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Florida Supreme Court elections, 2016
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| 2016 State Judicial Elections |
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| Part 1: Overview |
| Part 2: Supreme Courts |
| Part 3: Partisanship |
| Part 4: Changes in 2016 |
Three seats on the Florida Supreme Court were up for retention elections in November 2016. Chief Justice Jorge Labarga, Justice Charles Canady, and Justice Ricky Polston faced retention elections. Justice James E.C. Perry was also due to stand for retention in 2016, but he retired instead, as he reached the court's mandatory retirement age.[1] If retained, a supreme court justice serves for six years prior to the next retention election.
Justices who faced retention
■ Jorge Labarga
■ Charles Canady
■ Ricky Polston
Election results
November 8 general election
Jorge Labarga was retained in the Florida Supreme Court, Labarga's Seat election with 66.03% of the vote.
| Florida Supreme Court, Labarga's Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
 Jorge Labarga | 66.03% | |
| Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results | ||
Charles Canady was retained in the Florida Supreme Court, Canady's Seat election with 68.01% of the vote.
| Florida Supreme Court, Canady's Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Charles Canady | 68.01% | |
| Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results | ||
Ricky Polston was retained in the Florida Supreme Court, Polston's Seat election with 67.80% of the vote.
| Florida Supreme Court, Polston's Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Ricky Polston | 67.80% | |
| Source: Florida Division of Elections Official Results | ||
Political composition
Justices on the Florida Supreme Court are nonpartisan and appointed to their seats. All three justices up for retention in 2016 were appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist ((R) at the time of the appointments below; since switched to (D)), as was retiring Justice James E.C. Perry. The remaining three justices were appointed by former Gov. Lawton Chiles (D).
| ■ Chief Justice Jorge Labarga | Appointed by Charlie Crist (R) in 2009 | |
| ■ Charles Canady | Appointed by Charlie Crist (R) in 2008 | |
| ■ Fred Lewis | Appointed by Lawton Chiles (D) in 1998 | |
| ■ Peggy Quince | Appointed by Lawton Chiles (D) in 1998 | |
| ■ Barbara Pariente | Appointed by Lawton Chiles (D) in 1997 | |
| ■ James E.C. Perry | Appointed by Charlie Crist (R) in 2009 | |
| ■ Ricky Polston | Appointed by Charlie Crist (R) in 2008 |
Selection
- See also: Judicial selection in Florida
Judges are selected using the assisted appointment method, where the Governor of Florida chooses from a list of three to six candidates recommended by a commission on judicial appointments. Justices serve six-year terms. The appointment of a justice must be confirmed by a retention vote in the next general election at least one year after taking office.[2]
Political outlook
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan outlook of state supreme court justices in their paper, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns." A score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology while scores below 0 were more liberal. The state Supreme Court of Florida was given a campaign finance score (CFscore), which was calculated for judges in October 2012. At that time, Florida received a score of 0.51. Based on the justices selected, Florida was the 8th most conservative court. The study was based on data from campaign contributions by judges themselves, the partisan leaning of contributors to the judges, or—in the absence of elections—the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice but rather an academic gauge of various factors.[3]
Qualifications
Minimum qualifications for appointment to the court are:
- Registered to vote in Florida
- Resident of Florida
- Under 70 years of age
State profile
| Demographic data for Florida | ||
|---|---|---|
| Florida | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 20,244,914 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 53,625 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 76% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 16.1% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 2.6% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.4% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 23.7% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 86.9% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 27.3% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $47,507 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 19.8% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Florida. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Florida
Florida voted Republican in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, four are located in Florida, accounting for 1.94 percent of the total pivot counties.[4]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Florida had three Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 1.66 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respsectively.
More Florida coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Florida
- United States congressional delegations from Florida
- Public policy in Florida
- Endorsers in Florida
- Florida fact checks
- More...
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Florida court elections' OR 'Florida Supreme Court 2016' OR 'Florida Supreme Court election'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Miami Herald, "Jorge Labarga to serve rare 2nd term as chief justice of Florida Supreme Court," February 5, 2016
- ↑ Florida Supreme Court, "Florida State's Court System," accessed August 21, 2015
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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Federal courts:
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida
State courts:
Florida Supreme Court • Florida District Courts of Appeal • Florida Circuit Court • Florida County Court
State resources:
Courts in Florida • Florida judicial elections • Judicial selection in Florida