How states choose their supreme court justices
Federal judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, but each state decides how to pick its own. 22 states use elections; the rest appoint, usually from a commission's shortlist. State supreme courts have the final word on their own state constitutions.
- Partisan elections (8)
- Nonpartisan elections (13)
- Party nomination, nonpartisan election (1)
- Commission and appointment (21)
- Governor appoints (5)
- Legislature elects (2)
Partisan elections (8)
Alabama · Illinois · Louisiana · New Mexico · North Carolina · Ohio (Party labels added to the ballot in 2021) · Pennsylvania · Texas (Two top courts: the Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals)
Nonpartisan elections (13)
Arkansas · Georgia · Idaho · Kentucky · Minnesota · Mississippi · Montana · Nevada · North Dakota · Oregon · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin
Party nomination, nonpartisan election (1)
Michigan (Parties nominate candidates; the general election ballot has no party labels)
Commission and appointment (21)
A commission screens candidates and the governor picks one; in many states, retention votes follow.
Alaska · Arizona · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · Florida · Hawaii · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas (Voters rejected switching to elections on August 4, 2026) · Maryland · Missouri · Nebraska · New York · Oklahoma (Two top courts: the Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals) · Rhode Island · South Dakota · Tennessee · Utah · Vermont · Wyoming
Governor appoints (5)
California · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · New Jersey
Legislature elects (2)
Questions and answers
How many states elect their supreme court?
22: 8 in partisan elections, 13 in nonpartisan elections, plus Michigan's hybrid.
What is the Missouri Plan?
The common name for assisted appointment: a commission vets applicants, the governor picks from its list, and in many states the justice later faces yes-or-no retention votes.
Has any state changed its method recently?
Ohio added party labels in 2021. In Kansas, voters rejected an amendment to switch to elections on August 4, 2026.
The U.S. Supreme Court · State legislatures
Sources: Ballotpedia, "Judicial selection" and "Kansas Elections for Supreme Court Justices Amendment (August 2026)".