Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.

Wyoming Constitutional Amendment B, Judicial Retirement Age Measure (2022)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Wyoming Constitutional Amendment B
Flag of Wyoming.png
Election date
November 8, 2022
Topic
State judiciary
Status
Defeatedd Defeated
Type
Constitutional amendment		Origin
State legislature

Wyoming Constitutional Amendment B, the Judicial Retirement Age Measure, was on the ballot in Wyoming as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022. The measure was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported increasing the judicial retirement age from 70 to 75 for state supreme court justices and district court judges.

A "no" vote opposed increasing the judicial retirement age to 75 for state supreme court justices and district court judges, thereby retaining current law which provides for a mandatory retirement age of 70.


Election results

Wyoming Constitutional Amendment B

Result Votes Percentage
Yes 74,650 39.19%

Defeated No

115,838 60.81%
Results are officially certified.
Source


Overview

What would Amendment B have changed?

The amendment would have increased the mandatory judicial retirement age from 70 to 75 for state supreme court justices and district court judges. Mandatory retirement is the compulsory retirement of judges who have reached a specific age determined by a state's constitution. Wyoming provided in its state constitution for mandatory retirement of judges at age 70 through a 1971 constitutional amendment, which was approved by a vote of 67% to 33%.[1][2]

Did other states have mandatory retirement ages for judges?

See also: Mandatory retirement ages by state

Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia have set mandatory retirement ages as of March 2022. In 2003, Vermont established the highest mandatory retirement age at 90 years old.[3]

How did this amendment get on the ballot?

See also: Path to the ballot

In Wyoming, a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds vote in each chamber of the Wyoming State Legislature during one legislative session.

On February 24, 2022, the Wyoming House of Representatives voted 54 to 5 to approve the amendment. All seven Democratic representatives voted in favor. Of the 51 Republican representatives, 45 voted in favor, five voted against, and one was absent. The one Independent representative and one Libertarian representative both voted in favor. On March 3, 2022, the State Senate passed the measure in a vote of 20-30. Both Democratic senators voted in favor. Among the 28 Republican senators, 18 voted in favor and 10 voted against.

To be adopted, the amendment must be approved by a majority of all voters casting ballots at the election.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“ Currently, the Wyoming Constitution requires Wyoming Supreme Court justices and district court judges to retire upon reaching the age of seventy (70). This amendment increases the mandatory retirement age of Supreme Court justices and district court judges from age seventy (70) to age seventy-five (75).[4] ”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article 5, Wyoming Constitution

The measure would have amended section 5 of Article 5 of the state constitution. The following struck-through text would have been deleted and underlined text would have been added.

Article 5, Section 5. Voluntary retirement and compensation of justices and judges.

Subject to the further provisions of this section, the legislature shall provide for the voluntary retirement and compensation of justices and judges of the supreme court and district courts, and may do so for any other courts, on account of length of service, age and disability, and for their reassignment to active duty where and when needed. The office of every such justice and judge shall become vacant when the incumbent reaches the age of seventy (70) seventy five (75) years, as the legislature may prescribe.; but, in the case of an incumbent whose term of office includes the effective date of this amendment, this provision shall not prevent him from serving the remainder of said term nor be applicable to him before his period or periods of judicial service shall have reached a total of six (6) years. The legislature may also provide for benefits for dependents of justices and judges.[4]

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2022

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The attorney general wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 15, and the FRE is 30. The word count for the ballot title is 43.


Support

Supporters

A table showing support for the amendment in the state legislature is available here.

Arguments

  • State Sen. Tara Nethercott (R): "With that hard stop at 70, we’ve lost a lot of good judges as a result of that. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense that the state would lose that talent and that skill and that commitment to the judicial branch of the state of Wyoming simply because they reached that age of 70."
  • State Rep. Barry Crago (R): "I just think it’s time we do that. We have a lot of good judges that are forced to retire at 70. They are not ready for retirement, nor should they be. They’re still doing a great job for our state. It will actually be a money saver because we won’t be putting them on a pension plan as early…I’m hopeful we’re able to get that passed on the ballot and raise that for our judges, because it has been much needed for a while. If just those eight were able to serve an extra five years, the retirement system benefits by a gain of nearly $4 million, which is a huge savings to the taxpayers, and that will only grow and grow and grow as more judges are able to serve that long."


