West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals elections, 2020

2020 State Judicial Elections
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The seats of three West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals justices were up for nonpartisan election on June 9, 2020. Incumbents Tim Armstead and John A. Hutchison each won reelection while William Wooton won the seat previously held by Margaret Workman who did not file to run for re-election

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

West Virginia modified its absentee/mail-in voting procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:

• Absentee/mail-in voting: All voters "concerned about their health and safety because of COVID-19" were eligible to vote absentee in the general election. An online absentee ballot request portal was created.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

Judges with expiring terms

This is a list of the justices who had to stand for nonpartisan election in 2020 in order to remain on the bench. Justices could choose not to stand for election.

■ Tim Armstead
■ John A. Hutchison
■ Margaret Workman

Division 1

General election

General election for Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia

Incumbent Tim Armstead defeated Richard Neely and David W. Hummel Jr. in the general election for Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tim Armstead (Nonpartisan)	40.9	155,306
		Richard Neely (Nonpartisan)	35.8	135,938
	Submit photo	David W. Hummel Jr. (Nonpartisan)	23.3	88,263

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 379,507
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Division 2

General election

General election for Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia

William Wooton defeated Joanna I. Tabit, Kris Raynes, and Jim Douglas in the general election for Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		William Wooton (Nonpartisan)	30.8	117,927
		Joanna I. Tabit (Nonpartisan)	29.6	113,116
		Kris Raynes (Nonpartisan)	19.9	76,191
		Jim Douglas (Nonpartisan)	19.7	75,247

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 382,481
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Incumbent Margaret Workman did not file to run for re-election.

Division 3

General election

General election for Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia

Incumbent John A. Hutchison defeated Lora Dyer and William Schwartz in the general election for Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John A. Hutchison (Nonpartisan)	39.2	141,176
		Lora Dyer (Nonpartisan)	35.6	128,106
		William Schwartz (Nonpartisan)	25.2	90,829

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 360,111
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Past elections

2018

See also: West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals special elections, 2018

General election

Special general election for Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia

The following candidates ran in the special general election for Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tim Armstead (Nonpartisan)	26.1	131,296
		Joanna I. Tabit (Nonpartisan)	22.2	111,915
		Chris Wilkes (Nonpartisan)	13.1	66,037
		Mark Hunt (Nonpartisan)	12.0	60,705
	Submit photo	Ronald Hatfield Jr. (Nonpartisan)	7.8	39,155
		Jeff Woods (Nonpartisan)	4.8	24,378
	Submit photo	Hiram Lewis IV (Nonpartisan)	4.0	20,303
	Submit photo	Harry Bruner Jr. (Nonpartisan)	3.6	17,994
	Submit photo	Robert Carlton (Nonpartisan)	3.6	17,964
	Submit photo	D.C. Offutt Jr. (Nonpartisan)	2.8	14,193

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 503,940 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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General election

Special general election for Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia

The following candidates ran in the special general election for Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Evan Jenkins (Nonpartisan)	36.0	182,133
		Dennise Renee Smith (Nonpartisan)	13.9	70,394
		Jeffrey Kessler (Nonpartisan)	11.9	60,077
		Jim Douglas (Nonpartisan)	9.4	47,609
		Robert Frank (Nonpartisan)	5.9	29,751
		William Stewart Thompson (Nonpartisan)	5.9	29,613
	Submit photo	Jim O'Brien (Nonpartisan)	5.7	28,766
		Brenden Long (Nonpartisan)	4.0	20,443
	Submit photo	Marty Sheehan (Nonpartisan)	3.7	18,639
		William Schwartz (Nonpartisan)	3.6	18,291

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 505,716 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Click [show] at the right to view more past election results.

2016 See also: West Virginia Supreme Court elections, 2016 West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, Justice Benjamin's Seat, 2016 Candidate Vote % Votes Beth Walker 39.62% 162,245 Darrell V. McGraw, Jr. 23.08% 94,538 William Wooton 20.67% 84,641 Brent Benjamin Incumbent 12.47% 51,064 Wayne King 4.16% 17,054 Total Votes (100% Reporting) 409,542 Source: West Virginia Secretary of State Official Results

About the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals

See also: West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals is the state's court of last resort. This means it is the state's highest court, and its rulings are not subject to review by any other court except in cases that fit the proper conditions for review by the United States Supreme Court. There are five justices on the court.

Political composition

This was the political composition of the court heading into the 2020 election.

■ Tim Armstead		Appointed by Gov. Jim Justice (R) in 2018
■ John A. Hutchison		Appointed by Gov. Jim Justice (R) in 2018
■ Evan Jenkins		Appointed by Gov. Jim Justice (R) in 2018
■ Beth Walker		Elected in 2016
■ Margaret Workman		Elected in 2008

Selection

See also: Judicial selection in West Virginia

Each of the five justices on the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia serves terms of 12 years. In the case of a vacancy, the governor appoints the justice. That appointed justice must then run in the next general election.

Qualifications

Justices must have practiced law for at least 10 years to preside on the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

See also

West Virginia	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in West Virginia West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals West Virginia Supreme Court	Elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in West Virginia	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals

Footnotes

West Virginia courts

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Federal courts:

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of West Virginia, Southern District of West Virginia • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of West Virginia, Southern District of West Virginia

State courts:

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia • West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals • West Virginia Circuit Courts • West Virginia Family Courts • West Virginia Magistrate Courts • West Virginia Municipal Courts

State resources:

Courts in West Virginia • West Virginia judicial elections • Judicial selection in West Virginia

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