unopposed.

Montana

• Two of the seven seats on the Montana Supreme Court are on the ballot and in nonpartisan elections. Neither seat has an incumbent running.
• The race for the open chief justice position features former federal magistrate judge Jerry Lynch and Cory Swanson, the Broadwater County Attorney.
• The other race features two state district court judges, Katherine Bidegaray and Dan Wilson.

North Carolina

• Incumbent North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs is being challenged by Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin.
• Justice Riggs was appointed to the North Carolina Supreme Court in September 2023.

Ohio

• Three of the Ohio Supreme Court’s seven seats are up for statewide, partisan election in November.
• Incumbent Democratic Justice Michael Donnelly is being challenged by Republican Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Megan Shanahan.
• Incumbent Democratic Justice Melody Stewart is being challenged by Republican Justice Joe Deters, who is challenging Stewart instead of seeking reelection to his own seat.
• The third seat is being contested by two lower court judges. Lisa Forbes, a Democrat, is a judge of the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals. Dan Hawkins, a Republican, is a judge of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.

Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia also will have State Supreme Court races. In some cases, incumbents are running unopposed.

Retention elections will be held for State Supreme Court justices in Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Wyoming.

ACS members and supporters are likely aware of the critical importance of State Supreme Courts, especially on reproductive rights post-Dobbs. Just as vital is the legal profession raising awareness about the importance of these races and urging voters to complete their entire ballot.

Democracy and Voting, State courts