Both Supreme Court Justice Meredith Sasso and Justice Renatha Francis were appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, and on Election Day Nov. 5, it’ll be up to voters to decide if they’ll keep their seats on the high court. NBC6’s Steve Litz reports.
Voters are being asked to decide if two of Florida's highest-ranking judges should keep their seats.
Both Supreme Court Justice Meredith Sasso and Justice Renatha Francis were appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, and on Election Day Nov. 5, it'll be up to voters to decide if they'll keep their seats on the high court.
The two justices are not running against another candidate. Rather the question on the ballot reads, "Shall the justice of the Supreme Court be retained in office?"
Like politicians, state supreme court justices have a voting record, too.
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Sasso voted to uphold Florida’s abortion ban and voted against putting Amendment 4 on the ballot, letting voters decide the abortion matter.
She used to work for the Office of the General Council under the Rick Scott administration.
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Francis, the first Jamaican American to serve on the Florida Supreme Court, also voted to uphold the state's abortion ban and against putting Amendment 4 on the ballot.
Both justices also voted against putting marijuana for adult use on the ballot.
Currently, there are seven justices on the state Supreme Court, and it’s considered a conservative panel, as all were appointed by Republican governors.
Barry University political science Professor Sean Foreman doesn't think changes to the court are likely, highlighting that people are more focused on the presidential race and the state constitutional amendments.
However, there was an attempt to shake up the court in 2022.
"Some Democrats were trying to make an issue to vote against the justices in 2022 because they had voted in favor of some conservative policies, in particular on abortion policies at the state level, but those never gained traction at all," Foreman said.
In fact, NBC6 could not find an instance in which a justice was not retained on the court.
If the justices are voted off the court, it'll be up to DeSantis to appoint their replacements.
