As noted earlier, a lawsuit is pending in a lower state court in Iowa, over the problem that the State Constitution says judicial retention elections must be held on separate ballots than the ballot for other offices.  The state ignored this constitutional requirement in November 2010, and put the judicial retention question on the ballot used to elect people to federal office, state office, and county office.  At that election, the voters voted to remove three members of the State Supreme Court.  They faced political opposition because they had been part of the unanimous decision last year that said the Iowa Constitution requires the state to permit same-sex marriage.

The Des Moines Register has this interesting article about the dilemma the lower court judge faces.  If he upholds the challenge to the election, there is some likelihood that the voters will feel disenfranchised.  On the other hand, if he says the vote was valid even though it was not held in accordance with the State Constitution, he will seem to have validated the objections of many people who feel that judges are not really faithful to constitutions.