Tennessee judicial elections, 2016
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Ten seats on Tennessee's state-level courts were up for retention elections on August 4, 2016. Three seats on the Tennessee Supreme Court joined three seats on the Tennessee Court of Appeals and four seats on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals on the ballot.
The supreme court justices who stood for retention are Holly Kirby, Jeff Bivins, and Roger A. Page. All were retained.
The appeals court judges who stood for retention are Kenny Armstrong, Brandon O. Gibson, and Arnold B. Goldin. All were retained.
The court of criminal appeals judges who stood for retention are J. Ross Dyer, Timothy L. Easter, Robert L. Holloway, and Robert H. Montgomery.[1] All were retained.
Judges who stood for retention
Supreme Court
■ Jeff Bivins (Retained)
■ Holly Kirby (Retained)
■ Roger A. Page (Retained)
Court of Appeals
■ Kenny Armstrong (Retained)
■ Brandon O. Gibson (Retained)
■ Arnold B. Goldin (Retained)
Court of Criminal Appeals
■ J. Ross Dyer (Retained)
■ Timothy L. Easter (Retained)
■ Robert L. Holloway (Retained)
■ Robert H. Montgomery[1] (Retained)
Election results
| Tennessee Supreme Court Retention, Jeff Bivins, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
 Jeff Bivins | 70.79% | |
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results | ||
| Tennessee Supreme Court Retention, Holly Kirby, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Holly Kirby | 71.00% | |
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results | ||
| Tennessee Supreme Court Retention, Roger A. Page, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Roger A. Page | 70.88% | |
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results | ||
| Tennessee Court of Appeals Retention, Kenny Armstrong, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Kenny Armstrong | 71.64% | |
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results | ||
| Tennessee Court of Appeals Retention, Brandon O. Gibson, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Brandon O. Gibson | 71.44% | |
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results | ||
| Tennessee Court of Appeals Retention, Arnold B. Goldin, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Arnold B. Goldin | 70.62% | |
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results | ||
| Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Retention, J. Ross Dyer, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| J. Ross Dyer | 71.55% | |
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results | ||
| Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Retention, Timothy L. Easter, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Timothy L. Easter | 71.36% | |
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results | ||
| Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Retention, Robert L. Holloway, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Robert L. Holloway | 72.35% | |
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results | ||
| Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Retention, Robert H. Montgomery, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Robert H. Montgomery | 71.89% | |
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results | ||
Selection
- See also: Judicial selection in Tennessee
Tennessee's selection procedure for appellate judges is the Tennessee Plan, through which the governor appoints a judge to fill a court vacancy. Nominees for appointment were previously recommended by the Tennessee Judicial Nominating Commission.[2] However, the commission expired in 2013, following the General Assembly's inaction in reviewing the commission.[3]
In 2014, a state constitutional amendment gave the legislature control over confirming the nominations of justices for the Tennessee Supreme Court and judges of the Tennessee Court of Appeals and the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. The amendment also officially eliminated the Tennessee Judicial Nominating Commission. Prominent Republican officials, including current Governor Bill Haslam, Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey, and Senator Lamar Alexander supported the amendment. This measure was approved in November 2014.[4]
Amendment 2 essentially requires the approval of the legislature, rather than that of the nominating commission, for judicial appointments.
Once appointed and confirmed, in order to remain on the bench for subsequent terms, appellate judges in Tennessee—those on the state supreme court and the two state courts of appeals—participate in retention elections, while trial court judges are selected by partisan elections. Judicial elections are held in August of even-numbered years, during the statewide primary.[5] Elected judges take office on September 1.[6]
State profile
| Demographic data for Tennessee | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 6,595,056 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 41,235 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 77.8% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 16.8% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 1.6% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 4.9% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 85.5% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 24.9% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $45,219 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 21.4% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Tennessee. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Tennessee
Tennessee voted Republican in all six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Tennessee, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.[7]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Tennessee had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Tennessee coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Tennessee
- United States congressional delegations from Tennessee
- Public policy in Tennessee
- Endorsers in Tennessee
- Tennessee fact checks
- More...
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Tennessee court elections' OR 'Tennessee Supreme Court' OR 'Tennessee judicial election 2016'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tennessee Secretary of State, "Qualified Candidates for State and Federal Elections," accessed June 10, 2016
- ↑ Tennessee Plan
- ↑ Tennessee Judicial Nominating Commission
- ↑ Tennessee Board of Elections, "November 4, 2014 State General," accessed July 5, 2016
- ↑ LexisNexis, "Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-3-202 (2013)," accessed April 2, 2014
- ↑ Information emailed to Judgepedia by the Director of Communications for the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts on March 24 and April 3, 2014.
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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Federal courts:
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Tennessee, Middle District of Tennessee, Western District of Tennessee • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Tennessee, Middle District of Tennessee, Western District of Tennessee
State courts:
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State resources:
Courts in Tennessee • Tennessee judicial elections • Judicial selection in Tennessee