What are retention elections and how do they differ from regular elections?

Answer 1

Retention elections are most commonly used to retain or oust judges. Voters in a retention election are only voting on whether or not a judge who is already in office should keep that office. In a regular election, voters choose from a list of candidates who should hold a particular office. A ballot in a regular election would read something like this: Who should be senator? A) John Doe B) Joe Blo C) Mary Smith A ballot in a retention election would read something like this: Should Antonin Scalia be retained as Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States? A) Yes B) No