"Inside the Clunky Elections to Control Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court"

Bolts :

In a sense, the GOP’s mission is straightforward: If voters remove Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht, the current 5-2 Democratic majority would fall to a 2-2 tie. Republicans would then have a shot at winning an outright majority in the 2027 cycle, in time for the 2028 presidential election.

But in practice, this is a tall order.

Because these three judges are up for retention, they have no opponents. Pennsylvania voters will see the justices’ names on the ballot and face a choice for each: retain or fire. The state lists no partisan markers on retention ballots, even though justices are initially elected in partisan races.

Presented with such a choice, voters tend to overwhelmingly favor retention, treating it as the default option, which puts a heavy burden on the opposition