Arizona may be on the verge of removing three sitting judges in a single election. In nearly 50 years since Arizona adopted a judicial retention election system, he is the only judge to have been dismissed.

State of play: Maricopa County Superior Court Judges Rusty Crandell, Stephen Hopkins, and Howard Schenick are losing retention elections, losing countless votes.

environment: In a system adopted by voters in 1974, superior court judges in Arizona’s most populous counties, along with those of the Court of Appeals and the Arizona Supreme Court, are selected by merit selection. This is a system in which the governor appoints a person from a list of candidates selected by an independent commission.

• These judges must stand for retention elections every four years, where voters decide whether to keep them on the bench.
• Superior court judges in smaller counties are still directly elected by voters.

Line spacing: All three judges Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Reviewwas established in 1992 to set performance standards.

• Hopkins was the sole judge in Maricopa County. didn’t meet Commission standards.
• Crandell and Sukenic met the criteria, but received relatively few votes.

Yes, but: Other judges with low or failing grades from the committee were able to retain their seats in previous elections.

Flashback: Voters had only turned down judges three times before this year’s elections.

note: Crandell is one of 15 finalists for three offices in the First Division of the Court of Appeals, which will be selected by Gov. Doug Ducey. So if he loses the retention election, he could theoretically get a new job on the bench.