Superior Court Judges Julie Mata and Michael Rassas and Court of Appeals Judge Anni Hill Foster each trailed in the vote count, with roughly 51.3%, 50.6% and 50.2% of voters respectively casting ballots to remove them. Arizona does not hold competitive elections for most judges; instead, voters decide yes-or-no retention questions, and removal is historically rare.

Foster's margin may be small enough to trigger an automatic recount under state law. Results will not be certified until the county canvass is complete.

Foster, appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2022 by former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, previously served as his top lawyer. A state review panel found she meets performance standards, but she drew opposition from groups across the political spectrum. The progressive group Civic Engagement Beyond Voting urged a no vote, arguing she could not be trusted to be impartial because of her work for Ducey, including a U.S. Supreme Court brief that sought to overturn Roe v. Wade. Republicans in Legislative District 4 also called for her removal over a ruling she joined that allowed the county to keep secret its electronic records of how individual ballots were marked.

Mata, a family court judge who handles divorces and custody disputes, drew criticism from Civic Engagement Beyond Voting for a July ruling that allowed a Republican-backed measure limiting diversity, equity and inclusion programs to appear on the ballot. Her most prominent critic has been Phoenix attorney David Gingras, who represented Laura Owens in a paternity case against former "The Bachelor" star Clayton Echard. After Mata ruled against Owens, Gingras urged litigants to seek a different judge and filed a misconduct complaint. The state Commission on Judicial Conduct dismissed the complaint, finding no clear and convincing evidence of ethical misconduct.

A 2026 state review found Mata meets judicial standards, but about four in ten people who appeared in her courtroom and returned surveys rated her poorly or very poorly on impartiality.

Rassas, a juvenile court judge, was targeted mainly by Republican groups. Legislative District 4 Republicans pointed to his rulings in parental rights cases, including one that an appeals court overturned because it relied on a father's past housing problems.

Stephen Richer, a Republican and former Maricopa County recorder, defended all three judges. "All three are conservatives. And, far more importantly and meaningfully, they were all thoughtful, ethical and respectful in their judicial conduct. They applied the law," Richer wrote on social media. "Judges are supposed to just follow the law and facts and then rule accordingly. They're not supposed to rule for 'their team.'"

If the results stand, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs will appoint replacements for the three judges, giving her an opportunity to reshape the courts at both the trial and appellate levels. The outcome would mark one of the few times in recent Arizona history that voters have removed multiple judges in a single election, and it underscores how retention races have become a proxy battlefield for broader political fights over reproductive rights, parental authority and election transparency.