Iowa 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 Iowa Supreme Court were up for retention elections on November 8, 2016. Chief Justice Mark Grady, Justice Daryl Hecht, and Justice Brent Appel faced retention elections. If retained, a supreme court justice serves for eight years.
Justices who faced retention
■ Mark Cady
■ Daryl Hecht
■ Brent Appel
Election results
November 8, 2016
Mark Cady was retained in the Iowa Supreme Court election with 65.30% of the vote.
| Iowa Supreme Court, Cady's seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
 Mark Cady | 65.30% | |
| Source: Iowa Secretary of State Official Results | ||
Daryl Hecht was retained in the Iowa Supreme Court election with 64.08% of the vote.
| Iowa Supreme Court, Hecht's seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Daryl Hecht | 64.08% | |
| Source: Iowa Secretary of State Official Results | ||
Brent Appel was retained in the Iowa Supreme Court election with 64.36% of the vote.
| Iowa Supreme Court, Appel's seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Brent Appel | 64.36% | |
| Source: Iowa Secretary of State Official Results | ||
Political composition
Justices on the Iowa Supreme Court are nonpartisan and appointed to their seats. David Wiggins, Daryl Hecht, and Brent Appel were appointed to the court by Gov. Tom Vilsack (D). The remaining four justices were appointed to the court by Gov. Terry Branstad (R).
| ■ Chief Justice Mark Cady | Appointed by Terry E. Branstad (R) in 1998 | |
| ■ Brent Appel | Appointed by Tom Vilsack (D) in 2006 | |
| ■ Daryl Hecht | Appointed by Tom Vilsack (D) in 2006 | |
| ■ Edward Mansfield | Appointed by Terry E. Branstad (R) in 2011 | |
| ■ Thomas Waterman | Appointed by Terry E. Branstad (R) in 2011 | |
| ■ David Wiggins | Appointed by Tom Vilsack (D) in 2003 | |
| ■ Bruce B. Zager | Appointed by Terry E. Branstad (R) in 2011 |
Selection
- See also: Judicial selection in Iowa
In 1962, a constitutional amendment was passed which changed the court's method of judicial selection to a commission-selection, political appointment method, sometimes referred to as "merit selection." This amendment applies to all appellate and district court justices. Judicial nominees are selected by the Iowa Judicial Nominating Commission. The governor then makes the appointment from the list submitted by the commission. One year after the appointment, the justice must stand for retention in the next general election. If a judge is not retained, his or her term ends on December 31 following the election. Once retained, judges serve for eight-year terms. The mandatory retirement age for judges is 72.[1][2]
Qualifications
Justices must be lawyers admitted to practice in Iowa. They must be able to serve a full term of office before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 72.[1]
Chief justice
The justices of the court elect their chief justice. The term of chief justice matches that justice's regular term on the court.[3]
State profile
| Demographic data for Iowa | ||
|---|---|---|
| Iowa | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 3,121,997 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 55,857 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 91.2% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 3.2% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 2% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 5.4% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 91.5% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 26.7% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $53,183 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 13.8% | 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 Iowa. **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 Iowa
Iowa voted for the Republican candidate in four 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, 31 are located in Iowa, accounting for 15.04 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. Iowa had 31 Retained Pivot Counties, 17.13 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Iowa coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Iowa
- United States congressional delegations from Iowa
- Public policy in Iowa
- Endorsers in Iowa
- Iowa fact checks
- More...
Recent news
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Iowa Judicial Branch, "Guide to Iowa's Court System," December 2005
- ↑ Iowa Judicial Branch, "20th Century Reforms," accessed September 26, 2014
- ↑ Iowa Judicial Branch, "Supreme Court Justices," accessed September 26, 2014
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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Federal courts:
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Iowa, Southern District of Iowa • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Iowa, Southern District of Iowa
State courts:
Iowa Supreme Court • Iowa Court of Appeals • Iowa district courts
State resources:
Courts in Iowa • Iowa judicial elections • Judicial selection in Iowa