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Indiana Supreme Court justices easily retain seats in 2024 election

More than half of the Indiana Supreme Court was on the ballot in 2024 for retention.
More than half of the Indiana Supreme Court was on the ballot in 2024 for retention.

The five state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals judges that were on the ballot in Indiana this year easily kept their seats on the bench in Tuesday’s election.

There was a somewhat organized effort this year to encourage Hoosiers to vote against retaining  the three members of the Supreme Court who were on the ballot: Chief Justice Loretta Rush, and Justices Mark Massa and Derek Molter.

All three of them had voted to uphold the state’s  near-total abortion ban, prompting the largely online effort to force them out of their seats.

But that effort made little difference, as all three earned at least 68 percent of the vote in favor of their retention.

Join the conversation and sign up for the Indiana Two-Way. Text "Indiana" to 765-275-1120. Your comments and questions in response to our weekly text help us find the answers you need on statewide issues, including our project  Civically, Indiana .

No judge or justice has ever lost a retention vote in the 54 years since Indiana’s judicial retention system was put in place.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at  bsmith@ipbs.org  or follow him on Twitter at  @brandonjsmith5 .

Brandon J. Smith has previously worked as a reporter and anchor for KBIA Radio in Columbia, MO. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, IL as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.