The 2025 Mexican judicial elections were held on 1 June 2025, during which voters elected various members of the federal judiciary. This marked the first judicial election in Mexican history, and it is considered the first instance in the world in which all national judges were elected by popular vote. These elections took place concurrently with local elections in Durango and Veracruz.
Voters elected nine Supreme Court justices, two magistrates of the Superior Chamber and 15 magistrates of the Regional Chambers of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary, five members of the newly established Judicial Disciplinary Tribunal, 464 circuit court magistrates, and 386 district court judges.
The National Regeneration Movement (Morena), the ruling party, secured a dominant share of seats across key federal courts, including the Supreme Court, the Judicial Disciplinary Tribunal, and the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary, raising concerns about potential erosion of judicial independence of people. The election was notable for its historically low voter turnout—approximately 13%—the lowest in the country's democratic history. The number of invalid and blank ballots also reached a record high, surpassing 20 percent of the total votes cast and, in some cases, exceeding the number of votes received by leading candidates. Several international observers criticized the political process as complex and susceptible to political influence.
Background
Judicial reform
Following the 2024 Mexican general election, the Sigamos Haciendo Historia coalition—formed by the National Regeneration Movement (Morena), the Labor Party (PT), and the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM)—secured a supermajority in the Chamber of Deputies and came three seats short in the Senate. The alliance, along with its presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum, campaigned on enacting a package of constitutional reforms known as "Plan C." One of its key proposals was the popular election of the federal judiciary, which outgoing president Andrés Manuel López Obrador claimed would eliminate corruption.
On 1 September 2024, the bill was introduced in the LXVI Legislature of the Mexican Congress, triggering nationwide protests and strikes over concerns that it would undermine judicial independence. Despite opposition, it passed the Senate on 11 September and was promulgated by López Obrador on 15 September.
The reform replaced the country's appointment-based system for selecting judges with one where judges, pre-selected by Congress, are elected by popular vote, with each judge serving a renewable nine-year term. It reduced the number of Supreme Court justices from eleven to nine and limited their terms to twelve years. It also replaced the Federal Judiciary Council with the Judicial Disciplinary Tribunal. A subsequent law set the election date for 1 June 2025.
Electoral system The National Electoral Institute (INE) oversees federal elections in Mexico. Its responsibilities include organizing election day logistics, producing and distributing electoral materials, counting votes, and certifying the election results.
Voters must present their voter identification at polling stations to cast their ballots. For voters with physical disabilities or limitations, electoral materials were delivered directly to their residences. Unlike the 2024 Mexican general election, individuals in preventive detention and citizens residing abroad were excluded from voting in the judicial elections. The exclusion of detainees was attributed to budgetary constraints.
Judicial election All judicial positions are elected by plurality voting. Members of the Supreme Court are elected for a single twelve-year term,Constitución Politica de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Artículo 94. 1917 (México). members of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary for single six-year terms,Constitución Politica de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Artículo 99. 1917 (México). and members of the Judicial Disciplinary Tribunal for single six-year terms.Constitución Politica de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Artículo 100. 1917 (México). Circuit court magistrates and district court judges are elected for nine-year terms, with the possibility of a single consecutive reelection.Constitución Politica de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Artículo 97. 1917 (México).
Article 96 of the Constitution mandates that each branch of government establish an evaluation committee composed of five jurists. These committees are responsible for assessing and filtering prospective candidates, who may choose the branch they wish to register under. Each committee is tasked with selecting a third of the candidates for each position up for election. Candidates must be submitted to the INE by 12 February.Constitución Politica de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Artículo 96. 1917 (México).
Ballots
The election is conducted across six separate ballots, one for each office. Each ballot displays two lists—women on one side and men on the other—listing every candidate's number, nominating branch and, where relevant, legal specialization. Voters mark their choices by writing the candidate numbers in designated boxes; boxes are color-coded when a specialization applies.
Judicial electoral districts For the purpose of electing circuit court magistrates and district court judges, a total of 60 judicial electoral districts were established, distributed across Mexico’s 32 judicial circuits. Due to variations in the number of judicial positions among states, 17 judicial circuits are composed of only one judicial electoral district, while the remaining 15 circuits are divided into two or more districts.
Candidate selection
Selection of judicial offices On 12 October 2024, the Senate conducted a lottery to determine the offices up for election. The draw resulted in 464 circuit court magistrates and 386 district court judges holding odd-numbered positions being selected for the election. The remaining offices will be elected in 2027.
