Professor Urges Voters to Follow Key Judge Races

Balance of Pennsylvania Supreme Court could affect upcoming congressional races

By Danielle M. Smith - Public News Service
The Tube City Almanac
August 21, 2025
Posted in: State & Region

This November, Pennsylvanians will not see presidential or congressional races on the ballot but voters will decide whether three state Supreme Court justices keep their seats.

The decision could affect issues ranging from voting rights to whether or not Pennsylvania becomes subject to a grueling battle over congressional districts, as Texas and other states are currently facing.

Daniel Mallinson, associate professor of public policy and administration at Penn State University in Harrisburg, said unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, states choose judges in different ways, and Pennsylvania uses elections.

He warned with low turnout common in odd-year elections, Republicans could gain ground and shift the balance of power in the key battleground state.

Under state law, if more than 50 percent of voters cast a vote in opposition to a sitting judge, the judge will be out of office at the end of his or her term.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro would then make a temporary appointment to fill the seat with a special election held in the next odd year — in this case, 2027 — but any appointments would need to be confirmed by the Republican-controlled state Senate, which may not confirm his picks.

All three of the state Supreme Court judges whose terms are up for retention are Democrats. Losing one or more of the seats could tip the balance on the state’s highest court, which rules on appeals of cases decided by lower courts, as well as on issues related to the Pennsylvania Constitution.

“There's actually a lot of attention from particularly Republican election activists to try to unseat some of these justices,” Mallinson said. “With the idea that then they could run, potentially run and win a candidate in a future election, and alter the balance of the court right now.”

Mallinson emphasized the importance of judicial representation in Pennsylvania. While the courts have always been a coequal branch of government, state Supreme Courts have received increased attention in recent years, particularly during high-profile election cases, such as the numerous lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign in Pennsylvania following the 2020 presidential election.

“There were also suits in 2024 about ballot design and whether you can have ballot drop boxes,” Mallinson said. “All these questions about how elections are run, those are going to end up at the state Supreme Court. But there’s been other big issues like abortion access and right to abortion within state constitutions.”

Some states such as Texas are currently undergoing mid-decade redistricting.

Mallinson added the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has received additional attention, in part because of the outsize role it has played in recent redistricting. In 2018, the court threw out the congressional districts drawn by the General Assembly in 2011 and invited a new plan from the governor and General Assembly.

“When we had the 2020 census and then drawing of the 2022 lines, the General Assembly and the governor had trouble coming to an agreement,” Mallinson said. “There were a couple of different versions of the lines, and the Supreme Court picked the final version.”

He stressed people are also watching two important appeals court races and votes on whether judges get to stay, because those results will affect how the courts work with the governor and lawmakers.

Originally published August 21, 2025.

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