Opposition

Opponents

A table showing opposition to the amendment in the state legislature is available here.

Arguments

  • Bern Haggerty, Laramie attorney and the Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Section of the Wyoming State Bar: "Amendment B implicates the overall wellbeing of our courts, including fair representation of women throughout the court system. Over the next fifteen years, Amendment B will mandate retirement for only three women out of thirteen district and supreme court judges — 23%. In other words, 77% of the immediate beneficiaries of Amendment B will be men. Supporters of Amendment B have told stories about older judges (almost all men) forced into retirement too early. But, where are the stories of the brilliant mid-career women lawyers? Amendment B will stall the work of the judicial nominating commission and the current trend to appoint more women judges. What will we tell the women whose opportunity to serve as judges, or to be promoted within the judiciary, will be unfairly delayed or denied because of Amendment B? Another important story is missing from the Amendment B debate: our 28 circuit court judges have no mandatory retirement age. These judges have tremendous power over the lives of women, especially poor women. They preside over evictions and domestic violence and sexual assault protection order proceedings, for instance. Until recent years, circuit court judges have almost all been men. Of the oldest fourteen circuit judges only two are women — 14%. Why not set a mandatory retirement age for circuit court judges? If you care about diversity, and fair representation for women, vote 'No' on Amendment B."


Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Wyoming ballot measures

Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions Cash Expenditures Total Expenditures
Support $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Oppose $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Total $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

If you are aware of a committee registered to support or oppose this measure, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

Mandatory retirement ages by state

See also: Mandatory retirement

Mandatory retirement is the compulsory retirement of judges who have reached a specific age determined by a state's constitution. Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia have set mandatory retirement ages as of March 2022. In 2003, Vermont established the highest mandatory retirement age at 90 years old.[5]

List of states

State Mandatory retirement age Additional information
Alabama 70[6] Judges may finish the final term during which they turn 70.[6]
Alaska 70[7]
Arizona 70[8][9]
Arkansas Judges who do not retire at 70 lose all earned retirement benefits.[10] No retirement age; however, judges lose their earned retirement benefits if they choose to seek re-election past age 70.[11]
California - No retirement age
Colorado 72[12]
Connecticut 70[13]
Delaware - No retirement age
District of Columbia 74[14]
Florida 75[15] Judges may finish the final term if more than one-half has been served at age 75.[15]
Georgia - No retirement age
Hawaii 70[16]
Idaho - No retirement age
Illinois - Used to be 75, but law was struck down by Illinois Supreme Court in 2009[17][18]
Indiana 75[19] No limit for superior court and county court judges.[20]
Iowa 72[21]
Kansas 75[22] Judges may finish the final term during which they turn 75[22]
Kentucky - No retirement age
Louisiana 70[23] Judges may finish the final term during which they turn 70[23]
Maine - No retirement age
Maryland 70[24]
Massachusetts 70[25]
Michigan 70[26] Judges may finish the final term during which they turn 70.[26]
Minnesota 70[27] Judges must retire the last day of the month in which they have turned 70[27]
Mississippi - No retirement age
Missouri 70/75[28][29] Judges other than municipal judges must retire at 70.[28] Municipal judges must retire at 75.[29]
Montana - No retirement age
Nebraska - No retirement age
Nevada - No retirement age
New Hampshire 70[30]
New Jersey 70[31] Judges serving as Administrative Director of the Courts may apply to defer retirement.[32]
New Mexico - No retirement age
New York 70[33] Judges may finish out year they turn 70. There is no retirement limit for Town and Village Courts.
North Carolina 72[34] Judges must retire the last day of the month in which they have turned 72[34]
North Dakota Judges who do not retire at 73 lose all earned retirement benefits.[35] No retirement age; however, judges lose their earned retirement benefits if they do not apply for retirement before turning 73.[36]
Ohio 70[37] Judges may finish the final term during which they turn 70[37]
Oklahoma - No retirement age; limit may be established by statute.[38]
Oregon 75[39] Limit may be reduced to as low as 70 by statute or initiative.[39]
Pennsylvania 75[40] Judges may finish out year they turn 75.[40]
Rhode Island - No retirement age[41]
South Carolina 72[42] No limit for Probate or Municipal Court judges.[42]
South Dakota 70[43] Judges that turn 70 may serve until the first Tuesday following a Monday of the year following the next state legislature election.[43]
Tennessee - No retirement age
Texas 75[44][45] Conditions may vary. See Article 5 for more information[44]
Utah 75[46]
Vermont 90[47]Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name cannot be a simple integer. Use a descriptive title Judges may finish out year they turn 90.[47]
Virginia 73[48] Judge will be retired 20 days after the regular session of the General Assembly following birthday.[48]
Washington 75[49] Judges may finish out year they turn 75[49]
West Virginia - No retirement age
Wisconsin - The Wisconsin Blue Book 2005-2006 states: "Wisconsin used to have a mandatory retirement age for judges and justices. From 1955 to 1978, judges and justices had to retire at age 70. Since 1977, the Wisconsin Constitution has authorized the legislature to impose a maximum age of no less than 70, but the legislature has not done so."[50]
Wyoming 70[51]

Wyoming ballot measures, 2000-2020

  • Between 2000 and 2020, 20 measures appeared on the ballot in Wyoming.
  • From 2000 and 2020, an average of two measures appeared on the ballot in even-numbered years.
  • Between 2000 and 2020, 12 of 20 measures (60%) were approved, and 8 of 20 measures (40%) were defeated.
Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 2000-2020
Total number Approved Percent approved Defeated Percent defeated Even-year average Even-year median Even-year minimum Even-year maximum
20 12 60% 8 40% 2 2 0 4


Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Wyoming Constitution

In Wyoming, a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds vote in each chamber of the Wyoming State Legislature during one legislative session.

The constitutional amendment was introduced into the state Legislature as House Joint Resolution 1 (HJ 1). On February 24, 2022, the Wyoming House of Representatives voted 54 to 5 to approve HJ1. All seven Democratic representatives voted in favor. Of the 51 Republican representatives, 45 voted in favor, five voted against, and one was absent. The one independent representative and one Libertarian representative both voted in favor. On March 3, 2022, the State Senate passed the measure in a vote of 20-10. Both Democratic senators voted in favor. Among the 28 Republican senators, 18 voted in favor and 10 voted against.[1]

Vote in the Wyoming House of Representatives
February 24, 2022
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 40  Approveda
YesNoNot voting
Total5451
Total percent90.00%8.33%1.67%
Democrat700
Republican4551
Libertarian100
Independent100
Vote in the Wyoming State Senate
March 3, 2022
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 20  Approveda
YesNoNot voting
Total20100
Total percent66.67%33.33%0%
Democrat200
Republican18100

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Wyoming

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Wyoming.

How to vote in Wyoming


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wyoming State Legislature, "HJ0001," accessed February 26, 2022
  2. ↑ Wyoming State Courts, "About the courts," accessed March 21, 2022
  3. ↑ Vermont Public Radio, "Legislature sets judges' retirement age at 90 years," May 20, 2003
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content
  5. ↑ Vermont Public Radio, "Legislature sets judges' retirement age at 90 years," May 20, 2003
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Justia, "Amendment 328 Ratified," accessed Jan. 26, 2022
  7. ↑ Alaskan Constitution Art. IV, Sec. 11
  8. ↑ Arizona Constitution Art. VI Sec. 20
  9. ↑ Arizona Constitution Art. VI Sec. 39
  10. ↑ Arkansas Code, "Title 24 - Retirement And Pensions," accessed Jan. 11, 2022
  11. ↑ Arkansas Times, "Arkansas judges want age limit removed," Jan. 19, 2022
  12. ↑ Colorado Constitution Art. VI Sec. 23
  13. ↑ Connecticut Constitution Art. V, Sec. 6
  14. ↑ Council of the District of Columbia, "§ 1–204.31. Judicial powers." accessed Jan. 19, 2022
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Florida Constitution Art. V, Sec. 8
  16. ↑ Hawaii Constitution Art. VI, Sec. 3
  17. ↑ 705 ILCS 55/1 "Compulsory Retirement of Judges Act."
  18. ↑ ABA Journal, "Top Illinois Court Axes Mandatory Retirement Law for State Judges," June 18, 2009
  19. ↑ Chapter 13: The Commission on Judicial Qualifications and the Retirement, Discipline, and Removal of Justices and Judges Section "§ 33-38-13-8 Age; Temporary Judicial Duties" accessed Jan. 19, 2022
  20. ↑ LegiScan.com "Indiana Senate Bill 463" accessed Jan. 19, 2022
  21. ↑ Chapter 602: Judicial Branch "602.1610 Mandatory retirement" accessed Jan. 19, 2022
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Chapter 20: Courts Article 26: Retirement System For Justices And Judges, "Statute: 20-2608(a)" accessed Jan 19, 2022
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Louisiana Constitution Art. V, Sec. 23
  24. ↑ Maryland Constitution Art. IV, Sec. 3
  25. ↑ Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Chapter III: Judiciary Power - Art. XCVII" accessed Jan. 19, 2022
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Michigan Constitution Art. VI, Sec. 19
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Minnesota Statutes, "Statute: 490.121(21d) & 490.125," accessed Jan 19, 2022
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Missouri Constitution Art. V, Sec. 26
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Missouri Revised Statutes, "Statute: 479.020(7)," accessed Jan. 19, 2022
  30. ↑ New Hampshire Constitution Art. 78
  31. ↑ New Jersey Constitution Art. XI, Sec. IV
  32. ↑ LegiScan "New Jersey Senate Bill 4098" accessed Jan. 19, 2022
  33. ↑ New York Constitution Art. VI, Sec. 25
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 ncga.state.nc.us, "Article 1B: Age Limits for Service as Justice or Judge."
  35. ↑ North Dakota Century Code "Chapter 27-17: Retirement of Judges" accessed Jan 19, 2022
  36. ↑ North Dakota Century Code "Chapter 27-17: Retirement of Judges" accessed Jan 19, 2022
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Ohio Constitution Art. IV, Sec. 6
  38. ↑ Oklahoma Constitution Art. VII, Sec. 11
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Oregon Constitution Art. VII, Sec. 1a
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Pennsylvania Constitution Art. V, Sec. 16
  41. ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Rhode Island," archived October 6, 2014
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 South Carolina Legislature, "Title 9 - Retirement Systems"
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 South Dakota Legislature, "Statute: 16-1-4.1" accessed Jan. 21, 2022
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 Texas Constitution Art. 5, Sec. 1-a
  45. ↑ Texas Lawyer, "Chief Justice’s Election Bid Puts Spotlight on Texas’ Mandatory Judicial Retirement," Jan. 6, 2020
  46. ↑ Utah State Legislature, "Statute: 49-18-701: Judges' mandatory retirement age." accessed Jan. 21, 2022
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 Vermont State Legislature, "Statute: 4-609 - Judicial retirement" accessed Jan. 21, 2022
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 Virginia State Law "§ 51.1-305. Service retirement generally (B1)" accessed Jan. 21, 2022
  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 Art. IV, Sec. 3.28a.29
  50. ↑ Wisconsin Blue Book 2005-2006
  51. ↑ Wyoming Constitution, Art. V, Sec. 5
  52. ↑ Wyoming Secretary of State, "Election Frequently Asked Questions, General Voting information," accessed May 30, 2025
  53. ↑ 53.0 53.1 Wyoming Secretary of State, "Voting," accessed May 30, 2025
  54. ↑ 54.0 54.1 Wyoming Legislature, "Legislation 2025, HB0156 - Proof of voter residency-registration qualifications." accessed May 28, 2025
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 55.2 55.3 55.4 Wyoming Secretary of State, "Welcome to the FAQs," accessed May 30, 2025
  56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 NCSL, "State Profiles: Elections," accessed May 30, 2025
  57. ↑ Wyoming Legislature, "Legislation 2025, HB0156 - Proof of voter residency-registration qualifications." accessed May 28, 2025
  58. ↑ Wyoming Legislature, "HB0075 - Voter identification," accessed May 2, 2023
v • e
2022 ballot measures
I&R States
 • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Florida • Idaho • Illinois • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • North Dakota • Ohio • Oregon • South Dakota • Utah • Washington • Wyoming
Non I&R States
 • Alabama • Connecticut • Georgia • Hawaii • Iowa • Kentucky • Kansas • Louisiana • New Hampshire • New York • Rhode Island • South Carolina • Tennessee • Texas • Vermont • West Virginia
Political topics
Abortion policy • 

