HILLSDALE, MI (WTVB) – Governor Gretchen Whitmer will appoint a new judge to fill the Hillsdale County 1st Circuit Court seat following the unexpected death of Judge Sara S. Lisznyai earlier this month.
Under Michigan law, the governor’s appointee will hold the judgeship until the next available election cycle in November 2028.
There will be no election this November to fill the vacancy. Because Lisznyai was running unopposed for re-election, and state law does not permit a declared write-in candidate when a death occurs less than 66 days before an election, the scheduled November election for the seat has been canceled.
The 66-day cut-off rule was added to Michigan law in 1990 to standardize how all state courts handle judicial vacancies close to an election.
Whoever Governor Whitmer appoints to the bench will have to run in the November 2028 election cycle if they wish to serve out the remainder of the term.
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