Judge Andrea Teves Smith is on the Nov. 3, 2026, general election ballot for retention on Florida's Second District Court of Appeal.

In a judicial retention election, voters do not choose between competing candidates. Instead, the ballot asks a single question: should the judge be retained? A majority "yes" vote keeps the judge on the bench. A majority "no" vote removes the judge, and the governor appoints a replacement.

Candidate information

  • Office sought: Florida Second District Court of Appeal, District 2 (retention)
  • Party affiliation: Nonpartisan race
  • Ballot status: Certified for the ballot, according to BallotReady election data
  • Birthplace: New Brunswick, Canada; raised in Bradenton, Florida
  • Education: Bachelor's degree in business administration, University of Florida (1991); juris doctor, Stetson University College of Law (1994)
  • Admitted to practice: Florida (1994); United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida

Experience and public service

Smith was appointed to the Second District Court of Appeal on Jan. 7, 2019, and began serving Feb. 1, 2019, according to the court's official biography. She replaced Judge Marva Crenshaw, who retired Dec. 31, 2018, after nearly a decade on the appellate bench, The Ledger reported.

Before her appellate appointment, Smith served as a circuit judge on the Tenth Judicial Circuit Court in Polk County. She presided over the Felony, Family and Civil divisions and spent two years as administrative judge of the Civil Division, according to her Trellis Law profile. Voters retained her on the circuit bench in 2014, according to the court's biography.

Smith entered private practice after law school. As a shareholder and attorney at Peterson & Myers, P.A., she earned Martindale-Hubbell's highest peer review rating of AV Preeminent, according to the court's biography.

At Stetson, Smith served as research editor on the Stetson Law Journal and president of the Moot Court Board. She coauthored the jury instructions chapter of Florida Eminent Domain Practice and Procedure (10th, 11th and 12th editions).

Smith has held committee and leadership roles across the judiciary. Those include membership on the Florida Supreme Court Standard Jury Instructions Committee for civil cases, the Florida Supreme Court's Workgroup on Sanctions for Vexatious and Sham Litigation, and the District Court of Appeal Performance and Accountability Commission. She chaired the Florida Supreme Court Standing Committee on Fairness & Diversity and the Tenth Judicial Circuit Fairness and Diversity Team, according to the court's biography.

In 2019, the Tenth Judicial Circuit's Fairness & Diversity Committee awarded Smith its fairness and diversity award.

Smith is a member of the Florida Bar Appellate Practice Section, the Lakeland Bar Association, the Polk Association of Women Lawyers and the Federal Bar Association. Her community involvement includes serving as general counsel and board member of the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce, legal advisory board member at Florida Southern College, advisory board member for the Academy of Legal Studies at George Jenkins High School and secretary of Explorations V Children's Museum, according to her Trellis Law profile.

Smith is a graduate of Leadership Lakeland (Class XXI).