HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — All three Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices who sought re-election Tuesday were reappointed, ensuring Democratic jurists maintain a majority on the presidential battleground state’s highest court and making the case the center of a pivotal battle. voting rights, redistricting and election.
The outcome will shape the composition of the seven-member court until the next presidential election in 2028. The three justices were elected as Democrats, and voters were deciding whether to expand the court’s Democratic majority. Rejecting all three could have sent the court into a partisan stalemate if the politically divided state government could not agree on a temporary appointee to fill the position.
Judges Christine Donahue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht have been awarded new terms.
All three were running in so-called “retention elections,” which ask voters to vote “yes” or “no” on whether to give sitting judges another term. The ballot paper did not identify political parties. The term of office is 10 years, but the period on the bench may be shortened due to age restrictions.
If they are re-elected, they will expand the Democratic majority (currently 5-2) on the court, which is at the center of crucial battles over voting rights, redistricting and elections.
Courts may once again be asked to resolve partisan disputes over election laws ahead of next year’s midterm elections that will decide the gubernatorial office and a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. Democrats need to win just three seats in the 2026 election to take control of the House.
Traditionally, the Remain campaign is a low-profile election. But in an era of increasingly polarized judicial elections, Republicans waged a late-start campaign to defeat the judge. The Democratic Party campaigned for re-election with allies and received support from Democratic governors. Josh Shapiro.
If he were to defeat all three, he could remain on the bench for two years, including until next year’s election, with a deadlock of two wins and two losses among the factions.
In recent years, courts have made important decisions regarding voting and elections, in part by necessity. politically divided And often state governments stalled.
Judge of 2018 I spat it out Republican-drawn maps of Pennsylvania’s unconstitutionally gerrymandered congressional districts, and four years later. I chose a new boundary again After government gridlock.
the court turned away republican agenda For Pennsylvania’s expansive mail-in voting law, which became the focus of Republican efforts to oust President Donald Trump. Trump’s defeat Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Republican justices disagreed.
The justices also handed down verdicts in cases involving abortion rights and public school funding.
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