Ballotpedia covers vacancies in 52 state supreme courts in the 50 states that have at least one court of last resort. Only Texas and Oklahoma have two courts of last resort, one for civil appeals and one for criminal appeals.
A vacancy occurs when a justice steps down from their seat before their term is regularly scheduled to end. A vacancy may occur due to a retirement, death, elevation to a federal court, ascension to the chief justice position, or any other reason that may cause them to not complete the remainder of their regularly scheduled term. After the announcement that a justice will step down, partial-term selection methods begin to fill the remainder of their term. To learn more about how Ballotpedia defines a vacancy, click here.
Ballotpedia counts a seat as vacant if the outgoing officeholder leaves office before their official term-end date or the incoming officeholder takes office after their official term-start date. If an officeholder takes or leaves office according to their official term-start or -end date, Ballotpedia does not count that as a vacant seat.
2025 vacancies
In 2025, there were 26 vacancies across 20 states. Of the 26 vacancies , 25 occurred in states where the replacement justice was appointed, not elected. There also was one vacancy where the replacement justice was elected instead of appointed. Of the 26 vacancies, 18 vacancies were caused by a justice retiring. Two vacancies were caused by a justice ascending to the chief justice of the court. One vacancy was caused by a judge being elected to another seat on the same court. One was caused by a justice passing away. Finally, four vacancies were caused by a judge elevation.
The following table contains a comprehensive list of the vacancies that Ballotpedia covered in 2025. For a list of states where a regularly scheduled election occurred in 2025, click here.
2025 vacancies
...by state
...by month
...by selection method
...by appointing party
Below is a table of all 2025 state supreme court vacancies. The table shows the court in which the vacancy occurred, the date the outgoing justice left office, the reason for the vacancy, and the court's method of selection. When available, the table will show the name of the successor and the date they were appointed or elected to the court. The final two columns will say ‘TBD’ until the successor has been named.
Note: Nominations requiring confirmation are marked with an asterisk (*)
The list below compares the partisan affiliation of the governor who appointed the outgoing justice and the governor appointing the incoming justice. It is important to note that, while the partisan affiliation of the appointing party may suggest a judicial candidate's political leanings, it does not necessarily indicate an appointed justice's political affiliation, nor how they will rule on the court.
Vacancies where a Democratic governor appointed a replacement for a Democratic-appointee
The map below shows how each state fills full-term vacancies. When a justice vacates their seat near the end of their term, or when a justice serving an unexpired term finishes their term, the following selection methods are used. In states with retention elections, following the conclusion of a justice's first full term, the justice may choose to run in a retention election.
The map below highlights selection methods in state supreme courts across the country.
The map below shows how each state fills partial-term vacancies. When a justice steps down before their term is scheduled to end, the following selection methods are used. After the succeeding justice serves out the remainder of their predecessor's term, states will use full-term selection methods to select a justice to serve a full term. Depending on the state, the incumbent justice can be selected again using a state's full-term selection method.
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
The map below shows which states hold retention elections. After a justice serves a complete term, they have the option to stand for retention. Retention elections, unlike partisan or nonpartisan elections, only list the incumbent justice, but allow voters to choose in favor of or against the justice remaining on the court.
The map below highlights selection methods in state supreme courts across the country, in those states that have retention as a valid selection method.
Monthly updates
Since April 2024, Ballotpedia has tracked all state supreme court vacancy actions and publishes this information in a monthly update with a compilation of all changes that occur during that month. Notice a monthly update that's missing something? Click here to let us know.
Click the dropdown below to view monthly updates from 2025:
2025 monthly state supreme court vacancy updates
2025 state supreme court vacancy count
Monthly update
Ballotpedia tracks court vacancies in 52 state supreme courts across all 50 states. Since 2024, Ballotpedia has published an annual state supreme court vacancy count outlining vacancies that occurred within the past year.
State supreme court vacancy count for December 2025
Monthly update
In this month's state supreme court vacancy update, Ballotpedia tracked announced retirements, nominations, appointments, confirmations, and the swearing-in of justices from Dec. 1 to Dec. 30, 2025. Ballotpedia tracks court vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts.
State supreme court vacancy count for November 2025
Monthly update
In this month's state supreme court vacancy update, Ballotpedia tracked announced retirements, nominations, appointments, confirmations, and the swearing-in of justices from Nov. 1 to Nov. 30, 2025. Ballotpedia tracks court vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts.
State supreme court vacancy count for October 2025
Monthly update
In this month's state supreme court vacancy update, Ballotpedia tracked announced retirements, nominations, appointments, confirmations, and the swearing-in of justices from Oct. 1 to Oct. 31, 2025. Ballotpedia tracks court vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts.
State supreme court vacancy count for September 2025
Monthly update
In this month’s state supreme court vacancy update, Ballotpedia tracked announced retirements, nominations, appointments, confirmations, and the swearing-in of justices from Sept. 2 to Sept. 30. Ballotpedia tracks court vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts.
In this month’s state supreme court vacancy update, Ballotpedia tracked announced retirements, nominations, appointments, confirmations, and the swearing-in of justices from Aug. 1 to Sept. 1, 2025. Ballotpedia tracks court vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts.
In this month’s state supreme court vacancy update, Ballotpedia tracked announced retirements, nominations, appointments, confirmations, and the swearing-in of justices from July 1, 2025, to July 31, 2025. Ballotpedia tracks court vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts.
In this month’s state supreme court vacancy update, Ballotpedia tracked announced retirements, nominations, appointments, confirmations, and the swearing-in of justices from June 1 to June 30, 2025. Ballotpedia tracks vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts.
In this month’s state supreme court vacancy update, Ballotpedia tracked announced retirements, nominations, appointments, confirmations, and the swearing-in of justices from May 1, 2025, to May 31, 2025. Ballotpedia tracks court vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts.
In this month’s state supreme court vacancy update, Ballotpedia tracked announced retirements, nominations, appointments, confirmations, and the swearing-in of justices from March 31, 2025, to April 30, 2025. Ballotpedia tracks court vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts.
In this month’s state supreme court vacancy update, Ballotpedia tracked announced retirements, nominations, appointments, confirmations, and the swearing-in of justices from March 1, 2025, to March 30, 2025. Ballotpedia tracks court vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts.
State supreme court vacancy count for February 2025
Monthly update
In this month’s state supreme court vacancy update, Ballotpedia tracked announced retirements, nominations, appointments, confirmations, and the swearing-in of justices from February 1 to February 28, 2025. Ballotpedia tracks court vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts.
State supreme court vacancy count for January 2025
Monthly update
In this month’s state supreme court vacancy update, Ballotpedia tracked announced retirements, nominations, appointments, confirmations, and the swearing-in of justices from December 31, 2024, to January 31, 2025. Ballotpedia tracks court vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts.
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