When it comes to the upcoming general election — November 4, although you can always vote early by mail! — Philadelphia voters may be aware of the more high-profile races, for District Attorney, for example. But this year’s general election also marks 10 years since we last elected five justices to our state appellate courts. This means, 2025 is a judicial retention election year.
Judicial retention is, in a most basic sense, putting judges currently on the PA Supreme Court, Superior Court and Commonwealth Court up for reelection. Only, it’s got a different name, because the judicial retention portion of your ballot is outwardly nonpartisan. More on that below.
What is judicial retention?
After serving a 10-year term, judges on the PA Supreme Court, Superior Court and Commonwealth Court — statewide roles, not county or city-based — must seek reelection through “retention elections.” Although a judicial retention election sounds a lot like a simple reelection, it is a bit different.
Candidates for seats on the PA Supreme, Superior Court or Commonwealth Court, initially run as members of political parties. Once elected, however, in an act of ostensible neutrality, if they want to stay on the bench beyond their first decade, they must shed their political affiliation and run as themselves, unlinked to a party. This makes judicial retention elections officially nonpartisan.
In the run-up to a judicial retention election, justices are prohibited from campaigning on how they would rule in future decisions. They can campaign only on their current record.
Also different: Voters vote “Yes” or “No” to retain justices to the PA Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth Courts. (For lower courts, voters’ only option is to check or not check a box next to the judge’s name.)
If the majority votes yes — which they almost always do — the judge stays on. But if they vote no, the governor appoints a temporary replacement that the PA State Senate must vote to approve. If the Senate approves the new judge, the judge serves until the next odd-numbered year, at which time an election is held to select a new (or the governor-appointed) judge to serve a 10-year term. If the Senate does not approve the governor’s choice, however, the seat remains vacant until the next odd-numbered year.
Judges on all three courts can, if retained, serve an unlimited amount of 10-year terms, but must retire when they turn 75.
SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA
Seven justices serve on the Supreme Court of PA. Currently, five justices are Democrats, and two are Republicans. In 2025, three Democratic justices (and no Republican justices) are up for judicial retention. The Republican Party is eyeing PA’s general election as an opportunity to potentially flip the court.
If any of these three judges loses their retention election, Governor Josh Shapiro can appoint a temporary replacement. That replacement goest to the State Senate to seek two-thirds approval. Currently, the PA State Senate is Republican controlled. If all three justices lose their retention elections and the Senate approves none of Shapiro’s three nominees, the vacant seats will remain vacant. In this case, the Court will consist of two Democratic and two Republicans justices — an ideological stalemate. In that case, voters won’t be able to choose more PA Supreme Court justices until November 2027.
Observers have speculated that powerful Republicans like former Presidential advisor Elon Musk could throw money behind a campaign to get people to vote “No” on retention. Should this happen, it would be only the second time in PA history for a statewide judge to lose a retention election (really, the second, third and fourth times, since the first time a statewide justice received a “No” vote, it was just one judge.)
Here are the Supreme Court of PA judges up for judicial retention: