DES MOINES, Iowa — On Election Day, Iowa voters will determine whether Supreme Court Justice David May keeps his job. The retention election will be Justice May’s first as he finished the latter half of Justice Brent Appel’s term.
Justice May first served as a district judge in the 5th Judicial District from 2016 to 2019. He was then appointed to the Iowa Court of Appeals by Gov. Kim Reynolds, a position he held until 2022.
When Justice Appel reached retirement age that year, Gov. Reynolds appointed May to serve on the Iowa Supreme Court.
On the November ballot all Iowa voters will be asked if Justice May should be retained in office. A vote “yes” means the justice will serve a full 8-year-term and a vote “no” means he will be removed from office at the end of the year.
No opponents will appear next to Justice May’s name and no other active justices will appear on the ballot either.
The Iowa Judicial Branch said these retention elections are about professional competence. They shouldn’t necessarily be about whether voters agree with the justice’s previous rulings.
However, some activists are encouraging Iowans to vote no on the ballot because he was one of the justices that allowed the 6-week abortion ban to take effect.
If Justice May gets a majority of no votes, it will then be up to Gov. Reynolds to select a replacement after a 17-member panel creates a shortlist of finalists for her to review.
In the event Justice May is removed from his position, it wouldn’t necessarily be unprecedented. Three justices were all ousted in 2010, after they voted to legalize same-sex marriage in the state.