Judicial Retention

From the Advocacy Committee

March 7, 2025

Coming Up: Critical Judicial Elections

In a post last year, we explained how judges are elected not appointed in Pennsylvania (March 2024 Advocacy Post on Judicial Elections). In this post, we want to focus on upcoming judicial elections, particularly in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, where three of the five sitting Democrats in that court’s majority are up for what are known as “retention elections.” 

This is the first “yes-no” retention vote for the three Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices on the ballot – Justices David N. Wecht, Christine L. Donohue and Kevin M. Dougherty. The other two sitting Democrats on that court are Chief Justice Debra Todd and Justice Daniel McCaffery. There are seven total members of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

The three Supreme Court justices up for a retention vote will not appear on the Primary ballot; judicial retention votes occur only in the General Election which will take place on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. The Pennsylvania Primary is on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

Why are the Pennsylvania Supreme Court retention elections such a big deal this year? Because that court is the ultimate authority on Pennsylvania law and could determine which party has an advantage in Congress and the state legislature as a result of redistricting litigation. The Supreme Court also plays a critical role in deciding other critical issues such as reproductive rights, voting rights, and state policies such as marijuana legalization.

The Pennsylvania Capital-Star, in a terrific article on money and judicial elections, has reported that a state-focused Republican campaign organization has told its donors that it is committed to making “seven-figure investments in the Pennsylvania retention election.” It also reported that the national Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee has put Pennsylvania’s supreme court election on its 2025 map. 

The amount of money spent on supreme court races around the country has continued to rise dramatically in recent cycles; in Pennsylvania, $16 million was spent in 2015 and $22 million in 2023. To date, the record in a state supreme court race was set in Wisconsin in 2023 -- $51 million. 

Sadly, in these odd-number year elections, known as “off-year elections,” turnout in Pennsylvania is typically about 20% of registered voters. This means that an extreme minority determines our state, county, and local judges. 

There are hundreds of other judicial posts on the ballot across the commonwealth this year, as well, including one vacancy on each of the Superior and Commonwealth Courts (which we will see on our Cumberland County ballots), two positions on the Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas (trial court), and the magisterial judge position covering Camp Hill (Magisterial District 09-1-02) currently held by Magistrate District Judge Elizabeth S. “Leisl” Beckley, a Republican first elected in 2011.  

Don’t forget that one (among many) quirks of Pennsylvania’s government is that it has a closed primary system, which means that only voters registered as Democrats and Republicans can vote in primary elections. Pennsylvania is one of only nine states that restrict primary voting. 

However, candidates for the lower courts (as well as for school board) can cross file, meaning that the candidates for the Court of Common Pleas and Magistrate District Judge can appear on both parties’ primary ballots. There have been continual attempts to restrict cross-filing by both parties for some time now, but none have yet been successful.

The Camp Hill Democrats will provide voting guides for both the Primary and General Elections and are always looking for volunteers to drop campaign literature, phone bank, get out the vote, and work the polls on election days. For more information, visit https://www.camphilldemocrats.com/ for more information, join, donate, and sign up to volunteer.