(a) A vacancy in the office of a justice or judge of an appellate court, whether occasioned by the death, resignation, removal, retirement, disqualification by reason of age, or rejection by the voters of an incumbent, the creation of the office of a justice or judge, or otherwise, shall be filled as provided in this section. (b) Upon the occurrence of a vacancy the Governor shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a person duly qualified to fill said office who shall hold the same until the election for continuance in office as provided in subsections (c) and (d). (c) The continuance in office of a justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland is subject to approval or rejection by the registered voters of the appellate judicial circuit from which the justice was appointed at the next general election following the expiration of one year from the date of the occurrence of the vacancy which the justice was appointed to fill, and at the general election next occurring every ten years thereafter. (d) The continuance in office of a judge of the Appellate Court of Maryland is subject to approval or rejection by the registered voters of the geographical area prescribed by law at the next general election following the expiration of one year from the date of the occurrence of the vacancy which the judge was appointed to fill, and at the general election next occurring every ten years thereafter. (e) The approval or rejection by the registered voters of a justice or judge as provided for in subsections (c) and (d) shall be a vote for the justice's or judge's retention in office for a term of ten years or the justice's or judge's removal. The justice's or judge's name shall be on the appropriate ballot, without opposition, and the voters shall vote yes or no for the justice's or judge's retention in office. If the voters reject the retention in office of a justice or judge, or if the vote is tied, the office becomes vacant ten days after certification of the election returns. (f) An appellate court justice or judge shall retire when the justice or judge attains the justice's or judge's seventieth birthday. (g) A member of the General Assembly who is otherwise qualified for appointment to judicial office is not disqualified by reason of the member's membership in a General Assembly which proposed or enacted any constitutional amendment or statute affecting the method of selection, continuance in office, or retirement or removal of a justice or judge, the creation or abolition of a court, an increase or decrease in the number of justices or judges of any court, or an increase or decrease in the salary, pension or other allowances of any justice or judge.
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