Washington intermediate appellate court elections, 2026
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The terms of six Washington intermediate appellate court judges will expire on January 10, 2027. The six seats are up for nonpartisan election on November 3, 2026. The primary is August 4, 2026. The filing deadline is May 8, 2026.
Judges with expiring terms
- This is a list of the judges who must stand for nonpartisan 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.
Division I
■ David S. Mann
■ Bill Bowman
■ Linda Coburn
Division II
Division III
■ Tracy Arlene Staab
■ Megan Murphy
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
Division I
Bill Bowman's seat
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
David Mann's seat
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
Linda Coburn's seat
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
Division II
Meng Li Che's seat
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
Erik Price's seat
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
Division III
Tracy Arlene Staab's seat
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 Washington
Selection
The 22 judges of the Washington Court of Appeals are selected through contested nonpartisan elections and must run for re-election when their terms expire. Appeals court judges serve for six years.[1]
Qualifications
To serve on the court of appeals, a judge must be:
- a resident of his or her district for at least one year;
- admitted to practice law in the Washington courts for at least five years[2]
Presiding chief judge
The presiding chief judge for all three divisions is chosen through a peer vote and has a set term of one year.[3]
Vacancies
- See also: Gubernatorial appointment of judges
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a replacement. The appointee serves until the next general election, at which point he or she may run to serve for the remainder of the predecessor's term.[4] If the resignation and subsequent appointment takes place after the filing period opens for that year's elections, the appointee must stand in the next year's election to remain on the bench.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, Methods of Judicial Selection: Washington," accessed April 16, 2025
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, Methods of Judicial Selection: Washington," accessed April 16, 2025
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, Methods of Judicial Selection: Washington," accessed April 16, 2025
- ↑ Washington State Legislature, "Washington State Constitution," accessed April 16, 2025 (Scroll to Article IV, Section 3)
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Washington, Western District of Washington • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Washington, Western District of Washington
State courts:
Washington Supreme Court • Washington Court of Appeals • Washington Superior Court • Washington District Courts • Washington Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Washington • Washington judicial elections • Judicial selection in Washington
