The people of Oklahoma have no say in the selection of judges to state appeals courts and the Oklahoma Supreme Court. They do, however, vote on these judges in "retention" elections. Judges on the Oklahoma Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, and Court of Civil Appeals are thus on the ballot every six years (district court judges are elected and face reelection every four years). While no Oklahoma judge ever has been kicked out this way, growing dissatisfaction with the judiciary has stirred interest in these elections.

Two Oklahoma Supreme Court justices, two Court of Criminal Appeals judges, and three Court of Civil Appeals judges are up for retention elections on November 8, 2016. If any of these judges are defeated, the judicial vacancy would be filled using the same process for other judicial vacancies.

Supreme Court Justice Douglas Combs was appointed by Gov. Brad Henry in 2010. The Judicial Evaluation Institute ranks judges around the country based on their tendency to either expand civil liability or to constrain it, and has found that Justice Combs tends to favor expansive civil liability.

Justice James Winchester, who is also on the ballot this year, was appointed by Gov. Frank Keating in 2000. He tends to favor strict construction of limits on civil liability, according to the Judicial Evaluation Institute.

Information about the other judges on the ballot can be found at Ballotpedia, the Oklahoma Civil Justice Council, and the OSCN.net website (which also includes court opinions and much more information about the Oklahoma judiciary).