There are nine Justices on the Texas Supreme Court, and unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, where justices serve for life, we elect ours every six years. It's crucial that we elect Justices who will serve the citizens of our state, because the most important cases often come down to one Justice's deciding vote — whether a hospital can be sued, whether an insurance company is liable, who gets custody of our children. One seat can flip the outcome, and you help decide who sits in it.
The Democratic candidate
Chari Kelly
DemocratAbout Chari
Kelly jumped out of Army airplanes as a paratrooper and defended soldiers accused of capital crimes as a JAG captain. Then she came home and made drug companies pay back millions they'd stolen from Texas Medicaid. In 2018 she unseated a sitting Republican appeals judge — the first Democrat to win that court in a decade.
She's a justice on the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin, has taught at UT Law for more than ten years, and has led the Austin Bar Association. Her opponent, James Sullivan, was Abbott's own general counsel until Abbott put him on the Supreme Court in 2025; he has never faced voters for it. When the State Bar polled Texas lawyers on this race, Kelly beat him by six hundred votes. She lives in Austin with her husband and their toddler daughter.
Also on the ballot
Every candidate who filed for this office appears here. Tap a name to read more.
James SullivanAbout James
He was Greg Abbott's own lawyer until Abbott put him on the Texas Supreme Court in January 2025. Now he's asking voters to keep him there.
Sullivan grew up in Austin, walked on to the Rice football team, and went to Harvard Law, where he met his wife on the Law Review. Before becoming the Governor's General Counsel he clerked on the D.C. Circuit and worked in the Solicitor General's office under then-Attorney General Abbott.
Where to vote
Hays County uses vote centers — any registered Hays County voter can vote at any open location in the county. Locations and hours by city: