Voters in Florida will decide if five of the seven state Supreme Court justices will be retained

United States Supreme Court building — Courtesy: Shutterstock — Steve Heap

Five of the seven justices currently sitting on the Florida Supreme Court are on the November ballot for a retention vote.

The governor is who appoints the Supreme Court justices but voters are the ones who decide whether or not the justices should be retained. These votes are conducted within the first general election that occurs a year after a justice’s appointment, and once again every six years.

Florida’s highest court has the final word on some of the major issues facing those who live in Florida, including final orders imposing the death penalty, specific orders from the Public Service Commission on services or utility rates, district court decisions declaring a statute invalid or a provision of the state Constitution, and issues that it declares of great public importance, such as whether the privacy clause in Florida’s Constitution entails abortion.

Voters across the state of Florida will have the opportunity to choose between “yes” or “no” on whether to retain each of these justices:

Charles T. Canady: appointed to the Supreme Court by then-Gov. Charlie Crist in 2008.

John D. Couriel: appointed to the Supreme Court by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2020.

Jamie Grosshans: appointed to the Supreme Court by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2020.

Jorge Labarga: appointed to the Supreme Court by then-Gov. Charlie Crist in 2009.

Ricky Polston: appointed to the Supreme Court by then-Gov. Charlie Crist in 2008.

Follow Florida Insider for more updates on voting.

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