(a) If unification of the municipal and superior courts within a county occurs during an election for the office of municipal court judge, the conduct of the direct primary election and general election shall be governed by the law otherwise applicable to the election of a municipal court judge.
(b) A judge elected pursuant to this section shall be deemed to be a previously selected municipal court judge within the meaning of subdivision (b) of Section 23 of Article VI of the California Constitution.
(c) As used in this section, “during an election” means during the period beginning on the 127th day before a direct primary election and ending on the day of the general election.