State court justices in Florida had until April 24, 2020, to file to run for retention. The terms of 26 Florida state court justices—one supreme court justice and 25 appellate court justices—are set to expire in January 2021. The retention elections are scheduled for November 3, 2020.
A retention election provides voters with the option to vote “Yes” in favor of keeping a certain judge on the bench or “No” in order to remove them from office. A judge must receive a majority of “Yes” votes in order to be retained. Both the supreme court and the appellate court justices are elected to six-year terms.
Florida Supreme Court Judge Carlos Muñiz filed for retention. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) appointed Muñiz to the seven-member court on January 22, 2019.
Twenty-five of the 64 Florida District Courts of Appeal justices are up for retention in 2020, and all but one of them filed to run. Florida Third District Court of Appeal Judge Vance Salter did not file for retention. He was sworn into office on June 27, 2007, and will serve until his term ends on January 4, 2021.
A total of 288 state court seats are up for election across the United States in 2020. Thirty-five states are holding state supreme court elections, and 82 of the nation’s 344 state supreme court seats are up for election. Thirty states are holding intermediate appellate court elections for 206 seats.
Additional reading:
Florida intermediate appellate court elections, 2020
State judicial elections, 2020
Florida District Courts of Appeal
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