How the retention election system works in Arizona

In Arizona, the judges in the Arizona Supreme Court, appellate court and judges in the three biggest counties are not elected but rather appointed. In every other county, the judges are elected.

The head of Arizona Judicial Retention, William Auther, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss how the retention election system in Arizona works and how voters can get information on judges. This year, two Arizona Supreme Court justices are facing retention elections amid intense scrutiny for their ruling that upheld an 1864 abortion ban.

Voters still have a chance to decide the fate of judges who are appointed via judicial retention. After spending two years serving as a judge, the voters get to decide whether or not the judge will be reinstated through a process called retention election.

“The appointment process is a very robust one through a commission or various commissions make recommendations to the governor who appoints. Once appointed, the Judicial Performance Review Commission comes into play to make sure that the judges continue to meet performance standards throughout their tenure as judges and to allow the public to make decisions about whether to retain them or not,” Auther said.

If the judge is re-elected they will face another retention election in four more years. Information about the judge’s performance is gathered from everyone who uses the court system and is made available to voters.

It is uncommon for judges to be voted out in Arizona.

“Two years ago we had a couple that were voted off. We’ve had a handful over the years, I’ve been on the commission for 12 years and I think only five or six have been voted off during that period. More importantly, some judges decide not to face the voters in the retention election when they see their survey scores and see their data. They know the commission is going to be looking at them and just decide to retire or move on to something else,” Auther said.