Pennsylvania intermediate appellate court elections, 2023

2023 State Judicial Elections
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The terms of two Pennsylvania intermediate appellate court judges expired on January 1, 2024. The two seats were up for retention election on November 7, 2023. The last day to file for retention was January 2, 2023.

In addition, one seat on the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court and two seats on the Pennsylvania Superior Court were up for partisan election on November 7, 2023. The primary was May 16, 2023. The filing deadline was March 7, 2023.

Vacancies

Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court

One seat on the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court was up for partisan election on November 7, 2023. The election filled the vacancy created when Judge Kevin Brobson (R) was elected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2021.

Pennsylvania Superior Court

Two seats on the Pennsylvania Superior Court were up for partisan election on November 7, 2023. The election filled the vacancy created when Jacqueline Shogan retired from the court in 2022. It also filled the vacancy that Judge John T. Bender created when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 in November 2023.

Candidates and election results

Commonwealth Court

General election

General election for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court

Matt Wolf defeated Megan Martin in the general election for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Wolf (D)	52.5	1,602,116
		Megan Martin (R)	47.5	1,452,330

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,054,446
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court

Matt Wolf defeated Bryan Neft in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on May 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Wolf	57.2	577,470
		Bryan Neft	42.8	431,595

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,009,065
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court

Megan Martin defeated Joshua Prince in the Republican primary for Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on May 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Megan Martin	63.0	501,693
		Joshua Prince	37.0	294,979

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 796,672
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Harry Smail Jr. (R)

Superior court

General election

General election for Pennsylvania Superior Court (2 seats)

Jill Beck and Timika Lane defeated Maria Battista and Harry Smail Jr. in the general election for Pennsylvania Superior Court on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jill Beck (D)	28.0	1,572,023
✔		Timika Lane (D)	25.5	1,431,550
		Maria Battista (R)	24.1	1,353,555
		Harry Smail Jr. (R)	22.3	1,251,817

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,608,945
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Superior Court (2 seats)

Jill Beck and Timika Lane defeated Patrick F. Dugan in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Superior Court on May 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jill Beck	40.3	694,115
✔		Timika Lane	37.9	653,020
		Patrick F. Dugan	21.7	373,619

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,720,754
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Pennsylvania Superior Court (2 seats)

Maria Battista and Harry Smail Jr. advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania Superior Court on May 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Maria Battista	52.9	626,159
✔		Harry Smail Jr.	47.1	557,707

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,183,866
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Panella's seat

Pennsylvania Superior Court

Jack Panella was retained to the Pennsylvania Superior Court on November 7, 2023 with 67.3% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	67.3	1,778,318
			No	32.7	864,594
			Total Votes		2,642,912

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It has been certified. Source

Stabile's seat

Pennsylvania Superior Court

Vic Stabile was retained to the Pennsylvania Superior Court on November 7, 2023 with 61.1% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	61.1	1,577,550
			No	38.9	1,005,336
			Total Votes		2,582,886

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It has been certified. Source

Voting information

See also: Voting in Pennsylvania

Election information in Pennsylvania: Nov. 7, 2023, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

• In-person: Oct. 23, 2023
• By mail: Received by Oct. 23, 2023
• Online: Oct. 23, 2023

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

• In-person: Oct. 31, 2023
• By mail: Received by Oct. 31, 2023
• Online: Oct. 31, 2023

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

• In-person: Nov. 7, 2023
• By mail: Received by Nov. 7, 2023

Was early voting available to all voters?

N/A

What were the early voting start and end dates?

N/A to Oct. 31, 2023

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

7:00 AM - 8:00 PM

Commonwealth Court selection

The nine judges of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court are selected in partisan elections.

Judges serve 10-year terms, after which they must run in yes-no retention elections if they wish to remain on the court. A separate part of the ballot is designated for these elections, and judges' names appear without respect to party affiliation. To learn more about these elections, visit the Pennsylvania judicial elections page.

Qualifications

To serve on the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court a judge must:

• have state residence for at least one year;
• be a member of the state bar; and
• be under the age of 75.

President judge

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court selects its president judge by peer vote. The president serves in that capacity for five years.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a successor who must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Pennsylvania Senate. Interim judges stand for election at the next municipal election occurring more than 10 months after the vacancy occurred.

By tradition, appointed interim judges of the supreme court, superior court, or court of appeals do not go on to run for permanent seats. In other words, the governor appoints these judges with the expectation that the judge will only fill the interim vacancy.

Superior Court selection

The 15 judges of the Pennsylvania Superior Court are selected in partisan elections.

Judges serve 10-year terms, after which they must run in yes-no retention elections if they wish to remain on the court. A separate part of the ballot is designated for these elections, and judges' names appear without respect to party affiliation. To learn more about these elections, visit the Pennsylvania judicial elections page.

Qualifications

To serve on the Pennsylvania Superior Court, a judge must:

• have state residence for at least one year;
• be a member of the state bar; and
• be under the age of 75.

President judge

The Pennsylvania Superior Court selects its president judge by peer vote. The president serves in that capacity for five years.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a successor who must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Pennsylvania Senate. Interim judges stand for election at the next municipal election occurring more than 10 months after the vacancy occurred.

By tradition, appointed interim judges of the supreme court, superior court, or court of appeals do not go on to run for permanent seats. In other words, the governor appoints these judges with the expectation that the judge will only fill the interim vacancy.

See also

Pennsylvania	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Pennsylvania Superior Court Pennsylvania Supreme Court	Elections: 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Pennsylvania	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Pennsylvania Superior Court

Footnotes

Pennsylvania courts

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Federal courts:

Third Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania

State courts:

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania Superior Court • Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court • Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas • Pennsylvania Magisterial Districts

State resources:

Courts in Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania judicial elections • Judicial selection in Pennsylvania