Know your November ballot. What to know about Iowa judges up for reelection in 2024:

Iowans at the polls this November won't just be casting ballots for president and legislative candidates. They'll also be deciding whether nearly 70 judges, including a Supreme Court justice, will keep their jobs.

Under Iowa law, judges are appointed by the governor but subject to retention elections, where voters get a yes-or-no vote on whether to keep them in their position.

This year's slate includes Supreme Court Justice David May and four judges on the Iowa Court of Appeals, as well as 64 district court judges and associate judges, who will only appear on ballots for voters in their districts.

District and appellate judges serve six-year terms, while Supreme Court justices serve eight-year terms.

The state judicial branch states that retention elections "focus on the professional competency of Iowa's judges," and it's nearly unheard of for a judge or justice not to be retained.

The significant exception was in 2010, when three Supreme Court justices lost their retention elections amid backlash to the court's ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa.

From 2022: All judges retained, including pair of Iowa Supreme Court justices

The Iowa State Bar Association releases performance reviews of judges up for retention election based on surveys of its thousands of member attorneys. This year's report shows nearly all sitting judges once again have been endorsed by the majority of respondents, but it also indicates rising dissatisfaction from the state's legal community toward Gov. Kim Reynolds' recent appointees to the state's highest courts.

Here are the members of the judiciary who will be on the ballot in November and what the lawyers who practice in their courtrooms had to say about them.

READ: Iowa State Bar Association 2024 Judicial Performance Review

Iowa Supreme Court Justice David May

First appointed to the court in 2022, David May is now standing for his first retention election. May is the fifth justice appointed by Gov. Kim Reynolds since 2018, a period of turnover that has transformed the makeup and perspective of the seven-member court. Before joining the court, May served on the Iowa Court of Appeals.

In the recent 2023-24 term, May was largely aligned with the rest of the court, all now appointed by Republican governors. His notable decisions include ruling that a mother who left her children at home didn't commit a crime and that the Iowa Constitution bars child abuse victims from testifying at trial via one-way video. He also joined the 4-3 majority that allowed Iowa's six-week abortion ban to take effect.

In the Iowa Bar Association's survey, May received a relatively cool response compared with other recent appointees to the court. Sixty-five percent of respondents recommended May be retained, compared with 77% and 81%, respectively, for colleagues Matthew McDermott and Dana Oxley in 2022.

May also was rated lower than Oxley and McDermott on each individual quality measured by the survey, from knowledge of the law to temperament and courtesy to deciding cases without outside influence.

Related: What's on the Iowa Supreme Court's coming docket? Pipelines, COVID deaths and more.

Four justices on the Iowa Court of Appeals

Iowa's intermediate appellate court hears many cases not retained by the Supreme Court, which can then choose to rehear cases the Court of Appeals has ruled on.

This year there are four judges up for retention: Tyler Buller, Mary Elizabeth Chicchelly, Samuel Langholz and Chief Judge Mary Ellen Tabor. Tabor was first appointed in 2010 by Gov. Chet Culver, while Reynolds appointed Chicchelly in 2021, Buller in 2022 and Langholz in 2023.

Three of the four judges received high marks on the bar association survey. Buller, Tabor and Chicchelly were recommended for retention by 84%, 94% and 95% of respondents, respectively, and none scored lower than 3.9 out of 5 on any specific issue.

Langholz, who previously worked directly for Reynolds as her senior legal counsel, received a less enthusiastic endorsement, with 64% of respondents recommending him. He also scored 3.8 or lower in each individual category.

64 district court judges on ballots around state

In addition to the appellate judges, who will appear on ballots statewide, nearly all Iowa voters will have at least some judges from their local judicial district on the ballot.

Most district judges and district associate judges up for retention this year were endorsed by 90% or more of attorneys who have practiced before them on the bar association survey, including four judges who were recommended for retention by 100% of respondents.

More: 2024 Voter Guide

There were a few notable exceptions.

Only one judge was endorsed by fewer than 50% of respondents: Rachael Seymour, a district associate judge in Des Moines. Appointed in 2010, Seymour was recommended for retention by 47% of respondents and was the only judge in the state to receive scores of less than 3.0 out of 5 on any issue: temperament and demeanor, 2.5; promptness of rulings, 2.8; avoiding undue personal criticisms, 2.7; and courtesy, 2.5.

A second judge was recommended by a majority of respondents by a slim majority: 52% of attorneys recommended retaining Judge Monica Ackley, who has served as a magistrate or district judge in Dubuque since 1997. Ackley received her lowest marks for "perception of factual issues" and deciding cases based on facts and law rather than outside influences.

Through the Iowa Judicial Branch, the Register reached out to Seymour and Ackley for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

8 judges up for retention in Polk County

In addition to Seymour, seven more judges will be on the ballot in Judicial District 5C, which covers Polk County.

They are district judges Heather Lauber (recommended for retention by 86%) and Patrick Smith (95%), and district associate judges Gregory Brandt (84%), Kristen Formanek (93%), Becky Goettsch (95%), Erik Howe (94%), and associate probate judge Katie Ranes (93%).

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at [email protected] or 715-573-8166.

This story was updated to add a video.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa judges up for reelection in 2024: Everything you should know