A sign is posted in support of retaining Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices in the November election, in Berwyn, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
HARRISBURG, Pa. - On Nov. 4, Pennsylvanians will vote on the retention of three justices who have sat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court since 2015 – Justices Christine Donohue, David Wecht and Kevin Dougherty.
If any of them are not retained, their terms will end on Dec. 31.
Instead of choosing between candidates, PA voters will have to vote either "yes" or "no" on this question: Should this justice be retained for another 10-year term on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court?
Typically, judicial votes fly under the radar in the face of what are considered to be more pressing ballot choices. This year, however, all eyes are on Pennsylvania, as the results of these votes could have major implications on both the state and federal level.
A potentially chaotic Court
Dig deeper:
Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Eugene DePasquale said during a call last week with reporters that if all three justices fail to win their elections, the PA Supreme Court could be thrown "into chaos," according to City & State Pennsylvania.
In that scenario, only four justices would be left on the bench: two Democrats and two Republicans. An even number of justices, especially ones that are split by party, would allow for more tie votes, as 90.5 WESA notes.
Although the procedure for how to fill judicial vacancies on the PA Supreme Court is clear, the split-party politics in The Keystone State could delay the process. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is a Democrat, and Republicans currently hold the majority in the state Senate, so there's reason to believe the voting body would take issue with at least one of Shapiro's nominations. Plus, any nominee would need to be agreed upon by two-thirds of the state Senate.
Delays in the confirmation process could, in the most dramatic scenario, extend until the next judicial election in 2027. And since the PA Supreme Court would be tasked with hearing any cases that come out of the 2026 election cycle, this would throw the body into "disarray," according to Chip Becker, a member of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s Commission on Judicial Independence.
Becker told WESA that long-term delays in the confirmation process would be a "significant blow to the efficiency and speed at which the court could function."
"Whether you're a Republican, Democrat, Independent…you do not want a four-person court for anything longer than a week or two," Justice Wecht said in an interview with WESA.
File Photo.
Voting and reproductive rights
Big picture view:
Both parties have invested significant resources into these retention races.
The Democratic National Committee announced last month that it has invested six figures into the Pennsylvania Democratic Party to support these three justices' retention efforts.
On the flip side, Republicans and other conservatives have invested in efforts to encourage PA voters to vote "no" on the retention of Donohue, Wecht and Dougherty.
According to WITF-FM, a political committee tied to the state's richest man and major GOP donor, Jeffrey Yass, has heavily invested in both print and digital efforts urging against retention. And as of last month, the Republican State Leadership Committee has spent at least $85,000 on digital ads asking Pennsylvanians to vote "No in November," according to a report from Spotlight PA.
In a statement provided to City & State Pennsylvania, DNC Chair Ken Martin said that "[t]he stakes couldn’t be higher" in these races.
"The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is on the front lines of decisions related to voting rights, redistricting, abortion protections and more," he said. "The DNC is all hands on deck to win elections everywhere – none more important than in Pennsylvania in November."
Plus, on that same call last week with reporters, Mini Timmaraju, the president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All, emphasized the impact these elections could have on reproductive care, also according to City & State.
"A single loss in this election could completely shift the balance of the court and put reproductive freedom in jeopardy from further attacks from state Republicans and Donald Trump," she said. "So this is why it matters to us. This election will not just have an immediate impact; it's going to determine the future of access in Pennsylvania."
The Source: Information above was sourced from City & State Pennsylvania, The Conversation, 90.5 WESA, Ballotpedia, WITF-FM and Spotlight PA.