Florida Judge Elections: Nonpartisan Races, Retention, and Appointments

Judges in Florida reach the bench two different ways depending on the court. Trial court judges run in nonpartisan elections, while Supreme Court justices and District Court of Appeal judges are appointed by the governor from a shortlist prepared by a Judicial Nominating Commission and then face periodic yes-or-no retention votes. Every judge, appointed or elected, serves a six-year term.¹ So how are judges selected in Florida in practice? The answer depends entirely on which court you’re looking at.

Trial Court Judges Run in Nonpartisan Elections

Circuit Court and County Court judges are elected in nonpartisan races. Florida law prohibits judicial candidates from qualifying or campaigning based on party affiliation, and no party label appears next to a judicial candidate’s name on any ballot.²

When two or more candidates qualify for the same seat, their names appear on the primary election ballot. A candidate who wins a majority of votes cast in the primary wins the seat outright and does not appear on the general election ballot, unless a write-in candidate has also qualified. If nobody clears a majority, the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, and whoever gets the most votes there wins.³

If only one candidate qualifies and no write-in opponent files, that person is simply deemed elected and never appears on any ballot at all.³ The winning candidate serves a six-year term and must run again to keep the seat.

Appellate Judges Face Retention Votes Instead

Florida Supreme Court justices and District Court of Appeal judges never face an opponent on the ballot. After the governor appoints them, they serve until the next general election that falls at least one year after the appointment. From then on, near the end of each six-year term, they appear on the ballot for a merit retention vote. The ballot asks a single question: “Shall Justice (or Judge) [name] of the [court name] be retained in office?”¹

A majority yes vote among voters within the court’s territorial jurisdiction keeps the judge in office for another six years. A majority no vote creates a vacancy at the end of the current term, which the governor then fills through the appointment process. Florida voters adopted this system by constitutional amendment in the mid-1970s, and it applies to every appellate judge in the state.⁴

How the Governor Fills a Vacancy

Any time a judicial seat opens up before a term expires, whether from a retirement, a resignation, or a no vote in a retention election, the governor appoints the replacement through a structured process. The Florida Constitution creates a separate Judicial Nominating Commission for the Supreme Court, for each District Court of Appeal, and for each judicial circuit covering the trial courts within it.¹

Once a vacancy occurs, the relevant JNC has 30 days to review applications, interview candidates, and send the governor a shortlist of three to six qualified nominees. The governor can extend that window by another 30 days. After receiving the certified list, the governor has 60 days to pick one person from it.¹

The appointed judge’s first term runs until January following the next general election that falls at least one year after the appointment. At that point, appellate appointees face their first retention vote, and circuit or county court appointees face a regular nonpartisan election.¹

Who Sits on a Judicial Nominating Commission

Each JNC has nine members, all appointed by the governor. Four seats must go to Florida Bar members in active practice, chosen from lists of three nominees the Bar’s Board of Governors submits for each seat. The governor can reject an entire slate and ask for new names, but must ultimately pick from the Bar’s recommendations. The other five members are also governor-appointed, and at least two of those five must themselves be practicing Bar members. All nine must live within the court’s geographic jurisdiction, and each serves a four-year term.⁵

JNC deliberations happen privately, but applications, interviews, proceedings, and records are otherwise open to the public.¹

Who Qualifies to Be a Judge

Every Florida judge must be a registered voter in the state and must live within the geographic area their court serves. Beyond that, each level of court sets its own bar for legal experience.¹

Supreme Court justices and District Court of Appeal judges must have been Florida Bar members for at least ten years immediately before taking office.
Circuit Court judges must have been Florida Bar members for at least five years.
County Court judges must have been Florida Bar members for at least five years, except in counties with a population of 40,000 or less, where current Bar membership alone is enough.⁶

The same requirements apply whether a person runs for election or submits an application to a Judicial Nominating Commission.¹

What Judicial Candidates Can and Cannot Do

Florida holds judicial candidates to stricter campaign rules than candidates for other offices. The Florida Code of Judicial Conduct forbids candidates from personally soliciting campaign contributions. All fundraising has to run through a separate campaign committee, and the same rule bars candidates from personally asking attorneys for public endorsements.⁷

Candidates also cannot campaign under a party label, attend party functions as a candidate, or accept political party endorsements.² And they cannot pledge how they would rule on specific cases or legal issues, because their conduct must remain consistent with the impartiality and independence the bench requires.⁷

Mandatory Retirement at 75

No Florida justice or judge may stay on the bench after turning 75, except on temporary assignment as a senior judge. The age cap is written into the Florida Constitution and applies at every level of the system.¹

Retired judges who accept senior judge assignments keep hearing cases on a temporary basis and remain bound by essentially the same ethical rules as active judges, including restrictions on practicing law or mediating in any circuit where they sit. A retired judge who would rather not take assignments can instead rejoin the Florida Bar as a practicing attorney, but doing so gives up senior status and ends the obligation to follow the Code of Judicial Conduct.⁸

1
Florida Senate. The Florida Constitution
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code Chapter 105 – Nonpartisan Elections
3
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 105.051 – Determination of Election or Retention to Office
4
Florida Supreme Court. Merit Selection, Retention and Mandatory Retirement of Justices
5
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 43.291 – Judicial Nominating Commissions
6
Florida Senate. Florida Code 34.021 – Qualifications of County Court Judges
7
Florida Supreme Court. Code of Judicial Conduct Canon 7
8
Florida Supreme Court. Retired and Senior Judges – Opinions by Subject