(NewsNation) — Pennsylvanians are voting Tuesday on whether to retain three state supreme court justices for another 10-year term, potentially avoiding or creating a deadlocked bench.

The decision to keep or scrap the three Democratic justices — Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht — will play a significant role in the next decade of politics and precedents in Pennsylvania.

At present, Democrats hold a 5-2 majority in Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court. If any of the judges were to lose their retention vote, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and two-thirds of Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate would have to agree on a temporary appointment to fill the seat.

That means, if all three justices get the boot and leaders fail to find appointments, the commonwealth’s highest court could remain deadlocked through 2027. Wecht told NBC News last week that, if the justices aren’t all retained, that will be the reality: “There’s no way that this Senate is going to confirm a single nominee that Gov. Shapiro sends them.”

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Shapiro has appeared in an ad supporting the “Yes” campaign, and the nonpartisan Pennsylvania Bar Association has endorsed the trio for another decade on the bench.

“We protected access to abortion. And your right to vote. Even when the powerful came after it,” the justices said in an ad.

Before joining the high bench in 2016, Donohue served as a judge on the Pennsylvania Superior Court from 2008 to 2015 and had previously practiced in private law. Wecht similarly served on the Superior Court from 2012 to 2015 and the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas from 2003 to 2012.

Dougherty served as an administrative judge for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas from 2001 to 2015.

All three are classified as “strong Democrats,” according to Ballotpedia’s 2020 study that examined the partisan leaning of all state supreme court justices in the United States.

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That designation means the trio are all registered Democrats, have donated more than $2,000 to Democratic candidates and have received party-affiliated donations in return.

Trump has opposed the justices on social media. “Attention Pennsylvania: On November 4th, you can bring back the Rule of Law, and stand up for the Constitution. There are three Radical Democrat Supreme Court Justices on the Ballot for a 10 year retention. Vote ‘NO, NO, NO’ on Liberal Justices Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht,” he wrote.

Only one Pennsylvania justice has lost a retention election since the practice was established in 1968.

Polls in Pennsylvania are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. See results of the three retention elections in the trackers below:

Retain Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty resultRetain Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Christine Donohue resultsRetain Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice David Wecht results

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