Missouri Judicial Retention (2026): Which Judges Are on Your Ballot?
Fifty Missouri judges are up for retention on November 3, 2026. Voters will decide whether to keep each judge in office by marking YES or NO.
The judges on your ballot depend on where you live. Every Missouri voter will vote on the retention of Supreme Court Judge Paul C. Wilson and the Court of Appeals judges serving their district. Some voters will also decide whether to retain local judges.
Under the Missouri Plan, a judicial commission selects three nominees for each appellate judgeship and the governor appoints one. Voters get their say after the judge has taken office.
Quick Facts
- Election date: November 3, 2026.
- Judges up for retention: One Supreme Court judge, five Court of Appeals judges, 28 circuit judges, and 16 associate circuit judges.
- Statewide vote: Supreme Court Judge Paul C. Wilson.
- Other judges on your ballot: Depend on where you live.
- YES vote: Keeps the judge in office for another term.
- NO vote: Opposes keeping the judge. If a majority votes NO, the seat becomes vacant when the current term ends.
- Terms of office: Twelve years for Supreme Court and Court of Appeals judges, six years for circuit judges, and four years for associate circuit judges.
Which Missouri judges are on the ballot in 2026?
Every Missouri voter will vote on Supreme Court Judge Paul C. Wilson. Court of Appeals judges appear on ballots within their appellate district.
Local retention questions appear in Clay, Greene, Jackson, Platte, and St. Louis counties and the City of St. Louis.
Missouri Supreme Court
Paul C. Wilson is the only Missouri Supreme Court judge up for retention in 2026. His retention question appears statewide.
Missouri Court of Appeals
Missouri has three appellate districts:
- Eastern District: Includes St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson County, much of northeastern Missouri, and Cape Girardeau.
- Southern District: Includes Springfield, Joplin, Branson, much of the Ozarks, and the Bootheel.
- Western District: Includes Kansas City, St. Joseph, Columbia, Jefferson City, and much of northern and west-central Missouri.
View the official map of Missouri’s Court of Appeals districts.
| District | Judges up for retention |
|---|---|
| Eastern District | Virginia W. Lay, Rebeca Navarro-McKelvey, Angela Turner Quigless |
| Southern District | Matthew P. Hamner |
| Western District | Lisa White Hardwick |
What do Missouri’s judicial performance reviews say?
The Missouri Judicial Performance Review Committee recommended retaining all 50 judges on the November 2026 ballot. Voters looking for help holding judges accountable receive the same recommendation for every judge.
The committee includes lawyers, nonlawyers, and retired judges. The Missouri Bar funds the review process. Its Board of Governors appoints successor members other than the retired judges, who are appointed by the Missouri Supreme Court.
The committee’s review materials include lawyer surveys, juror surveys where applicable, and written judicial opinions.
Paul C. Wilson: Missouri Supreme Court
Appointed by Gov. Jay Nixon (D) in December 2012. Wilson’s retention question appears statewide.
Wilson wrote the majority opinion in Coleman v. Ashcroft (2024), the court’s 4–3 decision to keep the 2024 pro-abortion amendment, Amendment 3, on the ballot.
The court rejected challenges to the petition’s form and its compliance with the single-subject requirement. The ruling allowed the proposal to go before voters.
Virginia W. Lay: Eastern District
Appointed by Gov. Mike Parson (R) in November 2024.
Lay wrote the opinion in Johnson v. Missouri State Highway Patrol (2026), upholding dismissal of a petition seeking exemption from sex-offender registration.
The court applied a five-year waiting period after an earlier denial, finding that the petitioner could not seek that relief again until March 2028.
Rebeca Navarro-McKelvey: Eastern District
Appointed by Gov. Mike Parson (R) in December 2023.
Navarro-McKelvey wrote the opinion in State v. McClain (2024), upholding murder convictions after rejecting challenges to warrantless police searches.
The court found that the defendant had abandoned a bag containing a gun and that emergency circumstances justified obtaining his cellphone location information. Police were investigating three murders committed within approximately 24 hours.