Evaluation committees On 31 October 2024, each branch of government revealed the jurists selected to form their respective evaluation committees. The executive branch received 18,447 applications, the legislative branch received 11,904, and the judicial branch received 3,805. After assessing each applicant's suitability, the executive branch shortlisted 11,015 candidates, the legislative branch 7,060, and the judicial branch 1,046.
On 7 January 2025, the judicial branch's evaluation committee suspended its activities after a judge granted a constitutional injunction (amparo) ordering a halt to the implementation of the judicial reform. On 22 January, the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary (TEPJF) ruled that amparos could not be applied to electoral processes and ordered the committee to resume its functions. The committee refused to comply, prompting the TEPJF to instruct the Senate to proceed with the selection of the judicial branch's candidates via sortition. On 28 January, all members of the judicial branch's committee resigned, and two days later, the Senate selected the committee's candidates.
On 12 February 2025, the Senate submitted the final list of candidates to the INE, comprising 1,410 nominees from the executive branch, 1,416 from the legislative branch, and 955 from the judicial branch. +Members of the evaluation committeesExecutive branchLegislative branchJudicial branchArturo Zaldívar Lelo de LarreaMaday Merino DamiánMónica González ContróMary Cruz Cortés OrnelasMaribel Concepción Méndez De LaraEmma Meza FonsecaJavier Quijano BazAna Patricia Briseño TorresEmilia Molina de la FuenteVanessa Romero RochaAndrés Norberto García Repper FavilaWilfrido Castañón LeónIsabel Inés Romero CruzMaría Gabriela Sánchez GarcíaLuis Enrique Perea Trejo
Conduct The official campaign period began on 30 March 2025 and concluded on 28 May, followed by a period of electoral silence until election day.
From 12 to 21 May, early voting was held for voters with disabilities or limited physical mobility. According to the National Electoral Institute (INE), 5,536 out of 5,580 envelopes containing votes were successfully collected during this period.
Polling stations
There were 84,021 polling stations approved to be installed nationwide.
Political interference In some states, local government officials were reported to have distributed partisan cheat sheets that promoted specific judicial candidates. While the use of such materials is not illegal in itself, it is unlawful for political parties or public officials to disseminate them. The INE referred two cases to the Attorney General's Office: one in Nuevo León involving Citizens' Movement, and another in Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City, involving the National Regeneration Movement (Morena).
The INE considered the number of people registered as election observers—over 317,000—unusual. More than 38,000 applications were rejected due to political affiliation, including over 20,000 linked to Morena. INE councilor Jaime Rivera Velázquez expressed hope that the interest was genuine and not driven by coercion or an attempt to monitor voters. By contrast, the 2024 Mexican general election received only 34,000 applications for observer status.
Result reporting The INE announced that it would not implement the Preliminary Electoral Results Program (PREP)—a system used in previous elections to provide early results by counting ballots at the precinct level. Instead, precincts would only count the number of ballots cast, and actual vote counting would begin once the ballots arrived at district offices. The official count was scheduled to take place between 1 and 10 June, and the INE had up to 12 days from election day to report the final results.
Additionally, for the first time in 34 years, citizens would not participate in vote counting at polling stations, a departure from previous practices that raised concerns about transparency and electoral oversight.
Results Approximately 13 million voters participated in each race, resulting in a turnout of about 13 percent—a record low for a federal election in Mexico. The number of invalid and blank ballots also reached a record high, surpassing 20 percent of the total votes cast and, in some cases, exceeding the number of votes received by the leading candidates.
In the Supreme Court race, Hugo Aguilar Ortiz received the highest number of votes, securing the presidency of the Supreme Court for the 2025–2027 term. All three incumbent justices seeking reelection—Lenia Batres, Yasmín Esquivel Mossa, and Loretta Ortiz Ahlf—were re-elected, finishing in second through fourth place, respectively.
Supreme Court The nine Supreme Court seats up for election were divided between five designated for women and four for men. Each voter was entitled to cast nine votes, corresponding to the number of available seats.
Judicial Disciplinary Council The five Judicial Disciplinary Council seats up for election were divided between three designated for women and two for men. Each voter was entitled to cast five votes, corresponding to the number of available seats.
Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary The two seats on the Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary up for election were divided equally, with one seat designated for a woman and one for a man. Each voter was entitled to cast two votes, corresponding to the number of available seats.
Aftermath
Election night