Absentee and mail voting •  Administrative organization •  Administrative powers and rulemaking •  Age limits for officials •  Agriculture policy •  Alcohol laws •  American Indian issues •  Ballot measure process •  Ballot measure supermajority requirements •  Banking policy •  Bond issues •  Business regulations •  Business taxes •  Campaign finance •  Citizenship voting requirements •  Civil and criminal trials •  Civil service •  Collective bargaining •  Constitutional rights •  Constitutional wording changes •  County and municipal governance •  Crime victims' rights •  Criminal trials •  Death penalty •  Drug crime policy •  Early childhood education •  Early voting •  Election administration and governance •  Environment •  Ethics rules and commissions •  Executive official term limits •  Federal government issues •  Firearms policy •  Gambling policy •  Healthcare governance •  Higher education funding •  Highways and bridges •  Housing •  Immigration policy •  Impeachment rules •  Income taxes •  Initiative and referendum process •  Insurance policy •  LGBTQ issues •  Law enforcement •  Law enforcement funding •  Law enforcement officers and departments •  Local government officials and elections •  Local wages and pay •  Marijuana laws •  Military service policy •  Minimum wage laws •  Open meetings and public information •  Parks, land, and natural area conservation •  Primary election systems •  Private health insurance •  Property •  Psychedelic substances laws •  Public assistance programs •  Public economic investment policy •  Public education funding •  Public education governance •  Public health insurance •  Public transportation •  Race and ethnicity issues •  Ranked-choice voting •  Recall process •  Redistricting policy •  Religion-related policy •  Revenue allocation •  Revenue and spending limits •  Right-to-work laws •  Salaries of government officials •  Sex and gender issues •  State National Guard and militia •  State and local government budgets, spending, and finance •  State constitution ratification •  State constitutional conventions •  State executive branch structure •  State executive elections •  State executive official measures •  State executive powers and duties •  State judicial selection •  State judiciary •  State judiciary structure •  State legislative authority •  State legislative elections •  State legislative processes and sessions •  State legislative structure •  State legislative term limits •  Tax and revenue administration •  Taxes •  Telecommunications infrastructure •  Tobacco laws •  Transportation •  Utility policy •  Vehicle and driver regulations •  Veterans policy •  Voter ID policy •  Water •  Wildfire management

Other
Flag of Wyoming
v • e
State of Wyoming
Cheyenne (capital)
Elections

What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

Government

Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy

Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Wyoming_Constitutional_Amendment_B,_Judicial_Retirement_Age_Measure_(2022)&oldid=10260621"