Angela Turner Quigless: Eastern District
Appointed by Gov. Jay Nixon (D) in April 2012.
Quigless wrote the opinion in Planned Parenthood of St. Louis Region v. Missouri Department of Social Services (2021), dismissing the state’s appeal in Medicaid reimbursement litigation because there was no final judgment to review.
Matthew P. Hamner: Southern District
Appointed by Gov. Mike Parson (R) in March 2024.
Lisa White Hardwick: Western District
Appointed by Gov. Bob Holden (D) on May 2, 2001.
Hardwick joined the unanimous decision in Fitz-James v. Ashcroft (2023), replacing the secretary of state’s summaries for six proposed pro-abortion initiatives.
The court found the summaries insufficient and unfair and certified alternative language. Hardwick presided over the panel; Judge Thomas N. Chapman wrote the opinion.
What happens if voters reject a judge?
If a majority votes NO on a judge’s retention question, the seat becomes vacant when the current term ends.
The replacement goes through the normal appointment process. A judicial commission submits three nominees to the governor, who selects one. If the governor fails to make an appointment within 60 days, the commission selects the replacement from its nominees.
Even after voters remove a judge, the nominating commission controls the list of possible replacements.
Who chooses Missouri’s judicial nominees?
Judicial nominating commissions choose the candidates the governor may appoint. These commissions are separate from the committee that reviews sitting judges for retention.
| Commission | Membership |
|---|---|
| Appellate Judicial Commission | Three lawyers elected by lawyers, three nonlawyers appointed by the governor, and one Supreme Court judge selected by the court. |
| Circuit judicial commission | Two lawyers elected by lawyers, two nonlawyers appointed by the governor, and the chief judge of the relevant Court of Appeals district. |
Each commission acts by majority vote. Lawyers and a sitting judge together hold four of the seven appellate commission seats and three of the five circuit commission seats. The governor’s appointees hold the remaining seats.
Why Liberty Alliance USA supports judicial reform
Missouri voters deserve a greater role in choosing their judges. Under the Missouri Plan, voters first weigh in after a judge has taken office. The governor’s choices are limited to the nominees selected by a commission where lawyers and a sitting judge hold a majority of the seats.
Liberty Alliance USA supports reform that gives voters more direct control over judicial selection and greater accountability for the decisions made in Missouri’s courts.
Read more: The Missouri Plan Gives Legal Insiders Too Much Power.
Frequently Asked Questions
A retention election asks whether a sitting judge should remain in office. Each judge appears in a separate YES-or-NO question without an opposing candidate.
No. Retention questions appear without party labels.
A judge appointed under the Missouri Plan first faces retention at the next general election after serving twelve months in office. After that, the judge faces retention at the end of each full term.
The judge leaves when the current term ends. A replacement is then selected through the Missouri Plan’s appointment process.
Missouri uses different selection systems for its courts. The Missouri Plan applies to the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and trial courts in Clay, Greene, Jackson, Platte, and St. Louis counties and the City of St. Louis. Trial judges elsewhere generally run in partisan elections.
Sources
- Secretary of State: certified candidates for the November 2026 general election, judicial roster on printed pages 26–27.
- Missouri Constitution, Article V, section 25(c)(1): retention elections and vacancies.
- Missouri Constitution, Article V, section 25(a): appointment from commission nominees.
- Missouri Constitution, Article V, section 25(d): nominating commission membership.
- Missouri Constitution, Article V, section 19: judicial terms.
- Judicial Performance Review Committee: review process.
- Judicial Performance Review Committee: 2026 findings.
- Secretary of State: sample-ballot information.
Appointment history
- Missouri Official Manual, 2025–2026: judicial biographies.
- Missouri Official Manual, 2001–2002: Hardwick appointment.
- Lay appointment announcement.
- Navarro-McKelvey appointment announcement.
- Quigless appointment history.
- Hamner appointment reporting.