Retirements of five state Supreme Court justices, and the creation of two posts by the New York legislature, have drawn a large field of 14 candidates to the Ninth Judicial District ballot in Lower Hudson Valley.

The field of candidates, which is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, includes five judges, a quasi-judicial magistrate and eight lawyers.

Lawyer John A. Sarcone III, who withdrew from the New York State Republican Party's nomination for attorney general earlier this year, is running.

Another GOP option is attorney John Ciampoli, who's representing state Republicans in a lawsuit in a Saratoga County state trial court that could prevent New York voters from using fear of spreading the coronavirus as a reason for casting votes by absentee ballot in the general election.

In court, Ciampoli suggested that allowing boards of election to tally absentee ballots as part of election night totals was an invitation to fraud. He's seeking to have all absentee ballots set aside for judicial scrutiny.

As for the Democratic slate, a pair of county court judges, acting Supreme Court Justices Anne Minihan and David Zuckerman, were deemed best-qualified of all of the candidates by the Westchester County Bar Association.

The other Democratic candidates are:

David J. Squirrell, executive director and chief attorney of the Putnam County Legal Aid Society;  Amy S. Puerto, principal court attorney to Westchester County Court Judge Helen M. Blackwood; Keri A. Fiore,  support magistrate in Yonkers Family Court, a quasi-judicial position; Yonkers City Court Judge Elena M. Goldberg-Velazquez; and Rockland County Family Court Judge Sherri Eisenpress.