Louisiana local trial court judicial elections, 2020
From Ballotpedia
- Main articles: State judicial elections, 2020 and Local trial court judicial elections, 2020
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of elections in America's 100 largest cities by population. This coverage extends to every office on the ballot for residents of these cities, including local trial court judges. In 2020, Ballotpedia covered the following local elections in this state:
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana - Mayor, city councilors, assessor, coroner, sheriff, judicial districts
- New Orleans, Louisiana - District attorney, constable, judicial districts
If the above list includes local trial court judgeships, click the links for more information about the elections. Click here to learn more about how the judges in this state are selected. Ballotpedia did not cover all local trial court judicial elections in this state in 2020. Please consider donating to Ballotpedia to help us expand our coverage of these elections.
Election rules
Primary election
Louisiana's primary elections are held in November, during the general elections of other states. Judges compete in a primary election against candidates of all parties. If no candidate receives over 50 percent of the vote, the top two candidates run against each other in the general election. If a candidate does receive a majority vote in the primary, he or she is declared elected as an unopposed candidate and will not be listed on the general election ballot.[1]
In the event that candidates are competing for more than one open seat on a court, the majority vote is decided by "dividing the total votes cast for all of the candidates by the number of offices to be filled [and] dividing the result so obtained by two," according to the Secretary of State website. The website gives the following example:
- 1040 total votes cast ÷ 3 offices to be filled ＝ 346.6
- 346.6 ÷ 2 ＝ 173.3
In the above example, 174 votes are necessary to win for each of the 3 offices.[1]
General election
A general election is won by obtaining the highest number of votes. In the case of races with two or more open seats, the two or more candidates with the highest votes are declared the winners. If there is a tie, an additional election will be scheduled for the third Saturday after the announcement of the election results.[1]
Judicial selection method
District courts
- See also: Partisan election of judges
There are 217 judges on the Louisiana District Courts, each elected to six-year terms. They must face re-election if they wish to serve again.[2]
The district courts select chief judges by peer vote (with term lengths that vary by individual court).[2]
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:[2][3]
- licensed to practice law in the state for at least eight years;
- a resident of the district represented for at least one year; and
- under the age of 70 at the time of election (judges who turn 70 in office may serve until their term expires)
Family courts
- See also: Partisan elections
Judges of the Louisiana Family Courts are each elected to six-year terms. The elections for this court are partisan contested elections. To serve on this court, a judge must be a parish resident for one year, younger than 70 years old, and have eight years experience of practicing law in the state and a law degree.[4]
Justice courts
- See also: Partisan elections
Judges of the Louisiana Justice of the Peace Courts are each elected to six-year terms. The elections for this court are partisan contested elections. To serve on this court, a judge must be a local resident for two years, younger than 70 years old, and have a law degree.[5]
Additional elections
- See also: Louisiana elections, 2020
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
There are no Pivot Counties in Louisiana. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
See also
| Local courts | Louisiana | Other local coverage |
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Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Louisiana Secretary of State, "How are Candidates Elected?" accessed May 1, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Louisiana; Selection of Judges," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ NOLA.com, "Lawmakers fail to pass amendment eliminating mandatory retirement age of judges," June 3, 2013
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Louisiana; Limited Jurisdiction Courts," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Louisiana; Limited Jurisdiction Courts," archived October 2, 2014
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