North Carolina judicial elections
Judges in North Carolina participate in partisan elections in even-numbered years. Judges must run for re-election in partisan elections for subsequent terms.
North Carolina is one of 11 states that uses partisan elections to select judges and does not use retention elections for subsequent terms. To read more about how states use judicial elections to select judges across the country, click here.
| Supreme Court | Court of Appeals | Superior Courts | District Courts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partisan elections - Eight-year terms | Partisan elections - Eight-year terms | Partisan elections - Eight-year terms | Partisan elections - Four-year terms |
Elections
- North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2024
- North Carolina intermediate appellate court elections, 2024
- North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2022
- North Carolina intermediate appellate court elections, 2022
- North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2020
- North Carolina intermediate appellate court elections, 2020
- North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2018
- North Carolina intermediate appellate court elections, 2018
- North Carolina local trial court judicial elections, 2018
- North Carolina judicial elections, 2016
- North Carolina local trial court judicial elections, 2016
- North Carolina judicial elections, 2014
- North Carolina judicial elections, 2012
- North Carolina judicial elections, 2010
Election rules
Primary election
The judges of the North Carolina Superior Courts are chosen through partisan elections. Judges are elected to eight-year terms and must face re-election if they wish to serve again.[1]
The judges of the North Carolina District Courts are chosen through partisan elections. District judges serve four-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to remain on the court.[2][1]
Filing
Candidates may file their declarations of candidacy between the second Monday in February and the last business day in February.[3]
The filing fees for judicial candidates amount to approximately 1% of the annual salary for the office sought by the candidates.[4] In lieu of this fee, a candidate may file a petition signed by at least 5% of the registered voters for the area in which the candidate is seeking election.[5]
Qualifications
To run for judge in North Carolina, a candidate must be at least 21 years old, a registered voter, and a resident of the district in which they seek to run at the time of filing.[6]
State profile
| Demographic data for North Carolina | ||
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 10,035,186 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 48,618 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 69.5% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 21.5% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 2.5% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 1.2% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.4% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 8.8% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 85.8% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 28.4% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $46,868 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 20.5% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in North Carolina. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
North Carolina voted Republican in five out of the six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, six are located in North Carolina, accounting for 2.91 percent of the total pivot counties.[7]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. North Carolina had six Retained Pivot Counties, 3.31 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More North Carolina coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in North Carolina
- United States congressional delegations from North Carolina
- Public policy in North Carolina
- Endorsers in North Carolina
- North Carolina fact checks
- More...
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms North Carolina judicial elections. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
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 General Assembly, "North Carolina Constitution - Article IV," accessed September 20, 2021 (Section 19)
- ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina, "§ 163-106. Notices of candidacy; pledge; with whom filed; date for filing; withdrawal." accessed July 3, 2014
- ↑ North Carolina Board of Elections, "Candidate Filing," accessed July 3, 2014
- ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina, "§ 163-107.1. Petition in lieu of payment of filing fee.," accessed July 3, 2014
- ↑ North Carolina Board of Elections, "Running for Judicial Offices 2014 Election," accessed July 3, 2014
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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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
