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Arkansas 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 |
Two seats on the Arkansas Supreme Court were filled in elections that took place on March 1, 2016.
John Kemp and Shawn Womack were elected to the seats set to be vacated, respectively, by Chief Justice Howard Brill and Associate Justice Paul Danielson. Brill was ineligible to run for re-election and Danielson chose to retire.[1]
Each justice elected to the court serves an eight-year term.
Candidates
Chief Justice Position 1
- Incumbent Howard Brill did not run for re-election and retired in December 2016.
■ Circuit Judge John Dan Kemp 
■ Supreme Court Associate Justice Courtney Goodson[1]
Associate Justice Position 5
- Incumbent Paul Danielson did not run for re-election and retired in December 2016.
■ Attorney Clark W. Mason
■ Circuit Judge Shawn A. Womack[1]
Election results
March 1
| Arkansas Supreme Court, Chief Justice, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Dan Kemp |
57.56% | 344,523 |
| Courtney Hudson Goodson | 42.43% | 253,941 |
| Total Votes (100% Reporting) | 598,464 | |
| Source: Arkansas Secretary of State Official ResultsSebastian County Arkansas | ||
| Arkansas Supreme Court Associate Justice Position 5, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Shawn Womack |
67.50% | 378,444 |
| Clark Mason | 32.50% | 182,182 |
| Total Votes (100% Reporting) | 560,626 | |
| Source: Arkansas Secretary of State Official Results | ||
Political composition
Arkansas' supreme court justices are elected in nonpartisan elections.
Current justices
Chief Justice Howard Brill
Associate Justice Paul Danielson
Associate Justice Karen R. Baker
Associate Justice Josephine Hart
Associate Justice Courtney Hudson Goodson
Associate Justice Rhonda Wood
Associate Justice Robin Wynne
Selection
- See also: Judicial selection in Arkansas
All justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court are elected for eight-year terms in nonpartisan elections. Justices serve staggered terms so that it is unlikely the entire court would be replaced in one election. Nonpartisan elections were implemented in 2000 with the passage of Amendment 3. Vacancies are filled by interim appointments by the Governor of Arkansas under Amendment 29, Section 1 of the state constitution. Appointed justices are ineligible to run to succeed themselves in the next election.[2]
The court consists of a chief justice, a vice chief justice and five associate justices.
The court's chief justice is selected by voters and serves in that capacity for a full eight-year term.
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 Arkansas was given a campaign finance score (CFscore), which was calculated for judges in October 2012. At that time, Arkansas received a score of -0.48. Based on the justices selected, Arkansas was the 9th most liberal 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 election to the court are:
- At least 30 years old.
- Be of good moral character.
- Be learned in the law.
- Possess U.S. citizenship.
- Have been a resident of Arkansas for more than two years.
- Have practiced law for at least eight years preceding the date of assuming office.[4]
Removal of justices
Justices can be removed in multiple ways:
- May be impeached by a majority vote of the Arkansas House of Representatives and summarily convicted by a two-thirds vote of the Arkansas Senate. The governor of Arkansas may then remove the judge based on the recommendations of the legislature.
- May be censured, suspended, removed or retired based upon recommendation of the judicial discipline and disability commission. The Supreme Court may then decide whether to follow the recommendation.[4]
State profile
| Demographic data for Arkansas | ||
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 2,977,853 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 52,035 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 78% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 15.5% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 1.4% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.6% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.1% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 6.9% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 84.8% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 21.1% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $41,371 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 22.9% | 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 Arkansas. **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 Arkansas
Arkansas voted Republican in all 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, one is located in Arkansas, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.[5]
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. Arkansas had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Arkansas coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Arkansas
- United States congressional delegations from Arkansas
- Public policy in Arkansas
- Endorsers in Arkansas
- Arkansas fact checks
- More...
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Arkansas Supreme Court election' OR 'Arkansas judicial elections' 'Arkansas court elections 2016'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Arkansas Secretary of State, "Candidate Information: 2016 Preferential Primary and Nonpartisan General Election," accessed December 29, 2015
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedIneligible - ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedsc - ↑ 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: Eastern District of Arkansas, Western District of Arkansas • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Arkansas, Western District of Arkansas
State courts:
Arkansas Supreme Court • Arkansas Court of Appeals • Arkansas Circuit Courts • Arkansas District Courts • Arkansas City Courts
State resources:
Courts in Arkansas • Arkansas judicial elections • Judicial selection in Arkansas
