More than a third of the state’s appellate judges quietly have been preparing for the race they hope won’t happen.

Three Georgia Supreme Court justices—Robert Benham, P. Harris Hines and Keith Blackwell—must face the voters in May if they want to keep their seats. And five Court of Appeals judges—Gary Andrews, Sara Doyle, William Ray II, Elizabeth “Lisa” Branch and Carla Wong McMillian—are expected to be on the ballot.