National Organization for Women

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Voting for Judges on the Florida November Ballot

Compiled by Judi Marraccini, FL NOW Legislative Director

The following information is provided by “Courts Matter Florida Coalition”

JUDICIAL CANDIDATES AND RETENTION VOTING

The primaries yielded judicial candidates for the upcoming county and state circuit courts. There are also judges up for retention vote. Retention votes, while just a simple “yes” or “no” to keep a judge on the bench, are very important. Retention votes occur after the first year the judge has been on the bench and then every six years following that. Check out The Votes in Your Court for more information about judicial elections and retentions Voters may often assume to vote “yes” to retaining those judges, thinking they’ve been on the bench this long without any problems… However, if any of these judges have a history of rendering decisions that do not reflect the constitution, established law and fairness they should get the boot from voters. The Executive Branch would then have to replace them. That would give advocates like ourselves to help ensure the new judges reflect the #Courts Matter criteria for acceptable justices. They must be:

  • Qualified
  • Fair
  • Committed to the Constitution
  • Reflect the Diversity of our country

Of particular note is that our Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court, Carlos G. Muniz is up for a retention vote. The Ballot Brief has a full list of all the judges appearing on the ballot. You can find the names of those appearing on your ballot in addition to what your ballot will look like. For more news on the Florida Courts take a look the state’s Florida Courts News out and disciplinary actions on the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission.