Two Florida Supreme Court justices face merit votes. Here's what to know
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Voters on Election Day will decide if two of the state's seven Supreme Court Justices — Justices Renatha Francis and Meredith L. Sasso — will keep their jobs.
- Vote yes to keep them on the bench. Vote no vote to remove them.
Why it matters: Justices decide on death penalty appeals, weigh in on high-profile cases and review lower court decisions. Their rulings can shape policy and alter or invalidate laws.
- In April, the court cleared the way for the state's abortion amendment to be on the ballot.
- It also decided against halting the state's 15-week ban, allowing for statewide bans on most abortions after six weeks to take effect.
How it works: Supreme Court justices are appointed by the governor, but the state constitution requires a merit retention vote for them to stay in their position.
- The vote occurs in the first general election that comes more than a year after the justice's appointment and happens every six years.
- Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Francis in 2022 and Sasso in 2023.
Francis was first nominated in 2020, but was rejected because she didn't have 10 years of experience under the Florida Bar.
- Francis served on the 15th Judicial Circuit Court in Palm Beach County. Gov. Rick Scott also appointed her to the circuit and county courts in the 11th Judicial Circuit of Miami-Dade, per her bio.
Sasso served as the chief judge in the Sixth District Court of Appeal prior to joining the Supreme Court.
- Sasso worked in Scott's administration in the general counsel's office from 2016 to 2019, per her bio.
The intrigue: Both Sasso and Francis dissented from the April decision that let voters decide in the general election whether to enshrine abortion rights in the state's Constitution.
- Both justices are members of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group, per the Tampa Bay Times.
The intrigue: A justice has never been removed by a retention vote, the Times reported.