North Carolina intermediate appellate court elections, 2026
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The terms of three North Carolina intermediate appellate court judges will expire on December 31, 2026. The three seats are up for partisan election on November 3, 2026.
Judges with expiring terms
- This is a list of the judges who must stand for partisan election in 2026 in order to remain on the bench. Judges may choose not to stand for election. The list is subject to change if judges retire or are appointed.
■ John S. Arrowood
■ Toby Hampson
■ Allegra Collins
Candidates and results
Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
Seat 1
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
Seat 2
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
Seat 3
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
Voting information
- See also: Voting in North Carolina
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
Selection
The 15 judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals are chosen through partisan elections. Judges are elected to eight-year terms and must face re-election if they wish to serve again.[1] These elections were nonpartisan from 2004 until a law passed in 2016 made them partisan again, beginning in 2018.
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a person must be licensed to practice law in North Carolina. There is a mandatory retirement age of 72 years.[2]
Chief judge
The chief judge of the court of appeals is selected by the chief justice of the supreme court to serve indefinitely.[3]
Vacancies
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a successor to serve until the next general election which is held more than 60 days after the vacancy occurs. The governor must select an appointee from a list of three recommendations provided by the executive committee of the political party with which the vacating judge was affiliated.[4] An election is then held for a full eight-year term.[5][1]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | School of Government, "History of North Carolina Judicial Elections," August 2020
- ↑ North Carolina Judicial Branch, "Judicial Qualifications Summary," September 28, 2016
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: North Carolina," accessed September 20, 2021
- ↑ Ballotpedia Election Administration Legislation Tracker, "North Carolina S382," accessed December 19, 2024
- ↑ North Carolina General Assembly, "North Carolina Constitution - Article IV," accessed September 20, 2021 (Section 19)
Federal courts:
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina
State courts:
Supreme Court of North Carolina • North Carolina Court of Appeals • North Carolina Superior Courts • North Carolina District Courts
State resources:
Courts in North Carolina • North Carolina judicial elections • Judicial selection in North Carolina
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