The Iowa Constitution says that judges “shall at such judicial election stand for retention for office on a separate ballot which shall submit the question of whether such judges shall be retained in office for the tenure prescribed for such office…”.  Iowa held its normal judicial retention election on November 2, 2010, and the voters voted not to retain the three State Supreme Court justices whose names were on the ballot.

On December 13, three attorneys filed a lawsuit in lower state court, alleging that the judicial retention election was illegal, because the judicial retention question was not on a separate ballot.  Instead, it was on the same ballot that every other office was on.  The November 2010 Iowa ballot listed U.S. Senate, U.S. House, the statewide state offices, the legislative contests, the county partisan contests, on the front.  On the back it had non-partisan offices and the judicial retention section, and then a statewide question on amending the state Constitution.  The case is George v Mauro, Polk Co. dist. ct., ce67313.  A hearing is set for December 20.  Here is the paperwork filed with the court.

The Supreme Court justices had been defeated for retention after an election campaign which criticized them for being part of the unanimous decision that legalized same-sex marriages.